Staff Appraisal in Kenyan Schools: TSC TPAD, BOM Staff and an Internal Record That Helps

Every term, teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission log in to fill their TPAD, and every term the staff room hears the same complaints: the portal is slow, the evidence is scattered, and the appraisal feels like a form rather than a conversation. Meanwhile, in the same school, the teachers employed by the Board of Management, the bursar, the cooks, the drivers, the matron and the groundsmen are often not appraised at all. Their performance lives in the principal's head until something goes wrong.

Appraisal matters because it is the only regular moment when a school looks at each employee's work on purpose. Done well, it catches problems early, recognises good work before the best people leave, and leaves a record that supports promotion, contract renewal or, when necessary, discipline. Done badly, or not at all, it leaves a school making staffing decisions on impression and memory.

This article explains how the two systems fit together in a typical Kenyan school: the TSC's TPAD for TSC teachers, and the internal appraisal a school runs for everyone else and, often, alongside TPAD for its own purposes. It covers what each is for, what a fair internal appraisal records, and how to keep it from becoming another form nobody reads.

TPAD: what it is and whose it is

TPAD stands for Teacher Performance Appraisal and Development. It is the TSC's appraisal tool for teachers on its payroll, and the TSC describes it as required under its Code of Regulations for Teachers. Teachers complete it on the TSC's online portal on a termly cycle, setting targets, recording evidence against teaching standards, and being appraised by their head of institution or a delegated appraiser. The TSC has warned that teachers who fail to complete appraisals may face administrative action, and TPAD records feed into the Commission's own decisions, such as promotion.

Two points are worth being clear about. First, TPAD belongs to the TSC. The portal, the standards, the timelines and any changes to the tool are set by the Commission, and they do change. Recent news coverage has described system difficulties during the 2026 cycles and a revised direction for the tool, so heads should follow official TSC circulars rather than secondhand summaries. Second, TPAD covers TSC employees only. It says nothing about the people the school itself employs.

TPAD is the TSC's record of its teachers. It is not the school's record of its staff, and it was never meant to be.

The staff TPAD does not cover

A typical public secondary school may have a large share of its staff employed by the Board of Management rather than the TSC: teachers hired to fill gaps, plus every non-teaching employee. In private schools, the school employs everyone. These staff have employment contracts with the school, and their performance is entirely the school's responsibility to manage.

Without an appraisal process, the school has no fair basis for decisions about them. Contract renewals become a question of whether the principal likes someone. A pay rise is argued for without evidence. A disciplinary case lacks any record that concerns were raised and support offered. And a good employee who is never told they are doing well is easier to lose to the school down the road.

An internal appraisal for BOM and private-school staff does not need to mirror TPAD's complexity. It needs to be regular, recorded, fair, and actually used.

What a fair internal appraisal records

A useful internal appraisal is short enough to complete in a real conversation and specific enough to mean something a year later.

It should say which period it covers, such as Term 2 2026 or the year, and the date the conversation took place. It should name the employee and the reviewer, and the reviewer should never be the employee. It should carry a simple overall rating on a scale the school defines, for example one to five, so that patterns across the staff room can be seen. And it should hold three short pieces of writing: what the person did well, what they need to improve, and the goals agreed for the next period.

That last item is the one that turns an appraisal from a judgement into a plan. A goal agreed in Term 1 is the first thing to discuss in Term 2. Over a year, the record shows whether someone is improving, holding steady or slipping, which is the evidence a fair employer needs.

Running appraisals alongside TPAD for TSC teachers

Many schools run a light internal review for TSC teachers too, separate from TPAD, for reasons of their own: departmental goals, co-curricular responsibilities, house duties, or the school's own standards. That is legitimate, provided the school is clear that the internal record is for internal management and does not replace, alter or duplicate the TSC's process.

The practical benefit is continuity. TPAD lives on the TSC's portal, and a school's own notes about a teacher's development, agreed targets and responsibilities can easily be lost when a deputy moves on. An internal record kept with the school's staff records stays with the school.

The thing to avoid is double work. If the internal review asks teachers to re-enter everything they put in TPAD, it will be resented and abandoned. Keep it to what TPAD does not capture and the school genuinely needs.

The internal appraisal should hold what the school needs and TPAD does not ask for. Anything more is duplication, and duplication kills the habit.

Keeping the conversation honest

An appraisal record is sensitive. It contains opinions about a named person's work, and it can affect their income and career. That has consequences for how it is handled.

Access should be limited. The head and those responsible for appraisals should see everyone's records; each employee should be able to see their own and nobody else's. Under the Data Protection Act, 2019, staff are data subjects with rights over their personal data, including a right of access, so a school should expect an employee to be able to see what has been written about them. That is also good practice: an appraisal the employee has never seen cannot fairly be relied on later.

Appraisal records should also connect to the facts of employment. A contract end date that arrives without a recent appraisal is a decision made blind. A school that keeps fixed-term contract dates alongside appraisals can see, a month or two ahead, who is coming up for renewal and what their record says.

A simple appraisal calendar

Appraisals happen when they are scheduled and slip when they are not. A workable calendar for a typical school looks like this. In the first weeks of the year, each employee and their reviewer agree goals for the year, written down. At the end of each term, or at least mid-year, a short review checks progress against those goals. At the end of the year, a full appraisal records the rating, strengths, areas to improve and goals for next year, and feeds into contract decisions.

Fit this around the TSC's TPAD deadlines rather than against them, so that heads and deputies are not running two appraisal cycles in the same fortnight. A short note to staff at the start of each term, saying when their review will happen and who will hold it, does more for completion rates than any reminder after the deadline.

Where Opero fits

Opero keeps an employment record for each member of staff, separate from their sign-in account, including their TSC number where they have one and, for fixed-term staff, the date their contract ends, with a view of contracts ending soon. Permanent staff simply have no end date.

Appraisals are recorded against the person with the period covered, the date, a rating from one to five, and written notes on strengths, areas to improve and agreed goals. The reviewer is recorded, Opero refuses an attempt by someone to appraise themselves, and recording an appraisal is audited. Staff who do not manage appraisals see only their own. Opero does not connect to the TSC's TPAD portal or submit anything to it; TSC teachers complete TPAD on the TSC's system as before. What Opero offers is the school's own record for every employee, kept with the same staff records that drive leave and payroll.

Key takeaways

• TPAD is the TSC's appraisal tool for teachers on its payroll; follow official TSC circulars for its current rules and timelines.
• BOM teachers and all non-teaching staff are outside TPAD, so the school needs its own appraisal for them.
• A fair internal appraisal records the period, date, reviewer, a simple rating, strengths, areas to improve and agreed goals.
• For TSC teachers, keep any internal review to what TPAD does not capture, to avoid double work.
• Limit access, let employees see their own records, and connect appraisals to contract end dates.

Frequently asked questions

Does an internal appraisal replace TPAD? No. TSC teachers must complete TPAD on the TSC's own portal according to the Commission's rules. An internal appraisal is the school's own management record and runs alongside it.

How often should BOM and support staff be appraised? At least once a year, and ideally once a term for staff on short contracts or in their first year. What matters most is that it happens regularly and that agreed goals are followed up.

Can an employee see their own appraisal? They should. It is fair practice, and under the Data Protection Act, 2019, employees have a right of access to their personal data. A school should expect to show staff what has been recorded about them.

Should appraisal ratings affect pay? That is a policy decision for the school or board, which should be written down and applied consistently. For TSC teachers, pay and promotion are governed by the TSC, not by the school's internal rating.

See it with your own staff list

An appraisal system is easiest to judge with real roles in it: a BOM teacher, a driver, a bursar, a TSC teacher whose TSC number sits on their record.

Book a demo and we will walk through staff records, contract end dates and appraisals, and show exactly who can see what.