Strategic Vision 2024-29 - The Kings School Canterbury by OKS Association

ILLUMINATING THE PATH

Our Strategic Vision 2024-29

Illuminating the path: our strategic vision

This document sets out our ambition for The King’s School Canterbury in the next five years. Drawing together input and inspiration from our history and heritage, it reflects the changing context in which the School is operating and the future for which we are preparing our pupils.

We have engaged in a thorough examination of the strengths of King’s and the areas we wish to develop, and our plans are ambitious and wide-ranging. They are focused on the experience of our pupils and the scope of our educational provision, and they consider how we will achieve our objectives.

The vision spans our three schools: the Senior School, Junior King’s and the International College and seeks to draw these together more closely. While each site retains its unique character, we are united by a common ethos and shared spirit. Each school will work within the same overarching framework, but will focus on particular projects appropriate for their context and setting.

As we look to the future we want to equip our pupils with the tools, skills and attributes that

they will need to achieve and to thrive. Our pupils will need inquisitive minds, familiarity and facility with technology, to be confident and articulate communicators and to be life-long learners; as comfortable working independently as they are collaborating with others.

More than this, we want them to be ready to make a positive mark on the world. A King’s education instils strong values, a global outlook and an empathetic and openminded approach. It seeks to develop the whole person, through a parallel focus on academic excellence and aspiration, alongside co-curricular enrichment and inspiration. Our vision is rooted in this commitment to a holistic education which is both academically ambitious and broad in scope.

Our plans also draw on our heritage as the original school and the original educational pioneers. True to the vision of our founders and the earliest King’s Scholars, we are fired by a spirit of possibility and curiosity. We are inspired by this longstanding legacy of learning and innovation and we aim for King’s to sit at the vanguard of education.

Beyond compare: our distinctive ethos

The original and oldest school, defined by its iconic location and foundation with Canterbury Cathedral, The King’ School has a unique history and heritage. Today’s pupils are inspired by the awe-inspiring beauty of their surroundings and the exhilarating experiences on offer within and beyond the classroom. They feel they are playing their part in longstanding traditions and know they have the support and guidance to fulfil their own destiny.

Our connection to the Cathedral is a tangible reminder of the powerful spiritual core of our school. Linked to the world beyond by our city location and global outlook, our community has a special character: engaged, ambitious, warm-hearted and open-minded.

King’s is diverse in the truest sense of the word. Co-education has been firmly established over several decades, and our pupils are drawn from across the UK and around the world. The School offers a broad, innovative and challenging curriculum and co-curriculum. Our boarding and house model enables pupils, both day and boarding, to feel a profound sense of belonging and to access a complete education.

There is no one ‘type’ of King’s pupil. What they do all have in common is their eagerness to engage energetically with what the School and life have to offer, their sense of curiosity and aspiration and their desire to contribute positively to our community.

We are enormously ambitious for our pupils. We are committed to the development of every individual in the School, and with us they are empowered to find their own version of success and fulfilment.

• Our pastoral provision supports each pupil to feel that they truly belong.

• Our inspiring curriculum challenges them to engage: with ideas, with activities and with opportunities.

• Our pupils are offered opportunities to connect with the world beyond King’s.

• Our education provides every pupil with all they will need to thrive, both at King’s and throughout their life.

Our aims: Belong, Engage, Connect and Thrive

We intend for every individual King’s pupil to:

BELONG

We will nurture our diverse and inclusive community and support and champion every individual within it. We will help each pupil to develop their self-knowledge, self-confidence and resilience in a school culture which is characterised by care, encouragement and optimism.

ENGAGE

We will expand the horizons and deepen the ambition of our pupils, offering an education which is intellectually exhilarating, exciting and fun. We will inspire our pupils to cultivate genuine interests within and beyond the classroom, challenging every individual to be the best they can be and to achieve their own version of excellence, success and fulfilment.

CONNECT

We know how important it is that our pupils grow through engaging with diverse perspectives and experiences. We will seek to deepen pupils’ social awareness and respect for difference through further opportunities for service and outreach. We will cultivate a global mindset through international partnership and will build closer connections with our wider community.

THRIVE

We will focus on preparing our pupils for life beyond King’s in the broadest sense; equipping them with the skills required for a technologically driven future, developing their capacity for leadership and expression and readying them to make a positive mark on the world.

Belong

Nurtured by our joint foundation with the Cathedral and the strong spiritual core this provides, King’s is a diverse community where relationships are warm and authentic, and where every individual is known, valued, included and able to flourish as part of the whole.

Belong

We will nurture our diverse and inclusive community and support and champion every individual within it.

We will help each pupil to develop their self-knowledge, self-confidence and resilience in a school culture which is characterised by care, encouragement and optimism.

PRIORITIES:

1 Placing central importance on the value of proactive and supportive pastoral care, developing our teachers and tutors as mentors and coaches

2 Empowering pupils to use their voice to shape the nature of the School and our community

3 Championing diversity, equity and inclusivity, nurturing a global outlook and helping pupils to engage with a range of perspectives

4 Ensuring our facilities and spaces and our day/boarding model allow us to maintain a first class, modern, boarding ethos, alongside a fully integrated day experience

5 Providing space and time for pupils to develop spiritually and morally and also providing time and space for play, fun and enjoyment

SOME OF THE PROJECTS WHICH WILL HELP US TO ACHIEVE THIS INCLUDE:

• A renewed focus on the programme of personal tutoring, providing more training for tutors based on coaching methodologies

• The launch of new opportunities for pupil voice including the King’s Council and pupil advocacy groups designed to further enrich inclusion

• Expanding our pupil mentoring programmes, connecting pupils across our family of schools in Canterbury

• Launching mentoring programmes for bursary pupils and working to identify those who stand to benefit from our bursary provision through partnership with the Royal Springboard Foundation

• Expanding our provision for weekly and flexi-boarding, expanding our programme of weekend events for boarders and improving our network of buses to ease pupil journeys

• Seeking accreditation for our pupil mental health and wellbeing support programmes

Engage

With inspiring academic and co-curricular programmes that allow for exceptional breadth and depth, King’s pupils throw themselves into school life with energy and enthusiasm, empowered to aim for the highest standards and challenged to find their own versions of success and fulfilment.

Engage

PRIORITIES:

1 Focusing on academic excellence and intellectual fulfilment

2 Providing expanded opportunities for independent and inter-disciplinary learning and academic enrichment

3 Connecting education in the Junior School and the Senior School more closely, enabling a seamless transition and innovative offer in our younger years

4 Curating our co-curricular offer so that all pupils are supported to engage with the programme in breadth and depth

5 Cementing our position as a national leader in music and the creative arts through ambitious programmes and partnerships and developing further our provision in sport, encouraging greater participation and the highest performance at every level

SOME OF THE PROJECTS WHICH WILL HELP US TO ACHIEVE THIS INCLUDE:

• A renewed focus on academic excellence and outcomes, through academically rigorous teaching and support for pupils to develop effective study skills and habits for learning, and increased opportunities for stretch and challenge in each subject

• The development of new academic enrichment programmes, including expanding our programme of visiting speakers and academic events

• A review of the school curriculum, including the development of further opportunities for inter-disciplinary links, innovative and future focused education, critical thinking and closer connection between the Junior and Senior School, through a new programme for pupils in KS3, free from the narrow constraints of external assessment

• A review of the structure and timetable of the school week to ensure that it is appropriately balanced, including a review of the Saturday programme in the Junior School

• The curation of our co-curricular programme, enabling pupils to engage across the key areas of creativity, leadership, service and activity

• The forging of co-curricular partnerships with expert and high-profile providers such as universities, arts institutions and sports academies to provide new exciting, inspiring opportunities for our pupils

Enriched through partnerships and connected to the medieval city of Canterbury and the world beyond, our pupils develop a strong sense of social responsibility and global awareness, broadening their horizons and empowering them to understand the positive difference they can make.

Connect

PRIORITIES:

1 Developing further opportunities for our pupils to engage with inspiring and impactful partnership, community, charitable and outreach work

2 Extending our international partnerships, and preparing pupils to join a global community, with a global outlook and intercultural understanding

3 Providing opportunities for everyone within our community to stay connected and feel part of the King’s family

4 Forming closer relationships with our feeder prep, primary and pre-prep schools

SOME OF THE PROJECTS WHICH WILL HELP US TO ACHIEVE THIS INCLUDE:

• Providing more opportunities for pupils to engage in service and volunteering, partnering with local schools and charities and other community projects

• Playing a leading role as part of the East Kent Schools Together group and forging new links with local schools

• Establishing closer links with our international schools, launching new events such as symposiums and exchanges, allowing for an increasingly global outlook fostered through collaboration

• The launch of the ‘King’s Association’, enabling parents, OKS, staff, former parents and pupils to connect with one another and the School

• Preparing for the anniversary of the OKS through the development of the OKS ‘reinvigoration’ strategy, growing our calendar of King’s Association and OKS events, and inviting our network to engage with more events and activities in school

• Collaborating more closely with a range of primary and prep schools through visits and taster activities

• Launching King’s Summer Programmes –exciting academic courses run during the summer holidays by King’s staff, involving current King’s pupils, with the aim of providing a taste of King’s for pupils based around the world

Thrive

A King’s education is a foundation for a life well lived. Pupils emerge as articulate and confident communicators, with the self-awareness and skills needed to forge their own futures as leaders and changemakers.

Thrive

PRIORITIES:

1 Developing further our capability and specialism in offering university and higher education advice

2 Deepening our links with our OKS and parent network, connecting our pupils to a range of sectors and careers

3 Equipping pupils with the skills they need for their future: leadership, adaptability, resilience, creativity, flexibility – and the ability to express themselves with confidence and clarity.

4 Establishing a digital strategy which is agile and responsive to new technologies

5 Readying pupils to leave King’s as changemakers and leaders to make a positive mark upon the world

SOME OF THE PROJECTS WHICH WILL HELP US TO ACHIEVE THIS INCLUDE:

• Providing enhanced and broadened careers and HE guidance and coaching for pupils at all ages and stages in the school through our new ‘Futures’ department

• Establishing an early career mentoring network, drawing upon the extensive pool of talent and knowledge amongst our OKS

• Introducing 1:1 devices to aid learning and a digital skills framework mapped across our curriculum

• Building familiarity with the opportunities of AI and emerging technology

• Expanding real-world opportunities for pupils through work placements, entrepreneurial projects, travel and other experiential learning opportunities

• Providing more opportunities for pupils to develop as orators and to engage in civil discourse at every level in the School

• Developing our ‘Life Matters’ and PSHE provision in consultation with pupils and parents and drawing on specialist advice to provide more explicit focus on the skills and knowledge needed for life beyond King’s

• Launching a ‘digital skills’ curriculum for Junior School pupils

• Engaging our pupils with meaningful environmental and sustainability projects and education

Our enablers: People and Resources

The success of our pupils will be underpinned by two enablers:

PEOPLE

We recognise the crucial role played by our staff, regardless of their role and level. We want to attract the best possible people to work with us, and to help and encourage our staff to develop their skills and craft with us. We wish to draw upon the talent and ideas of our entire staff body in seeking to create a culture where all are valued, and all are invested in the ongoing development of the School.

RESOURCES

We understand the challenging context in which we operate. It is vital to continue to secure the strong foundations on which our school rests; developing revenue streams beyond fee income, operating efficiently and sustainably and enhancing our ability to offer transformational bursaries for talented pupils. We will ensure that our site and estate continues to meet the evolving needs of our pupils.

King’s is an inclusive and welcoming community, where our staff are supported and developed, and where everyone is valued and empowered to contribute fully to the School’s ongoing development.

People

PRIORITIES:

1 Attracting, appointing and retaining talented staff

2 Supporting the recruitment and development of effective leadership at all levels

3 Developing our people to reach their full potential

4 Supporting the wellbeing of staff and providing meaningful benefits

5 Developing mechanisms for employee voice and participation in decision making

6 Developing our reputation as a centre of excellence in teaching and learning

SOME OF THE PROJECTS WHICH WILL HELP US TO ACHIEVE THIS INCLUDE:

• The establishment of in-house ‘CPD from within’ programme including workshops led by staff and engaging external speakers

• A focus on supporting staff wellbeing through family-friendly policies, attractive benefits and support for line managers

• Establishing a teaching and learning network across our schools, which engages with educational research projects and shares the learnings with staff and beyond King’s via conferences and journals

• Forging new pathways for teachers new to the profession to be trained with the School and for all staff to gain training and support to develop their careers as future leaders and managers

• Engaging staff with the development of the School and encouraging them to be involved and to take the lead on projects which interest them

• Continuing to draw close connections between staff in different roles and different parts of the school community

Resources

With its unique history and heritage, the strong foundations on which King’s rests are managed with precision and forethought, as we endeavour to operate sustainably, efficiently and with commerciality to ensure our site and estate continues to meet the evolving needs of our pupils.

Resources

PRIORITIES:

1 Operating more sustainably, reducing waste and shrinking our carbon footprint

2 Developing our facilities so that they meet the needs of the school’s strategic aims and of our pupils

3 Growing our endowment fund to provide more bursaries for talented pupils through the Charter Awards

4 Developing further revenue streams and controlling costs in order to secure the long-term financial health of the school

5 Adapting our boarding and day model as required to meet the needs of pupils and parents

SOME OF THE PROJECTS WHICH WILL HELP US TO ACHIEVE THIS INCLUDE:

• The completion of a sustainability masterplan with the aim of reducing waste, shrinking our carbon footprint and operating with greater energy efficiency

• Ensuring that actions relating to sustainability are central to policy and practice

• Investment in further high-quality facilities to accommodate Senior School day pupils, matching rising demand

• Developing improved resources for our 400 strong sixth form, beginning with a new ‘futures hub’ at the heart of the School

• Ongoing fundraising to support the growth of our endowment fund to provide more Charter Award bursaries through a Giving Day, telephone campaign and launch of a regular giving programme

• The further development of our network of King’s International schools and our summer school network to grow this important revenue stream and to create further opportunities for international collaboration and partnership

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