Raising THE BAR
Excelence Raising THE BAR
From the HEADMASTER...
Dear Parents,
HOW DO WE TURN A THREAT INTO AN OPPORTUNITY?
I am pleased to be able to send you this document, which accompanies the letter from the Chair of Governors. The addition of VAT onto independent school fees is the greatest threat to the sector in more than 50 years. For a school like King’s, which is a standalone charity with an incredible history and a unique Cathedral Foundation, the positive way in which we respond to this challenge is particularly important.
In parallel with our strategy to mitigate the impact of VAT on school fees, we have also been working hard to continue improving the school for the future. This short document has two aims:
• To summarise the key improvements that will take place in the next two years.
• To re-assure current and prospective parents that VAT-related efficiencies will not be to the detriment of a King’s education.
Our school is in a much stronger position than most comparable schools. Despite the challenges we will face, I want to reassure you that we will aim to ‘raise the bar’ once again, and further strengthen the education that we deliver.
Yours sincerely,
David Morton Headmaster
HOW DO YOU improve A HIGH-PERFORMING HMC SCHOOL?
1. Review feedback from the Parent Surveys in 2022 and 2023: this showed us the priorities identified by our parents and pupils.
2. Evaluate the structure and ethos of the school to see whether changes were needed.
3. Scrutinise every line of our accounts to see where efficiencies could be made.
4. Analyse how we could turn the threat into an opportunity to make the school even stronger .
5. Communicate clearly with parents and staff to launch King’s successfully into a bright future.
WHAT DID OUR PARENTS ASK US TO FOCUS ON?
Parents receive a summary of each Parent Survey. The extracts below show the key priorities from these surveys which were rated as ‘very important’ or ‘critically important’:
Senior School parents’ priorities (2023):
• Pupil well-being and mental health
• Fulfilling pupils' potential in academic results
• Pupils’ literacy through reading
Junior School parents’ priorities (2022):
• Maintaining small class sizes
• Delivering feedback on your child’s progress
• Providing a range of co-curricular clubs and activities
HOW WILL KING’S develop I N THE NEXT TWO YEARS?
The size and ethos of the school will remain the same: after all, it is the reason that our current parents chose the school. Our ethos and aims were outlined in the 2023- 2028 Strategic Development Plan, which is on the school website.
We are a medium-sized, Cathedral school with distinctively small class sizes, a reputation for excellent academic attainment, outstanding pastoral care and a vast array of co-curricular opportunities. In a region which is packed with grammar schools, boarding schools and comprehensives, we believe that King’s stands
out as being big enough to thrive but small enough to care about each individual pupil. The school has made several improvements in recent years, which have led to better facilities and continued holistic educational success.
However, every school must evolve and adapt. In the pages that follow, we outline the main developments that lie ahead in the next two years. Indeed, many of these developments will be taking place this summer so that while other schools are worrying about the election later this year, we will already be delivering a better, brighter education at King’s.
Little King’s
The ethos will shift from being one of accepting all children in a nursery-style format to a focus on preparing our youngest pupils for an exciting education in the years ahead. Places will be limited to 14 pupils in pre-school and to 18 pupils in Reception. The facilities will be freshened up and education will be led by specialist staff; both to teach and to offer broader opportunities too.
Senior School
There will be a maximum of five Forms in each year group. Two new roles have been created in order to strengthen our focus on pupil well-being and development: Heads of Section will lead a Middle School (First and Second Form) and an Upper School (Third to Fifth Form) to support Heads of Years and to ensure that no pupil is overlooked or lacks academic challenge. There will be an increased focus on high-quality teaching and learning so that every member of staff can inspire their classes and help pupils to achieve the best results possible. As an example, the school will build on its existing strength in Computer Science by applying to become a Cyber Hub which will place us at the forefront of technology teaching in the region. We will partner with ‘Elevate Education’ to provide further study skills, webinars and talks on the best ways for children to learn, whilst our partnership with ‘The Wellbeing Hub’ will support pastoral care at home and at school.
Junior School
Despite the increased demand for places, the size and ethos of the school will be retained with small class sizes and no more than two Forms per year group. The curriculum has been reviewed and will deliver a broad, balanced education with a focus on reading, English and Maths. A rolling programme of classroom improvement will update the learning environment, alongside the new whole school facilities such as a Creative Design Suite which Junior School pupils will use.
Investment IN WELL-BEING
This was a key priority from the two Parents’ Surveys. Our partnership with The Wellbeing Hub will offer a superb resource for pupils, parents and staff. We will launch this to parents at the start of the new academic year and send regular updates to signpost families to the help which is available. In addition, our Heads of Sections in the Senior School will ensure that pupil wellbeing is a priority by working closely with pupils and their families to deliver the support which may be required.
In the Junior School, the focus will be on implementing a well-being programme using the Positive Psychology approach that focuses on the development of individual strengths. It focuses on how the positive events in a person’s life form their identity (Peterson, 2008). It will be incorporated into the PSHE, RS and critical thinking curricula. This will underpin the Junior School ethos of being King’s SMART.
Investment IN FACILITIES AND RESOURCES
Over the next two years, £1 million will be carefully allocated to improving our school.
The kitchens will be completely upgraded with improved catering equipment which will allow better quality food to be prepared each day. The School Hall will also be freshened up to create a nicer dining environment.
A new Creative Design Suite will be built to match our existing suite in the Art department. This will consist of 20 state-of-the-art PCs with high-performance processors, interactive whiteboards and a host of exciting features. The suite will enable us to deliver a forward-thinking education to more pupils, including the Junior School, which includes opportunities to develop creative and team skills in fields such as design, programming, AI, photography and web design.
The first phase of the re-development of the ground floor of Palace took place last summer, which created three new classrooms and a wider, brighter corridor Phase two will see the addition of three more classrooms for the
Maths department and a total refurbishment of the staff and pupil toilets.
Palace Gardens will be improved to offer better all-weather recreation space, including tarmacked paths, more table tennis tables, covered areas and better use of the raised beds to grow plants. The Memorial Garden will be opened which will offer a quiet space for pupils to relax away from the busier areas of the gardens.
The Coach House roof will be strengthened and internally the building will offer enhanced facilities for our Sixth Form pupils.
Investment IN STAFF
We will ensure that we invest in our staff so that we can recruit and retain the very best teachers in the area. This will be particularly relevant in light of the teacher recruitment crisis which exists nationally. Alongside this financial investment, we will also continue to offer professional development opportunities for our staff and encourage them to be ambitious and dynamic – whether they are teachers or members of the operational support staff. Ultimately, schools are about people: we have some amazing staff at King’s, and we want to retain this as a strength of the school despite the external challenges.
“We will aim to ‘raise the bar’ once again, and further strengthen the education that we deliver”
