Creating an Effective School Vision

If you are looking to create an effective school vision that everyone can get on board with, it is first important to identify the ambitions of the wider school community, and how this can effectively be conveyed in the school’s vision for the future. By making sure that your school vision statement is up-to-date, you can make school improvement planning even easier, and what’s more, it’s more meaningful, too.

With this in mind, it is key that we recognise that collaboration is central to the process of creating short and long-term goals, that are achievable and easily measured.

How can collaboration contribute to an effective school vision?

Although the governing board is going to play a key role in developing the vision as a whole, it is important that we understand everyone is responsible for implementing the vision into actionable processes. So, what can I do to make sure everyone is on the same page?

There are a range of things you should and could be doing to make sure your school vision statement reflects the wider ambitions of the school and it’s community. Give everyone an opportunity to bond over the ideas in place, as this will highlight further ambitions, and you can effectively view your vision statement from a broad range of perspectives and gather information necessary to create an inclusive vision that considers the viewpoint of every level of leadership and beyond. This will make it all the more realistic, too.

Further areas to consider when putting together your school vision. 

Despite teaching and learning being central to a school’s direction, it is important to consider the impact that a school vision statement has beyond the staff themselves.

Pupils

It’s important to remember that pupil opinion is also valid when it comes to creating your school vision and undertaking prior research before writing your statement. The statement itself should highlight your aims when it comes to a child’s journey through school and how this will impact their transition into further education. Make sure to encourage your children to communicate what their current experiences are like, and how they think the journey could be further improved. 

Parents

The wider community we need to consider involves the parents and families of the pupils within our care. So, we need to consider how our school vision incorporates their views and their opinions going forward. Why not create a coffee morning for parents where the focus is to discuss their ideas and experiences when it comes to their child’s journey? This could be a perfect opportunity to gather further perspectives before writing up your school vision statement for the future.

Further areas to consider

There is a broad range of people affected when it comes to implementing a school vision, and it is important to consider the wider knowledge and experiences of those involved. Here are a few areas that schools should consider:

• Understand purpose and potential outcomes

• Undertake an evaluation of the current school vision in place.

• Consider current policies and procedures (how can they be further improved?)

• Communicating the whole school vision, accordingly.

• Putting together the vision statement

So, you have undertaken a diverse research approach to inform your future implementation of a new school vision. Now it’s time to put it into words ahead of putting it into practice.

For an efficient and effective way of doing this, draft together a writing group consisting of three or four creative members of staff and governors. You should choose these based on their various roles and experiences. Stay out of the group initially, as this will then fairly reflect the wider viewpoints you have based your school vision upon. 

For further guidance, take a look at this blog. Packed full of ideas and resources to get the most out of writing your school vision. 

The author

Daniel Robertson

Daniel Robertson is a Digital Journey Lead for Spurgeons Children's Charity. Prior to this role, he has worked as a Teacher of English in a wide variety of school settings.