The process of setting Vision Priorities began in 2011, when the Governing Board asked children, parents, staff, governors and other stakeholders for their views.  At our first Vision Day that was attended by all staff, governors and parent representatives, ten long term Vision Priorities for the school were agreed.  These were:

Teaching and learning	To maximize every child’s learning by ensuring that each child is challenged and receives the support and inspiration they need to achieve.
The whole child	To provide a learning journey that empowers all children to be happy, well rounded, confident achievers.
Valuing staff	To have a staff team working to their full potential as inspired educators, filled with a passion for teaching.
Christian teaching and worship	A whole school demonstrating and proclaiming the joy of Christian faith on a visual, spiritual and educational level, with a focus on pupil participation
A warm and inclusive Christian school community	A whole school community that lives by our Christian values of compassion, love and respect; who actively care for and respect one another, embracing differences and celebrating successes.
Music	To be renowned locally and nationally as excellent in music practice and education.
Sport	For all children to be able to take part in and enjoy a wide range of sporting activities, both within and outside of the curriculum.
Learning environment	An environment conducive to learning that we can all be proud of
Foreign languages	Good consistent foreign language teaching and learning across the school
Wider community links and Y6 transfer	The school will be at the heart of the local community with links to the national and global communities, enriching the experience of our children

 It was agreed that the Vision Priorities would be reviewed and refreshed every two years. 

Vision Priorities 2013 - 2015

In 2013, a second Vision Day was held and stakeholders were once again asked for their input.  The ten priorities were reviewed and focus areas for the next two years agreed.    These priority areas formed the basis of the Queen’s School Vision Plan, with clear targets being set and then monitored by the Governing Board over the next two years. 

Progress against Vision Priorities 2013-2015 - An Update from Bonney Venning, then Chair of Governors

The last "Vision Cycle" was completed in Summer 2015 and outcomes reported back to parents in the Governor Newsletter: 

Learning, teaching and the new curriculum

The school has continued to focus on the quality of teaching and learning.  We are delighted to announce that our teaching is now considered “Outstanding”.  This is our carefully-analysed judgement, in collaboration with our local authority partners and processes.     This is a huge achievement and testament to the efforts of all the teaching staff.  Key to achieving this has been a focus on clarity of expectation, effective systems and frameworks to support learning and teaching, a commitment to sharing best practice and prioritising continued professional development.  The most important ingredient though is the hard work of the staff team and their unwavering commitment to the development and success of all the children at The Queen’s School.

Last summer I reported on the school’s efforts to ensure that all children make ‘good progress’.  This means looking carefully at groups of children (girls, boys, summer born, winter born, those with special educational needs, the most able children…) to ensure that each child is receiving appropriate challenges and support and none slip through the net unnoticed.    Not long after writing to you I received letters from the Local Authority, congratulating the school on the excellent progress our children had made (based on end of Key Stage 1 to end of Key Stage 2 results).  The school has only recently received this year’s SATs results and is starting to look at them in detail, but early indications are that children at The Queen’s school have once again made excellent progress.  Congratulations to the children and staff on these achievements.  Detailed results will be published early in the next academic year.

The new curriculum, which came into effect in September, has been rolled out and staff are now looking at how this can be developed to further enhance the children’s learning and ensure that they are well prepared for the next stage in their education. Skills progression has been a key focus and this will continue to be a priority.

Sport

The school’s target of increasing participation in competitive sport by 25% was achieved in the first year of the vision cycle.  Since then sport at Queen’s has gone from strength to strength and this has resulted in some very impressive performances in borough competitions – and some new silverware to add to the trophy cabinet. More recently the focus has been on how to assess and track children’s attainment in PE against a defined set of skills so that each child is challenged at an appropriate level.  A new system for this will be implemented at the start of the next academic year.  Overall the school’s efforts in PE and sports will be maintained in line with the school policy, which sets a clear direction and principles.

Valuing Staff

I have previously reported on the introduction of a new pay and performance management framework, with targets closely aligned to our Vision Priorities.  I also told you about a new structure for teaching assistants (TAs) which ensures that their skills and experience are recognised as they work more closely with teachers to support and challenge the children.  This year there has been a focus on restructuring the admin team so the vital support they provide can be delivered more efficiently.  The new structure will become effective in September and you will hear about appointments in due course when they are finalised.  We are very grateful to all our staff for their hard work and commitment to ensuring that the best interests of the children are at the centre of all we do.

Vision Priorities 2015 – 2017

In the spring of 2015 we again consulted parents, staff, children and governors to help us determine our priorities for the next two years. Reviewing the feedback, governors were delighted to note that it reflected the efforts and progress made over the last two years.  Staff, governors and parent representatives met on the spring Inset Day to agree a way forward based on the feedback received.  Here's what was set as new priorities:

Learning and Teaching:  This continues to be a priority but in the next two years focus will shift to effective assessment and subject leadership, as well as a review of foreign language teaching.

Child Centred Learning:  As part of the work on implementing the new curriculum, the school developed a set of ‘learning certainties’ (for example resilience, determination, risk taking…) to ensure that children are positive, motivated and successful in their learning.  Over the next two years the school will ensure that children, staff and governors and parents are familiar with these ‘learning certainties’ and routinely use them to underpin learning.

New Build:  The building project will bring challenges and opportunities. We are committed to making the most of this wonderful opportunity by carefully planning how the new building and grounds will be used to optimise learning and will ensure that the internal and external learning environment reflects the values and ethos of the school. In the interim period, careful and creative planning to maximise access to outdoor learning, play and PE during the building works will be prioritised.

Transition Planning and Secondary Transfer:  The school will be proactive in ensuring that children are prepared for and positive about the next stage in their education.  Transitions between Key Stages, from Early years (EYFS) through to Key Stage 3 (Secondary School), will be considered and action plans created to ensure children are well prepared academically, emotionally and spiritually for the next stage in their education.  We will also take action to influence external parties with respect to secondary school catchment, admissions and provision.