S T R AT E GY P L A N SUMMARY 2021-24
Our students soar; they are the creative thinkers, the change-makers and the problem-solvers of the future.
At Bedford Girls’ School, we strive to deliver a future-inspired education; innovative teaching practices, technology and compassionate care combine to empower our students with the attributes and self-confidence to seize opportunities and tackle the challenges of a complex world. As we mark 10 years of BGS, I am delighted to share with you a summary of our strategic priorities for the next three years, as we continue to deliver an outstanding educational experience for every student. It is important to me that we value and celebrate every member of our community as a unique individual and that we all recognise our responsibility to the world around us. I want to encourage our students to remain continually curious to the perspectives of others. We are ambitious and will lift each other up with nurture and challenge; we want our students to soar. We aspire for BGS to be respected as a School which creates joy through learning; where every member of our community uses their intellect to remain inquisitive to endless possibilities and opportunities. I hope you will see the essence of these intentions in all that we do. Coming out of the difficulties of the last 18 months, I am extremely excited to be looking forward, with energy, enthusiasm and optimism. As we celebrate our first decade of success, we will continue to build upon our incredible foundations to reach new heights. I look forward to creating our achievements together. Best wishes
Gemma Gibson Headmistress
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We aim to instil knowledge, attributes and competencies in our students to enable them to meet their future aspirations and navigate a changing world with confidence and intelligence. To achieve this aim we will: • Equip our students with the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to build agency in their learning and success in pathways beyond BGS. •
Continue to review and develop a future focused curriculum that promotes learning, diversity, and a global outlook. Our curriculum will provide challenge, and progression through engaging and inspiring learning experiences, so that every student can achieve their very best.
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Continue to build a professional learning community which promotes practices founded in research and inquiry, enabling our students to benefit from the most advanced and context driven approaches to teaching, learning and pastoral care.
• Promote our dynamic forward looking approach to attract world class specialist staff who will be valued, professionally inspired and proud to be part of the BGS community.
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We value the unique potential of every individual within our community. We recognise the complexities of navigating a modern world throughout childhood and adolescence. We will help our students foster positive relationships and develop effective strategies to manage their own well-being within a safe and inclusive environment. To achieve this aim we will: •
Be a community which is widely respected for the value it places on inclusion and diversity; one which continually seeks to celebrate all of the benefits we gain from our individual cultures, characteristics and belief systems.
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Ensure that the well-being of our students is everyone’s responsibility. We will further invest in systems and practices to develop leading-edge programmes that equip our students with relevant and effective strategies, tools and support. We will always be guided by evidence-based research and build partnerships with learning specialists in child and adolescent care.
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Continue to train and support our staff to ensure they are experts in child and adolescent development, so that we scaffold our students’ progress as they move through each stage of their physical and emotional growth.
• Create supportive networks that allow students to develop their sense of self within a safe environment. We continue to promote a community built upon a commitment to empathy and kindness. • Work in collaboration with parents ensuring that we foster a deeper understanding of the current issues affecting children and young people.
“We commit to being a warm and welcoming environment for all. We value each and every member of our community as an individual. We celebrate our differences and acknowledge that these make us a more powerful group as a whole. We commit to constructively challenging discrimination, so everyone feels safe to be who they are; free from prejudice or bias. We always treat each other with kindness and respect. Our commitment to inclusion permeates all that we do.” DIVERSITY PLEDGE
FOUNDATI M R FLOURIS ON FI TO H
We aspire to develop one approach from Years 3 to Upper Sixth that allows our students to evolve into independent, self-regulating lifelong learners. We aim to build relationships throughout the school community to enable all our students, from our youngest to our oldest, to benefit from this shared experience of a BGS education. To achieve this aim we will: •
Promote excellent teaching practices across the school by developing the pedagogical working practices of the IB and the HPL frameworks, strengthening the links between Junior and Senior colleagues and students to ensure a consistent learning journey throughout all stages of a student’s development.
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Broaden the Junior School pastoral care provision, so that it is aligned in resource and structure to the Senior School thus creating a common pastoral approach where expertise is shared and transition points are seamless.
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Develop stronger connections and a clear pathway for students, so that they aspire to expand their horizons and broaden their experiences. Sixth Formers, hoping to enter a range of different careers will benefit from active engagement with the extensive and inspiring network of alumnae, whilst also sharing their aspirational outlooks with our younger students through mentorship and cross-school participation.
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Provide an outstanding Sixth Form experience to boost student achievement, paving the way for that final step to independence. BGS Sixth Form will be the first choice for ambitious students as it combines outstanding teaching with pastoral support and exceptional careers guidance. Students achieve excellent results, and have fun, whilst immersed in a future focused, globally-minded academic experience that truly prepares them for the wider world.
OVATIV E INN ON ME IR V N T EN
We aim to provide an innovative learning environment for our students, so they have the skills to become the change-makers of the future: we will invest in emerging digital tools so we remain at the frontier of the dynamic growth in technological knowledge acquisition; we will make improvements to the physical learning environment to facilitate collaboration and creativity; and we commit to making the school a more sustainable learning environment. To achieve this aim we will: • Always ensure technology is integral to knowledge acquisition and pedagogy to intrinsically add value across the curriculum and co-curriculum. •
Collaborate with experts in our wider community of parents, alumnae and professional partnerships to ensure we stay at the forefront of innovation in technology and make certain our students are digitally fluent as we continue to inspire more women into the tech sector and help redress the current gender imbalance.
• Create greater access to contemporary, collaborative learning spaces for students to engage in their learning in a way that is reflective of modern styles of working • Embed our Sustainability Pledge by ensuring we keep environmental issues at the forefront in our planning and decision making.
“We understand our collective and individual responsibility to cherish and respect our planet. We will endeavour to educate our wider community to share our passion and commitment as we take an active role in protecting the world’s natural resources. We pledge to be part of the movement towards positive change for a more sustainable and equitable future.” SUSTAINABILITY PLEDGE
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We are a community where we consciously connect and engage to make a difference to the world around us. To achieve this aim we will: • Provide an outstanding Experiential Learning Experience to strengthen every student’s key learner attributes; with specific emphasis on risk-taking, resilience and a global mindset. •
Embed an approach to co-curricular programmes across the school from Years 3 to Upper Sixth, which mirrors our Foundation to Flourish strategic focus, so students understand the development of their skills at each stage.
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Relaunch our Service Programmes with the development of local and global elements which ensures every member of the community demonstrates agency and on-going involvement. We aim to create an empathic community who have the skills, knowledge and desire to make a difference to the world around them.
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Continue to build a modern dynamic network of Women supporting Women; where current, future and former students, parents and staff lift each other up to achieve their aspirations and celebrate their individuality.
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Celebrate a Decade of Success. In 2021-22 we are 10 years old. We will celebrate the contribution every member of our community, past and present, has made to bring us to this point; we will remember our achievements and reflect on the challenges we have overcome. Post-COVID we will come back together stronger, offering friendship and support for one another.
Cardington Road, Bedford, MK42 0BX Telephone: 01234 361900 information@bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk www.bedfordgirlsschool.co.uk Carbon balanced print is produced by a carbon balanced printer on carbon balanced paper.