CGGS Strategic Design 2020-2025

2020 – 2025

Strategic Design

www.cggs.act.edu.au

We want to feel, not that you are for us, but that you are with us.

CGGS student

2020 – 2025 Strategic Design May 2020 Published by Canberra Girls Grammar School Melbourne Avenue Deakin ACT 2600 Australia Telephone: 02 6202 6400 Facsimile: 02 6273 2554 cggs.act.edu.au

Email: communityrelations@cggs.act.edu.au

2020 – 2025 STRATEGIC DESIGN

LETTER FROM

Chair and Principal As we look optimistically to the future, we see our centenary year on the horizon — a moment in our history that allows us to look back proudly, and look forward with confidence, into a future of our making.

With this in mind, we have engaged with the school community on the design of our six-year journey ahead. We have identified five strategic principles, which will act as a guiding light in the shaping of our planning and development.

Each of these principles has a set of strategic priorities that will allow us to focus on the things that matter most.

Ensuring a culture of sustainability is an important priority for us and this will ensure that resources are optimised for the benefit of students, staff and our broader community today, while also strengthening the foundations for a confident future.

Canberra Girls Grammar School will continue to enjoy and grow the support of a purposefully engaged community that shares a belief in the importance of educating children and young women, and values the finest traditions and aspirations in education.

During the life of this Strategic Design 2020-2025, the School’s direction will be characterised by the provision of an exemplary education and reputation as one of Australia’s leading schools for children and young women.

We have designed a path towards a world that champions the advancement of women.

A world where our values and principles guide us in everything we do. A world of inquiry-based learning, equity and inclusiveness — where students become active contributors, supporters and creators of the world around them. We believe in new ways of thinking to solve complex problems.

Within a culture of deep learning — that stretches the boundaries of quality teaching, learning and thinking — we will continue to strengthen our vibrant learning environment to foster exceptional outcomes.

As a school where teachers model intellectual passion, professional engagement, pedagogical expertise and curiosity, we maintain high expectations for our students, encourage adventure in learning and care for the development of the whole student.

A world where the young never stop believing that anything is possible.

Outstanding academic results and student destinations reflect how Canberra Girls Grammar prepares our students for the finest tertiary institutions in the world and a great variety of career paths.

Sue Hart Board Chair Anna Owen Principal

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Canberra Girls Grammar School

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2020 – 2025 STRATEGIC DESIGN

Our Mission In partnership with our families, we aim to provide an exceptional, holistic education to children and young women. We strive to equip them with the academic learning, emotional intelligence and creative skills to become resilient, compassionate, critical thinking leaders, ready to fulfil their potential as global citizens.

Honouring our strong tradition and heritage, Canberra Girls Grammar is committed to being an exemplary school in the Anglican faith.

Our Vision To develop children and young women who will become independent, reflective, lifelong learners and confident contributors in a complex and changing world.

To be a school where the young believe anything is possible.

Our Values The Canberra Girls Grammar School community is bound by three core values that honour our Anglican tradition and speak to the challenges of today’s world:

Inclusion We embrace diversity in humanity; we treat others with compassion and kindness; we support our community and aim to ensure equal opportunity.

Courage Honouring the spirit of our founders, women of grit, intellect and determination, we challenge the status quo; stand by what we believe in and do what is right.

We persevere through adversity and embrace change.

Integrity We act with honesty and integrity; we are known for our loyalty and ethical behaviour.

We aim to follow our strong moral compass.

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Canberra Girls Grammar School

Our Strategic Planning Phases This Strategic Design has two planning phases over the next six years, culminating in our centenary year, 2026.

Each phase has a concise and clear goal.

Phase 1: 2020 – 2021

Phase 2: 2022 – 2025

Establish foundations by investing in and focusing on our core business.

Take our foundations into a growth phase of year-on-year progression in areas of strategic priority.

Our Strategic Principles 1 A Learning Community

2 A Focus on Values, Ethics and Wellbeing

3 Connecting with the World

4 Communicating our Heritage and Culture of Celebration

5 Sustainability and Responsibility

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2020 – 2025 STRATEGIC DESIGN

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A Learning Community

Our community continually searches for new ways of learning, challenging ourselves to understand the world around us, be aware of new situations that currently are beyond our imagination and create the future we wish to see.

To achieve this, we must encourage noticing, measuring, questioning, listening, and acting in a timely and responsible manner in all our teaching and learning.

Strategic Priorities

1. We will maintain high academic rigour and expectations and uphold an approach focused on the individual learner.

2. We will align our curriculum with contemporary, innovative practice and continually design, refine and measure our performance.

3. We will invest in our teaching and learning community to ensure that staff have the agency to develop an empathetic, creative and responsive approach to their work.

4. We will ensure a seamless journey of instruction from ELC to Year 12 — a journey that personifies our values, culture and purpose for students, families and others who travel through it.

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Canberra Girls Grammar School

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A Focus on Values, Ethics and Wellness We understand that when the individual’s wellbeing is looked after, the whole community benefits — when the community is impacted positively, the school is in turn impacted positively.

Strategic Priorities

1. Our approach to support the wellbeing of the students in our care will be grounded in the best research.

2. We will maintain a focused approach to the safety and wellbeing of staff, by creating a challenging environment of committed and highly professional educators and staff, who share a common set of values.

3. We create open and rigorous opportunities where young people and staff alike feel safe to express themselves and their ideas; where mistakes are acknowledged and owned, disappointment promotes learning and promises are followed by actions.

4. We will uphold our values and our position in the world as a proud Anglican school.

5. Students will understand that service is a wellness goal, and our community will model a sense of duty and responsibility to the common good.

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2020 – 2025 STRATEGIC DESIGN

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Connecting with the World Our School is distinguished by its long-standing position as the leading girls’ school in the national capital. It is celebrated for its strong global connections, its growing reach across cultures, and its ability to provide rich, challenging and enjoyable experiences for the young people in our care.

We are a school that offers diverse opportunities in the pursuit of excellence — a nd we must continually ensure our students remain sensitive, responsive and connected to the world they live in.

Strategic Priorities

1. We will establish and continually improve safe pathways and opportunities for students to meaningfully connect with the world, while strengthening their character and capacity for self-management.

2. Foster the social conscience of our students so they are aware how engaging in the world and doing what is right has a palpable impact on those around them.

3. We will extend our co-curricular programs in Music, Performing Arts, Sport, and Clubs and Activities to encourage our students to embrace new opportunities beyond their academic learning.

4. We will reimagine our Boarding House offerings and establish meaningful alliances that connect our School to the regional, rural and remote communities of Australia, and more broadly, the globe.

5. We will encourage students to test their depth of knowledge and skill against external benchmarks, teams and other students, striving for their personal best and wearing the uniform with pride.

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Canberra Girls Grammar School

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Communicating our Heritage and Culture of Celebration Our stories reflect our past, link us to our values, and provide a foundation to create and step into our future. This is an environment that facilitates connections between all members of the community — across year groups, between alumni and students, teachers, parents and friends.

Every interaction with one another reinforces our culture every day.

Our values and principles guide the way we work — t he rituals, symbols and the traditions we uphold, build a cultural fabric that is stronger than any single individual and true to our founding purpose.

Strategic Priorities

1. We will proudly carry on our century-old tradition of upholding the advancement of women.

2. We will trace, celebrate and preserve stories throughout the CGGS community — from Grammarians and the broader community, to our current students and educators to continue to build our proud history.

3. We will encourage and celebrate contributions to and gifts for our School in all forms — professional, vocational, academic, sporting, service, cultural and financial — understanding that giving comes in many forms.

4. We will enhance our engagement with our internal and external communities, through strategic, targeted communication and activities to enhance strong and purposeful connections locally and globally.

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2020 – 2025 STRATEGIC DESIGN

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Sustainability & Responsibility As we approach our centenary year, we must look back at what has worked, and look forward asking ourselves, ‘how will we remain sustainable and relevant for the next 100 years?’

We will optimise our resources to ensure we thrive well beyond our centenary year, in a world where education institutions require an adaptable approach.

Strategic Priorities

1. We will make informed, data-driven decisions, future-proof our financial processes and maintain physical and gathering spaces that support and align with our core business.

2. We will develop frameworks for the environmentally responsible use of all resources.

3. We will commit to recruitment frameworks that attract and retain high-calibre people to join us in supporting a culture of excellence in teaching and learning.

4. We will ensure our information systems and technology are efficient and integrated to support our core activities.

A clearly articulated and high integrity framework for information flow throughout the organisation will be evident.

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cggs.act.edu.au