The happiness and wellbeing of the whole School community
Dr Dominic Luckett Headmaster and CEO
b
To be a community of cha
aracter, compassion and care, in which every member has what they need to flourish.
WE WILL MAKE POSITIVE DIFFERENCE TO :
Our boys’ future pathways
Our working culture
Our local community and the wider world
The environment
At Sherborne, we honour our past while pursuing an innovative and ambitious vision of the future. We will build on our rich heritage of delivering educational success to be at the forefront of progress in the 21st century. We commit to developing our pupils’ personal skills so they grow together in a community of character, compassion and care.
Through the education we provide, our boys will:
1 Embody kindness, decency, empathy, integrity and generosity of spirit
2
Respect tradition and aspire to be innovators
3
Be ready for the 21st century, with habits of learning and leadership that empower them to thrive in a rapidly changing technological age
4 Understand and act on their responsibility to make a difference to the world, exercising care of others, and of the planet, in all their actions
We will continue to enhance our provision of tailored educational pathways for all pupils. These are moulded around their individual talents, dispositions and aspirations, formed in community with the whole School
We will refine our approach to pastoral care, meeting the changing needs of every boy as they grow during their time at Sherborne.
We commit to keeping our boys safe and giving them what they need to thrive at School and beyond We help them grow on their journey towards adulthood while giving them the space to enjoy being young.
Alongside our support to achieve outstanding examination results, we strive to equip our boys with the skills and attributes to succeed in life. We will develop our personalised curriculum and highly varied co-curriculum, so that Sherborne pupils become collaborative, confident, articulate, self-aware and resilient.
We will develop boys’ problem-solving skills and foster their curiosity and ability to think laterally and creatively Moreover, we will build on our individualised pastoral care and emphasis on community so that boys become kind, thoughtful and likeable
We seek to foster a community in which boys support each other, equipped with greater understanding of mental health and wellbeing, effective strategies of self-care, and a willingness to ask for help
We will continue to invest in specific curricular and co-curricular activities that empower our boys in becoming authentic, empathic and morally driven leaders. We will support the boys to reflect on their experiences and identify areas of growth, including through personal tutoring and mentoring.
This will help them grow into young people who make a positive difference to the world, using their talents and enthusiasms to promote the wellbeing and flourishing of others.
We will reimagine our curriculum to ensure it prepares boys for the opportunities and demands of the 21st century
In September 2024, we will introduce a new Third Form curriculum, fostering the skills and attributes to yield future success in study and life beyond School
We will review our GCSE and Sixth Form provision, including the options processes, to deliver the optimum range of examined and non-examined courses for boys to succeed. We will ensure there is sufficient breadth and depth to cater for boys’ varied aptitudes and talents, giving them every opportunity to thrive.
We will also develop our Higher Education and Careers provision to help boys explore the widest range of post-18 options, including applications to UK and global universities, degree apprenticeships and worldwide employment. We will engage the employer community to deepen our understanding of the skills and attributes they value, then deliver education and training that prepares boys accordingly.
We will provide additional, ringfenced, time for personal tutoring, working both one-to-one and in small groups. This is a proven method of supporting boys during their time at School. Through tutoring, we provide individualised guidance and enable them to engage with broader issues such as current affairs, sustainability, and equality, diversity and inclusion
We will embrace the opportunities provided by evolving digital technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and view it as an opportunity to empower our pupils for the future.
We will appoint a senior member of staff to lead our engagement with emerging digital technologies They will shape our use of AI as an educational resource and help us make effective use of it in managing the School’s administrative and support functions
We will embed sustainability in every facet of School life, cross-referring our curriculum and co-curriculum with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to ensure all are addressed. That way, we will deepen our boys’ understanding of sustainability and inspire them to positive action in the world.
By the end of 2023, we will establish a realistic but ambitious carbon-reduction target for 2027
We want to make the most of the time our boys have at Sherborne. So we commit to a wideranging review of our daily and weekly schedules. This will consider how to make best use of the time available, ensuring we schedule relevant activities at optimal times.
For example, we will consider:
1
Academic teaching schedules, to work with the grain of boys’ energy and focus
2
Co-curricular timings, avoiding clashes between activities where possible
3
Mealtimes, to ensure boys are given optimum nutrition at the right moments in the day
4
Chapel and Abbey services, assemblies and whole-School events, so boys get the most from these experiences
5
Evening activities, including Hall (prep), so boys can always give their best
6
T imings for the start and end of each day, to suit adolescent sleeping rhythms and energy cycles
Our people are our greatest asset. We commit to making the best use of their time and energy, ensuring they deliver a first-rate education to our pupils.
We will continue to invest in staff training and support, giving each member of the team an opportunity to grow their career and develop their skills. We will monitor our current provision to ensure the best possible offer is available for staff.
In addition, we have commissioned a review of academic staff workload. Key to this is consideration of the current duties of all staff in academic, pastoral and co-curricular provision, with greater specialisation a possibility.
We will conduct a full review of our internal and external communications to ensure parents, staff and boys receive the right information at the right time, and via the most appropriate medium.
The review will consider the format, frequency and content of grades, reports and parent-teacher interactions, taking parent feedback into account.
We continue to develop our programme of charitable activities and community outreach, including the “House charity” initiative that partners each House with a local cause. We will encourage ongoing engagement with local nursing homes and schools, ensuring our pupils share the benefits of a Sherborne education as widely as possible
Through this, we not only deliver public benefit, but help broaden our boys’ perspectives and help them discern how to make a positive difference to the world, locally, nationally and globally
