Where girls succeed. Strategic Vision 2025-2030
One school. One staff. One purpose.
Proud to be Girls in Green
At St Helen’s, we believe in Girls and Girls’ Education. We do not believe in glass ceilings, stereotypes or prescriptive pathways. We do not strive for perfection, but instead embrace and encourage mistakes as a powerful tool for learning and personal growth.
At St Helen’s, we believe in your daughter.
We seek to provide an innovative education that empowers our girls to thrive and succeed in the 21st Century.
We are immensely proud of our students’ achievements in public examinations, but for us education is about so much more. We are committed to developing young women who are kind, intellectually curious and guided by integrity and strong moral principles. Our girls are problem-solvers, creative thinkers, team-players and leaders; they are equipped with the skills which will enable them to make their mark in a rapidly changing world.
We know how important it is that children have the space to think, the support to learn from mistakes and the freedom to have fun, and we seek to provide that space at St Helen’s. We also know that if we want to see change, we must drive it. In 1899, May Rowland Brown founded St Helen’s School with the foresight of educating girls through a holistic and challenging programme. 125 years later, we reflect on what came before but we also look ahead. We understand that whilst we are custodians of the much loved traditions and values of this community, it is our responsibility to drive the School forward so that it continues to offer a modern, creative and intellectually exciting curriculum which prepares our
girls to play a full and active part in their communities and in an interconnected digital and global society.
We are proud and committed to single sex education. We do not follow stereotypes or prescriptive pathways. At St Helen’s, there is no such thing as boys’ subjects and girls’ subjects, boys’ sports and girls’ sports, or male careers and female careers. There are just subjects, sports and careers, and our girls are supported in pursuing whichever pathway their personal interests, passions, aspirations and talents lead them towards.
We know that girls often have perfectionist tendencies; this pressure for perfection is ubiquitous and unrelenting. In education, it can result in girls playing it safe; being high achievers but passive learners who avoid risk, swerve creativity and curtail ambition. At St Helen’s, we foster a mindset that focuses on the effort rather than the outcome; we embrace and encourage mistakes as a powerful tool for learning and personal growth.
A successful and happy school depends on all of us working together - it is a great privilege to lead this school and to be part of this wonderful community.
Mrs Bridget Ward, Head
Foster your Lifelong Love of Learning
Our
Vision
“Our pupils will be ever intellectually curious. They will believe they can do anything. They will want to explore how they can best interact with the world around them and make a difference for the better in their own way. They will be ready for whatever the future brings.”
Our girls will:
• Be engaged, challenged and supported;
• Be independent, adventurous and resilient;
• Become the problem-solvers and trailblazers of tomorrow;
• Be guided by integrity and strong moral principles;
• Celebrate diversity;
• Show compassion towards themselves and others.
Our aims are:
• To provide every girl with the opportunity, resources and support to achieve academic excellence;
• To equip our students with the personal skills, emotional resilience, and confidence needed to reach their full potential through a diverse, enriching, and challenging cocurricular program;
• To know, value, and respect each girl as an individual, supporting her journey through the school;
• To ensure our pupils are ready to play a full and active role in their communities and in an interconnected digital world.
In summary: to enable our girls to thrive and succeed in their academic, emotional, professional and personal lives.
St Helen’s School. Where girls succeed.
Success means different things for each girl as she moves through her school years. Success is unique and it is multi-faceted. To be successful in a rapidly evolving 21st century society, our students must develop emotional (EQ), intellectual (IQ) and digital (DQ) intelligence. They must find their passion, learn to be disciplined in their approach, challenge themselves and others intellectually, be able to emotionally self-regulate, make a positive contribution to society and be digitally literate.
A 21st Century Education
These four key pillars provide the framework necessary to meet our strategic objectives.
AN INDEPENDENT DAY SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AGED 3-18
Focus on Educational Excellence
Creating Opportunities for All
Building Professional Capital
Raising External Profile
Providing an innovative 21st century Education where girls thrive and succeed
One school. One staff. One purpose.
Focus on Educational Excellence
This pillar focuses on a holistic approach to education which prepares pupils for the complexities and demands of modern life, emphasising skills, competencies, and knowledge necessary for success in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. Excellent academic, pastoral and co-curricular provision and enrichment forms the core of this pillar, as does the development of a genuine “throughschool” programme from Nursery to Sixth Form which is dedicated to each girl achieving her full academic potential and exceeding her own expectations. As a girls’ school that strives for innovation, we must continue to evolve our teaching methods, curricula, and learning environments that prioritise the development of the girls’ EQ, IQ, DQ.
Creating Opportunities for All
At St Helen’s we treat every girl as a scholar and we are committed to providing intellectual breadth and depth to all students through our Academic Enrichment Programme It is also our belief that every girl should have the opportunity to discover, ignite and develop a range of skills and lifelong passions that allow her to thrive in life beyond formal education. The St Helen’s Scholarship programme supports and develops excellence, whether it be in academic, creative or sporting fields of endeavour.
St Helen’s is committed to widening access to an exceptional education to all prospective pupils, irrespective of financial means or social circumstances. We aim to develop our Bursary Programme and pledge to develop opportunities for all pupils from all backgrounds, continuing to evolve a clear and appropriate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategy. Every aspect in our school is open to all in our community.
Building Professional Capital Raising External Profile
One School: One Staff: One Purpose is our motto for all of our staff. We believe that our Governors, Leaders and Staff should role model excellence to our pupils and we expect the highest level of engagement and expertise across all departments (Academic and Support). We invest heavily in the professional development of our staff and are committed to ensuring that we are innovative and sector leading in our approach. While we are focused on innovation and growth, we do not forget the basics and how to get these right for every child in all of our interactions.
We believe that ‘every interaction is an intervention’, and the purposeful and continued professional development of our staff allows for every interaction to be meaningful in the pursuit of excellence.
This pillar is about promoting the brilliant work we do at St Helen’s and the fantastic achievements of our students and staff. We aim to develop and maintain meaningful engagement with all stakeholders and foster positive working partnerships within our local community, the wider academic landscape and businesses across the UK and globally.
We work closely with our St Helen’s alumnae who generously share their time, expertise, networks and advice with current students seeking to forge their own way in the world. Part of our long-term vision is to establish a clear and coherent strategy for developing and maintaining these vital links with our alumnae network.
1 Academic
Overarching aim: To ensure the quality of teaching, learning and assessment offers a value-added education and academic success for each individual.
Specific goals:
• Our curriculum is broad and exciting, full of opportunities to explore beyond the syllabus. Departments work across the Key Stages to create a considered and creative curriculum that progresses logically from Nursery to Year 13.
• Our curriculum is innovative and dynamic, and evolves to meet the changing demands of 21st century society.
• There is specific instruction on digital education and guidance on both the potential and challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which helps safeguard our students against harm and empowers them with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by AI.
• Ensure that full use is made of baseline (CEM) data in order to guide and inform personalised intervention strategies. All staff use data effectively to inform pupil progress, add value to pupil outcomes and share pupil performance with parents.
• Embed the use of PowerBI across the school to track and evaluate students’ performance, and to ensure that every individual has an academic flight path for their journey through school.
• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently excellent and inclusive across all subjects and all key stages, supported by teachers who are experts in their fields.
• We deliver an equitable, diverse and inclusive education ensuring that the learning needs of every pupil, including those with EAL and SEND, are identified, consistently monitored and met.
• Every girl is treated as a scholar and develops as an independent learner through the delivery of our sectorleading through-school academic enrichment programme
• Heads of Department foster a culture of academic enquiry and intellectual curiosity within their departments which transcends the classroom and inspires young people to explore their
subject beyond the confines of the formal curriculum. This includes a rich and diverse programme of external speakers, academic competitions, university and business links.
• We are a leading UK centre for teaching, with specific subject specialisms e.g. the Centre for Advanced Maths (CAM) in North London and the first all-female centre of its kind in the UK. A pioneering initiative designed to inspire, challenge, and empower girls in maths.
• Every girl receives personalised Career and Higher Education guidance through our highly commended Futures programme and vibrant alumnae community, empowering them to make informed choices about their future.
• Develop teacher training links so that St Helen’s is a leader in terms of teacher training provision within the independent school sector.
Empowered Through Knowledge
Supported and Challenged
2 Pastoral
Overarching aim: To maintain outstanding, dynamic and individualised pastoral care which nurtures every girl’s wellbeing and enables each pupil to thrive personally and academically.
Specific goals:
• A focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) allows all girls to see themselves represented and valued in various spaces, encouraging self-confidence and a sense of belonging. We equip all girls with the self and social awareness required to navigate a diverse world, teaching understanding, empathy and the ability to advocate for themselves and others in the pursuit of equitable opportunities.
• Develop and effectively utilise a pastoral data dashboard (using PowerBI) to support staff in monitoring your daughter’s wellbeing and inform impactful and timely intervention and follow-up where necessary. Data can give us give us a useful indicator of pastoral progress and pupil wellbeing, which can then be further explored through meaningful in-person conversations and coaching sessions.
• Continue to develop and further embed our coaching culture in the school, including the age-appropriate use of the GROW coaching model in the Prep School.
• Our PSHCE programmes are dynamic and constantly evolving to adapt to the emerging challenges for girls in the 21st century, including specific teaching and discussion around the opportunities and challenges that the digital world can present. There is a focus throughout on mental health and explicit teaching to enable every student to develop their own mental health and wellbeing toolkit
• St Helen’s is recognised nationally as a centre of excellence for pastoral care, wellbeing, and safeguarding, through external accreditation such as the National Children’s Bureau Wellbeing Award.
• Our first-class facilities and beautiful school site are maintained and developed to continue to support positive mental and physical health and wellbeing.
Form the Foundations of Lifelong Friendships
3 Co-Curricular
Overarching aim: Our co-curricular provision enriches and enhances the lives, personal development and wellbeing of every girl, igniting new and existing passions as well as uncovering hidden talents.
Specific goals:
• To continue to develop the cocurricular programme to ensure that it builds resilience, teamwork and self-regulation, by encouraging your daughter to engage in activities that develop her ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Increase engagement, fun, and participation in co-curricular activities at KS3 and KS4 to ensure students enjoy the breadth and depth of activities available, and have regular opportunity to compete and represent the school in their chosen disciplines.
• Ensure that there are clear pathways in place so that students are able to continue their co-curricular activity throughout their school career and see significant progress in their chosen disciplines.
• Develop links with outside agencies to increase the opportunities and pathways available to our students. A recent example of this is St Helen’s becoming the North London Penta+ Hub for Pentathlon GB.
• Develop co-curricular partnerships with local Primary and Prep schools and foster our existing partnership with Merchant Taylors’ School to allow our girls the opportunity to collaborate with students outside St Helen’s.
• Develop the House system by bringing alignment between Prep and Senior School Houses and fostering the strong sense of House belonging and identity from Nursery through to Sixth Form.
• To build a network of specialists that enhance and enrich our provision throughout the school and the wider community.
• Develop further opportunities for pupil leadership and responsibility through the House system and cocurricular programme.
Expand your Horizons Beyond the Curriculum
Early Beginnings to Future Brilliance
4 Through School
Overarching aim: To develop the curriculum, pastoral care, co-curricular programme and admissions framework to ensure that St Helen’s is a true “through-school” where each girl and each family is known, valued and supported through their educational journey. One School: One Staff: One Purpose.
Specific goals:
• Academic and pastoral data tracking for each pupil from 3 – 18 years allows us to create a bespoke ‘flight path’ for each child in terms of their progress and attainment. Our aim is to support each girl to meet and exceed her projected outcomes through the value we are able to add as a School.
• Adapt and evolve our through-school curricula to ensure at every key stage that all pupils are supported, stretched and challenged so that they are prepared for the next stage of their education and maintain their lifelong love of learning.
• Increase interaction and foster positive relationships between Prep and Senior School pupils; we are One School. The ‘Senior Sister’ scheme fosters the sense of kindness and warmth that characterises the School and ensures that our younger pupils have senior role models who they can look up to and who support them with the move up to Senior School.
• Our admissions framework (e.g. the removal of 11+ assessment for internal candidates) embraces and promotes the through-school nature of St Helen’s; when a child enrols in Nursery, she becomes a St Helen’s girl for life.
• The transition from one stage of the school to the next, and indeed from St Helen’s to higher education or the world of work, is managed carefully and sensitively so that each girl feels supported and secure, whilst having the courage to go beyond her comfort zone.
One school.
One staff. One purpose.
5 Engagement & Communications
Overarching aim: To develop and maintain purposeful engagement with all stakeholders, including pupils, staff, parents and governors. To develop key working partnerships within the local community, the academic landscape and businesses.
Specific goals:
• Develop a regular and engaging communications channel to ensure that parents are informed and involved in day-to-day school life.
• Work in partnership with parents in the best interests of their daughters and ensure that parents know how and who to contact with any specific queries or concerns.
• Building on the excellent work of the Prep school FOSH, develop an active and engaging whole school PTA who run events and initiatives to strengthen our school community, raise money for specific school projects and foster the partnership between home and school.
• Develop a programme of engagement events for current and prospective pupils and families to showcase what St Helen’s has to offer.
• Use our status as the Pentathlon GB North London Hub to engage current and prospective pupils in sport and to share our facilities and expertise with the wider community.
• Continue to develop our successful Outreach & Partnerships programme to share our facilities and expertise with partner primaries and ensure that our girls are interacting with the wider community to become socially aware, humble and kind members of society.
• Continue to engage and connect meaningfully with our impressive and loyal alumnae and professional parent networks who choose to give back to the school either through monetary contributions, or by offering their time, expertise, mentorship or contacts to current students.
• To foster and develop our unique relationship with the Merchant Taylors’ Company, using our position as a Merchant Taylors’ Company School to build professional networks, collaborate with other educational leaders and create opportunities for our students beyond St Helen’s.
6 Opportunity Creation
Overarching aim: To widen access to an exceptional education to all prospective pupils, irrespective of financial means or social circumstances. And to afford all our pupils the very best opportunities across the board.
Specific goals:
• Develop a dynamic and ambitious bursary programme which enables all students, irrespective of financial means or social background, to access and reap the rewards of an outstanding all-round education at St Helen’s.
• Work with The Bursary Foundation and Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation to identify, support and recruit high potential pupils from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds who we believe will thrive at St Helen’s with the help of a ‘transformational bursary.’
• Develop an exciting and ambitious Scholarship Programme which identifies, supports and develops talent and/or high academic ability through clearly defined bespoke pathways for each girl.
• Embrace and implement the ethos of Sport, Music, Drama and Art for All, allowing pupils of all abilities the opportunity to participate, progress and compete throughout their time at St Helen’s.
• Continue to offer incredible opportunities for all students; opportunities that allow them to explore, learn something new, step beyond their comfort zone, and make memories that will stay with them for life.
7 Internal Development 8 Leadership, Governance & Sustainability
Overarching aim: To ensure that St Helen’s is able to remain competitive (regionally and nationally) within the independent girls’ school market. Overarching aim: To embed the deliberate use of collaboration - empowering teachers to learn from each other within St Helen’s and across our network of link schools, focusing on communication, trust and teamwork.
Specific goals: Specific goals:
• Develop an Initial Teacher Training link so that St Helen’s is a leader of teacher training provision in the independent sector, with the long-term goal of becoming a centre for SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training).
• To develop Professional Learning Networks (PLN) that are based around research to ensure that St Helen’s is at the forefront of educational developments and that our classroom practice is constantly evolving.
• To further develop our middle management programmes to ensure our middle leaders are equipped to lead their teams with integrity, purpose and determination, and to ensure that their direction aligns with the strategic vision and objectives of the school.
• Ensure economic and commercial sustainability through prudent financial planning.
• Continued responsible investment in infrastructure to maintain and develop our first-class facilities.
• Continue to ensure a strategically forward-thinking ethos whilst being mindful of the responsibility of the Leadership team to be sensitive custodians of the School’s history and distinctive traditions.
• Continue to monitor our environmental impact and take substantive steps to reduce our carbon footprint.
• Explore how alternative forms of energy and recycling might serve to benefit the environment.
