APDP Module 9 Strategic Planning and Visioning
“Kia tū rangatira ai te kura – kia puāwai ai ngā ākonga.”
“For the school to stand strong and proud – for the students to flourish.”
Module Objectives:
- Define the key components of a compelling school vision and mission.
- Articulate the importance of strategic planning in achieving educational goals and school improvement.
- Apply a systematic process for developing strategic plans within a school context.
- Contribute to the creation of a shared and inspiring vision for their kura.
- Identify effective methods for aligning team and departmental goals with the overarching school strategic plan.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of strategic initiatives and adapt plans as needed.
Strategic planning and visioning are fundamental to effective school leadership. They provide the compass and roadmap for your kura’s future, ensuring that all efforts are aligned towards common, aspirational goals. As a school leader, your role in translating vision into actionable plans and fostering a shared sense of purpose is critical.
Understanding Vision and Mission:
A vision is an aspirational picture of what your school aims to become in the future – its dream. It should be inspiring, clear, and concise, guiding all decisions. A mission statement, on the other hand, describes the school’s core purpose and how it will achieve its vision. It defines “what we do” and “why we do it.” Together, they provide the foundation for strategic direction.
The Importance of Strategic Planning:
Strategic planning is the process of defining your school’s strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. It involves:
- Setting Priorities: Identifying the most critical areas for development and improvement.
- Resource Allocation: Directing financial, human, and physical resources effectively.
- Accountability: Establishing clear measures of success and responsibilities.
- Adaptability: Providing a framework to respond to changing educational landscapes and community needs.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Ensuring that the school community (students, staff, whānau, Board of Trustees, community) has a voice in shaping the future.
The Strategic Planning Process:
While specific models vary, a typical strategic planning cycle involves several key stages:
- Environmental Scan/Discovery: Understanding the current state of the school – its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). This involves gathering data on student achievement, community demographics, resource availability, and the broader educational context.
- Vision and Mission Review/Development: Reaffirming or collaboratively crafting the school’s aspirational vision and defining its core purpose.
- Goal Setting: Establishing clear, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) strategic goals that move the school closer to its vision.
- Strategy Development: Brainstorming and selecting the specific actions, initiatives, and approaches that will be implemented to achieve each goal.
- Action Planning: Detailing who will do what, by when, and with what resources. This is where the strategic plan translates into operational steps.
- Implementation and Monitoring: Putting the plan into action and regularly tracking progress against established metrics.
- Review and Evaluation: Periodically assessing the effectiveness of the plan, celebrating successes, identifying areas for improvement, and making necessary adjustments. This often leads back to a new planning cycle.
Aligning Team Goals with School Strategy:
As leaders, your role is crucial in bridging the gap between the school’s strategic plan and the day-to-day work of your teams. This involves:
- Communicating the school’s vision and strategic goals clearly to your team.
- Facilitating discussions that allow your team to understand their contribution to these goals.
- Collaboratively setting team goals that directly support the strategic plan.
- Providing resources and support for your team to implement their actions.
- Monitoring team progress and providing feedback that links back to the broader school strategy.
Task:
Reflecting on and Contributing to Strategic Vision:
- Reflection (Individual): Consider your current school’s vision and strategic plan. What do you find most inspiring or impactful about it? What is one area you believe your team could contribute to more effectively to help achieve a specific strategic goal?
- Visioning Application (Forum Discussion with Learning Partner): With your learning partner, discuss the following:
- Imagine you are tasked with reviewing or refreshing your school’s vision statement for the next five years.
- What are two key elements or qualities (e.g., student well-being, cultural responsiveness, innovation, community partnership) that you believe are absolutely essential to include in an inspiring vision for a New Zealand school in 2025 and beyond?
- Briefly explain your rationale for each, considering the current educational landscape and future aspirations for ākonga success in Aotearoa.
- Post your collaborative response on the forum (max. 150 words).
Assessment:
- Your personal reflections on your school’s vision and your team’s contribution.
- Forum Post: Your collaborative response with your learning partner outlining key elements for an inspiring school vision in 2025, with rationale.
Resources:
Future-focused Strategic Planning for Schools: The ‘What’ and the ‘Why’ need a ‘How’.
https://thinkstrategicforschools.com/strategic-planning-for-schools/
Governance Support Resources – Community Consultation
https://www.resourcecentre.org.nz/helpforboards?aId=ka0RF0000008fdtYAA
Local Curriculum Strategic Planning Guide
School Communication Planning Guide
https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/296999/School-Communication-Planning-Guide.pdf
7 Reasons Schools Need Strategic Plans
https://envisio.com/blog/7-reasons-schools-need-strategic-planning/
One Response
Personal reflections on your school’s vision and your team’s contribution.
What I find most inspiring about our current Strategic Plan is its strong commitment to creating a curriculum that is both culturally responsive and future focused. The emphasis on embedding Te Ao Māori, mātauranga Māori, and local histories throughout the curriculum ensures that all ākonga see themselves reflected in their learning, while also building a deep sense of identity and belonging. I am particularly struck by the way the plan balances academic achievement with holistic development through initiatives such as structured literacy, inclusive sporting and PE programmes, and the refresh of the Year 7 & 8 pathways to better prepare students for high school.
One area where I believe our team/school could contribute more effectively is in the curriculum rewrite and implementation process, particularly around strengthening cross-curricular, inquiry-based approaches that integrate literacy and mathematics. By refining how we collaboratively plan and deliver the refreshed curriculum, we can ensure greater consistency across year levels, lift student engagement, and better measure progress against the new learning progressions. This collective focus would directly support the strategic goal of raising student achievement while ensuring the curriculum reflects the unique identity of our learners and community.
Collaborative Response:
In working with the learning partner, we see our school vision for 2025 as one that places ākonga at the centre of rich, meaningful learning. An inspiring vision recognises that true success goes beyond test results it is about developing curious, capable, and confident learners who are connected to their culture, community, and the wider world.
Key elements of this vision include:
• Engagement through a meaningful curriculum – ensuring learning is relevant, purposeful, and connected to real-world contexts so that students see the value in what they are learning.
• Cross-curricular learning – weaving together literacy, numeracy, science, the arts, and te ao Māori in authentic ways, creating opportunities for inquiry and problem-solving that reflect how learning occurs beyond the classroom.
• Hands-on learning experiences – embedding project-based learning, outdoor education, and partnerships with whānau and community to allow students to learn by doing, creating, and exploring.
• Holistic approaches to achievement – valuing the whole child by recognising strengths in creativity, leadership, collaboration, resilience, and cultural identity, not just academic outcomes.
• Cultural responsiveness – continuing to embed Te Ao Māori, tikanga, and mātauranga Māori throughout the curriculum so every learner’s identity, language, and culture is seen, heard, and celebrated.
Rationale:
In 2025 and beyond, education must prepare students not only with strong academic foundations but also with the skills, mindsets, and dispositions they need to thrive in a changing world. By creating a vision centred on meaningful, hands-on, and integrated learning, we provide experiences that deepen engagement, foster agency, and strengthen well-being. This approach also aligns with the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum and our school’s values of Manaakitanga, Whanaungatanga, Mahi Tahi, and Ako. Most importantly, it ensures that every learner is valued as a whole person where their passions, identities, and contributions are seen as equally important as their academic progress.