Our Strategic Vision

As we look ahead to the School’s 50th Anniversary in 2028-2029, we have developed a Strategic Vision setting out our Key Priorities, which combine to support the successful delivery of our Aims, building on the existing strengths and successes of the School.

You can view/download this information on a pdf here.

Strategic Vision: Five Key Priorities

1. Academic excellence and aspiration, built on a foundation of inspirational teaching and a culture of development and professional learning
   • To instil a love of learning: Promoting an academic culture, enrichment and a spirit of enquiry. Outstanding and innovative pedagogy underpinned by evidence informed professional learning, including action research
   • To provide the best academic framework: Ongoing curriculum development, promotion of robust learning skills, integrated and sophisticated digital learning. Review and development of assessments and qualifications.
   • To support a bright future for our pupils: Guidance for academic choices, development of facilitating skills, support at key transitions, comprehensive careers support and advice, recruitment and retention of exceptional staff, prioritising staff wellbeing.
2. Holistic pastoral care, building resilience, self-knowledge and a sense of wellbeing whilst ensuring that pupils develop empathy in their interactions with others
   • To include pupil voice: To involve pupils in the development of our pastoral provision, and to understand their evolving priorities and concerns.
   • To ensure tailored, age appropriate support: Focus on and innovative delivery of SRE and PSHE, tailored pastoral care and support for all ages and stages through childhood and adolescence, and for mental and physical health.
   • To help pupils manage in a digital world: Identifying and embracing the benefits whilst prioritising online safety and critically evaluating and understanding risks and dangers.
3. Broad and robust skills development for our pupils, offering a rich and diverse range of extracurricular opportunities
   • To provide a wide range of enrichment: Ensuring extracurricular activities, clubs and societies are broad and relevant, supporting outdoor education, DofE, volunteering and other opportunities for pupils.
   • To prioritise pupils’ character development and sense of social responsibility: Enabling pupils to develop self-knowledge, gain experience in leadership, service, contribution to the School community and wider society, including an appreciation of the importance of sustainability and environmental issues.
   • To promote the value of Sport, Music and Drama: Continuing to develop and enhance the opportunities available to pupils. Ensuring all pupils are engaged and involved, and able to discover and explore individual passions.
4. Engagement with our community. Inclusion of the whole School community, including former pupils, in our development. Active engagement with and contribution to our local and regional communities
   • To involve the whole school community: Ensuring that pupils, staff, governors and parents are actively engaged and play a part in the School’s ongoing development.
   • To foster community partnerships: Providing opportunities for our pupils to benefit from partnerships and community projects, ensuring we contribute positively to our local and regional community, including through the use of our facilities. Continuing to widen access to a Yarm education via means-tested bursary support.
   • To engage with Former Pupils: Establishing a Development Function to forge and enhance strong links with our Former Pupils, increasing opportunities for engagement via former pupil events, exploring opportunities for philanthropy and giving to support school priorities such as widening access.
5. Environmentally responsible capital development to ensure the best facilities for learning, with a commitment to sustainability and the environment
   • To educate, involve and inspire pupils: Continuing to ensure pupils are mindful of individual and collective responsibility in terms of environmental impact, and include them in the development of the School’s estate, considering sustainability, architecture, design and process.
   • To develop our facilities: Reviewing the needs of the School based on pupil numbers, subject choices and extracurricular provision. Enhancing current facilities alongside new developments and projects, providing an outstanding environment for learning.
   • To prioritise sustainability: Continuing to enhance the School’s green credentials, making all reasonable efforts to ensure that current and future developments are designed with sustainability and environmental impact as a core focus.

Implementing the Strategic Vision

This is an exciting time for Yarm School, with recent success, growth and development affirming the School’s ambitious approach and our commitment to promote excellent outcomes for our pupils. This is a bold and aspirational Strategic Vision which sets out our determination to build on the School’s successes and to look to the future with confidence.

A range of projects and initiatives are underway or being planned and developed within the next 5 years, to ensure that we fulfil the Key Priorities that, together, will enable us to achieve our Aims. These include development at the Prep School to provide state of the art new facilities, alongside plans to improve facilities at the Senior School, responding to the current and future needs of our pupils.

We will build on our exciting and evolving programme of partnership activity with local schools and organisations, enriching the lives of our pupils whilst making a positive contribution to our community. Ongoing academic and pastoral reviews within Prep and Senior Schools ensure we remain at the cutting edge of pedagogy and pastoral support, and embedding our culture of professional learning and development for staff will further promote and enhance the experience of our pupils. We are determined to develop deeper and wider links with our Former Pupils and our wider community to support the aims of the School now and in the future.

With support from the School’s Governors and the commitment and dedication of staff, we will continue to provide an exceptional learning environment for our pupils and staff with a holistic approach that enables us to achieve our Mission of Educating for Life.