Strategy 2025

Life of the Mind

The College’s culture around teaching and learning, so central to its core business, will nurture its pupils’ intellectual curiosity through inspirational teaching within a relevant, contemporary curriculum, fit for purpose in 2025 and beyond. Working online and offline across a range of platforms and with a range of people, pupils will have the opportunity to work at their own pace, increasingly directing their own learning within self-selected areas of study. Within a considered culture of academic stretch and challenge, high pupil agency will place pupils at the centre of their own learning more than ever before, with access to a stimulating enrichment programme that will excite and inspire in equal measure.

Bursting the Bubble

Pupils will have more opportunities to engage within and beyond the classroom in a ‘Bradfield without borders’, developing leadership, and embracing multi-culturalism with an emphasis on volunteering, outdoor adventure and global citizenship. We will develop and deepen our charitable partnerships to ensure measurable outcomes for all involved and evaluate the impact of projects over time. This will build confidence, communication and resilience enabling our pupils to become a force for change.

Centre of Wellbeing

We recognise the importance of creating cultures and systems that promote resilience, or perhaps more accurately ‘flourishing’, and mitigate adversity. Our responsive and proactive pastoral care promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, enabling the forging of positive and collaborative relationships. The sympathetic rhythms of the school day enables care which can be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of our pupils while still providing continuity and development of life literacy.

Diverse and Inclusive

Now more than ever we need to address the educational, economic, cultural and societal needs of our changing world by providing a school where diverse perspectives, cultures and values are open-mindedly accepted, appreciated and celebrated, creating an inclusive environment with success for all. Critical self-awareness and celebrating our differences, as well as our common interests, help to unite and educate us, readying pupils for the wider world.

Platform for Excellence

Across all aspects of College life pupils have the opportunity to experience and be part of a culture of high performance which is fostered by inspirational teachers and coaches using outstanding facilities. Pupils are encouraged to develop passion and ambition in their individual interests and further encouraged to make progress along co-ordinated partnership pathways to achieve and surpass their academic and personal goals. Support and advice, centered around effective time management, create a culture and community where excellence is central to pupil development.

Making a Difference

All pupils are encouraged to take positive action towards greater awareness, understanding and inquiry within the local context and community integration. Effective pupil voice within College culture should encourage growth through service by working in partnership with various organisations including local schools, action groups and trusts. To be a global citizen, one needs to be a local one first.

Collective Ownership

Collective Ownership is the pivotal driver for the People Strategy. The leadership of our people is a College-wide endeavour guided by all levels of management. The initial focus is to enrich the leadership for those in management positions so that they further enhance the knowledge, aptitude and confidence to lead their teams. Managers’ sense of collective ownership is built through mutual trust and understanding along with the acceptance of responsibility and accountably at all levels. Ultimately, they must lead by example and become role models for the next generation whom they then coach and mentor to build that sense of collective ownership across the College.

Enable

The initial focus is to enhance the profile of the Human Reasources function so that our people understand its purpose and role and where responsibilities lie.  Additionally, we need to improve the connectivity of the network through a more outward-looking Human Resources Department, structured around Business Partners, so that people feel connected to this key enabling function. Investment in an HR Information System, with user interface, will enhance effectiveness and efficiency and allow members of the HR function to transition from administrators to the role of advisors and facilitators.

Attract

The College aspires to employ the best individuals for every post, whatever their background, so it is essential that we boost the publicity of the College and the roles available through widening the search net; formally and informally. In addition, we must improve the candidate journey through application, onboarding and induction; this applies to both external and internal appointments. 

Develop

The development of our people is critical for the ambition of the College as well as the individuals themselves. We will enhance talent management through a further focus on personal development plans which meet the needs of the individual and the College using more conscious formalised investment in developmental opportunities. Leaders will have the innate skills and confidence to help develop people through coaching and mentoring at all levels. In addition to placing greater emphasis on personal development, the College will adopt an increased focus on succession planning and mapping our talent pool as part of our planning cycle.

Motivate

To realise the full potential of our people and the ambitions of the College mutual trust and shared understanding are critical. This requires us, collectively, to develop communications through an open culture using appropriate methods and media at the right times. We must continue to champion success and do all we can to develop and retain the best.  The ability to provide a 21st century fair and flexible remuneration package, which allows active choice at certain stages of their career, will further enhance individual motivation. In developing the Strategy, we must ensure we maintain a focus on the diversity and attributes of the individuals that build the team. Therefore, wellbeing and staff welfare need active investment; practically and emotionally. Shared values and culture will underpin the engagement of our staff body and the increased sense of alignment with the aims and objectives of the College will significantly boost the collective endeavour.

Energy Use

Reducing energy use, carbon emissions and pollution are community responsibilities and are about cultural change as much as exploiting technological advancements. Exploring the opportunities of incorporating sustainable energy technologies will be a key requirement in the planning of all refurbishment and development projects. Challenging but achievable goals will be developed to reduce carbon emissions alongside carbon offsetting initiatives developed at Bradfield and beyond.

Waste Reduction

Developing positive behaviours across the Bradfield community to reduce waste and increase the reuse and recycling of supplies and resources are the overriding aims to ensure Bradfield’s impact on the environment is minimised. By setting ambitious targets the College will improve the sustainable management of waste alongside the reduction in disposal costs, with any savings being re-invested in both waste reduction and other environmental initiatives.

Water Use

The College is committed to conserving this essential natural resource by reducing water usage to mitigate the College’s environmental impact. Water use targets will be set and by employing water efficiency technologies the potential for significant reduction is possible. By engaging with staff and pupils across the community we aim to identify opportunities for water savings and increase community awareness of how we use water.

Transport and Travel

The College will improve infrastructure to support more environmentally-friendly modes of travel and, in time, is committed to replacing the existing fleet with electric vehicles. College transport requirements will be planned to increase efficiency; trips and tours involving air travel will offset their carbon footprint through tree planting and rainforest conservation. These initiatives and others will encourage the Bradfield community to do likewise.

Natural Environment

In the maintenance of College’s green estate, environmentally-friendly products and fertilisers will be used wherever possible and sustainable management practices will be utilised to reduce leaching into the environment. The programme of planting trees will continue to increase and help create an outdoor classroom. There will be engagement with local trusts and the local community to support wildlife initiatives in and around the grounds to conserve existing biodiversity and enhance it where possible. Sustainability projects outside the College will be financed through fundraising initiatives that will encourage pupils and parents to offset their carbon footprint from travel.

Charitable Responsibilities

In delivering this plan we will adhere to our social and fiscal responsibilities as a charity. We will demonstrate integrity and promote high ethical standards in all areas of our operations. We must strive to remain affordable and fully in tune with the needs and demands of our parent base, both current and future. We should maximise opportunities for young people from all areas of society through a well-resourced and open bursary policy. Working with schools and other organisations, we will make a positive contribution to the local community through our programme of public benefit activities.  

Resourcing the Plan

To deliver the strategies set out in this plan, and ensure we remain affordable for our parents, we will allocate our resources clearly and consistently, identifying ways to maximise our resources and reduce our dependence on fee income. There is a transparent strategy for applying resources raised from operations and capital funding and we will ensure our resources are maintained and grown through an ethical investment strategy, maximising return while protecting the College’s assets. 

By supporting BCEL and investing in its facilities we can continue to generate a positive contribution from commercial activities. We will explore opportunities for expanding those activities, drawing on and developing the expertise within our teams (e.g. developing IT products, selling on services) whilst continuing to explore opportunities to build links with partners, both at home and overseas, to widely enhance the Bradfield brand. 

Through the Bradfield Foundation, we will maintain an active programme of fundraising that supports capital investment projects and our bursary endowment. This will be through regular giving, legacy donation and specific, targeted campaigns. We will continue to explore alternative sources of funding, such as grant finance, sponsorship and joint venture opportunities. 

At all times we will comply with our financial covenants/obligations to our funders.

Value for Money

It is essential that we deliver value for money throughout the College to ensure that we maximise the effectiveness of our resources and ensure they are used efficiently. We must be able to respond promptly to major changes regarding our resources and balance priorities.  

We will have proactive and flexible business planning to support our decision-making and governance processes. We will ensure that the working practices throughout the College’s operations are efficient and applied economically. They should be subject to regular and constructive challenge in a culture of continuous improvement. We will have effective procurement practices and systems that follow best practice and good governance at all times. 

We will continue with a balanced and well-funded programme of capital investment in the College’s estate, increasing the value of its assets and reflecting the changing needs of our pupils.

Culture that inspires

The culture of the College with regard to digital technology and innovative teaching and learning will drive the strategy’s success.  People (our pupils and staff) will enjoy a network of open communication that supports inquiry through training and feedback, trial and experimentation, and the sharing of best practice. Digital wellbeing will be given priority, conscious of the responsibilities that come with working in the technological age.

Community that connects

Working digitally will enrich shared projects. With the ability to work anytime, anywhere, our digital collaborative spaces will allow people to pool and iterate ideas, informed by a range of multimedia sources.  Quickly, this will place pupils at the centre of their own learning journeying through a contemporary curriculum where pupils work at their own pace and within their own portfolio of study whilst remaining digitally ethical.

Technology that enables

With the software we use and with the hardware to access it, creativity will thrive. With time for experimentation and play pupils and teachers will be able to exploit opportunities to enhance learning, safe in the knowledge that Bradfield’s systems and technologies are ‘future ready’ with the flexibility and adaptability to manage the pace of progress in the digital world. Our systems will be reliable, encouraging fluency between platforms regardless of location.

Infrastructure that delivers

A resilient and evolving network operates at the core of our strategy.  Rarely visible but critical to success, the College’s secure network is always operational, rapid in data transaction speeds and flexible to support a plethora of demands. Crucially, our community is supported by an outstanding IT Services team, expert in the complex configuration of the College’s infrastructure whilst alive to the continual advancements in a rapidly changing field.