An introduction to strategic planning and reporting

• Have a strong community-owned vision for the future that creates a clear, shared sense of direction and purpose.

• Align plans and targets with the school’s special character.
• Support better, more consistent decision-making.
• Focus on the things that will make the biggest impact for students.
• Use regular reporting to analyse strengths and areas for improvement, and to track student outcomes. 
• Build trust by listening to community aspirations and sharing progress openly.
• Strive for continuous improvement.  

• The first step is to gather information.

The school planning and reporting regulations require your board to consultopen_in_new with the school community.

Your board should seek information about your community’s aspirations and wishes for the school and its students, how the school’s special character is embedded, and which values are important to them.

The Ministry sets requirements and priorities that your board must include in your plan, based on the paramount and supporting objectivesopen_in_new.

This includes things like setting targets for how your board will improve achievement in literacy and maths, as well as student attendance.

You also need to be aware of how the school is currently performing. What are the areas that need attention to realise your community-led vision and Ministry priorities?

• Your board creates a strategic plan.

Once it has compiled and analysed all the information above, your board can determine the most important areas for improvement.

Your board then creates a strategic planopen_in_new, with a limited number of (at least 3) aspirational yet defined goals that focus on areas requiring the most change.

Identify what measures, evidence, and processes will be used to identify and monitor progress (this should also drive expectations regarding the principal’s reporting to your board).

You must also clearly identify how goals are prioritised and school resources allocated.

• The principal creates an annual implementation plan.

• Your board continually monitors progress. 

This is mainly done through the principal’s reportopen_in_new to your board, which should contain clear, well-analysed information about implementation, progress, and impact of the work being done.

Understanding the information and asking good questions are key parts of your board’s monitoring role.

Knowing what’s working (and what’s not) is essential to making good decisions.

Monitoring allows you to respond, reallocating resources and support as needed.

• Your board shares progress with the community and the Ministry.

One way this happens is through the annual reportopen_in_new, which is published online and submitted to the Ministry.

This shows the school’s progress towards meeting annual and strategic goals, as well as how resources are used (especially financial resources).

• Consulting your school communityopen_in_new
• Developing your strategic planopen_in_new
• The principal’s report – your board’s key monitoring documentopen_in_new
• Annual reportopen_in_new