What makes a good school mission statement? 

This is, after all, the basis for your direction as an organisation, so it needs to show the values you all share as a community of pupils, parents and teachers. 

It should definitely define where pupils will be at the end of their journey through your school and why parents should send their children there.

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It might include some of the most important values you want pupils to have gained along the way,  giving insight into how you have prepared them for the next stage of their journey.

Common examples include ideas such as  “to create a love of learning and the knowledge and skills needed to succeed...” and “to build self-confidence and develop character…” and “to encourage good citizenship…”.

Ultimately, a mission statement needs to be simple and memorable, something that people can easily understand and relate to. So keep it realistic and jargon-free. 

What’s more, it is not just the concern of leaders. Staff should be able to remember the mission statement, and, crucially, know how it is being achieved and the part they have to play in that process. 

If you’re setting out to “develop character”, for example, take some time at Inset to explore the idea. Discuss how you are going to do that at different points within the school.

This encourages ownership among staff and creates a shared understanding of the defining direction of the school. Done well, it can also make staff proud of the work they do with pupils and of the school itself.

Mission not impossible

So how does the school vision link to the school mission? The two are not the same.

The mission is what the school wants to achieve and the vision is what is being worked on or developed in order to continue achieving this mission.

So taking the three examples of mission statements, the related visions for the mission, might be: “...to deliver a safe and supportive environment for creative and imaginative learners…”, “to provide the opportunities to enable our pupils to realise their full potential…” and “...to encourage tolerance, empathy and responsibility…”. 

Vision quest

The vision is often most easily communicated through the School Improvement or Development Plan. 

Again, ownership among staff is key. Outlining on the plan who is responsible for each area can help with this. Collective responsibility is important, but having a lead person ensures accountability for moving the vision forward. 

It is also important that the vision is discussed often with the senior leadership team, staff and governing body, and that there are regular updates to ensure it is still relevant and compelling, with those responsible for each development feeding back.

It’s also worth considering how often you should update your vision. Look too far ahead and you might find that developments you were working on become redundant. But if you’re too short term, there may not be time for changes to take effect and be sustained. 

A vision that evolves over time, allows for continuity and management of improvement and change is ideal. Parts of your vision may stay in place for a considerable amount of time as you drive them through, while others will change as you and your staff decide they are now in place or less relevant. 

A vision that sets out what is going to happen over the next 12-24 months allows for adaptability in this way.

All this feeds in, ultimately, to the values of a school. They should be applied daily in your school setting, not just by pupils, but also by parents and staff.  Again, discussing these as a staff group to develop a shared understanding is hugely important. 

How are these values shown through the teaching of the curriculum, the school culture and policies?

Use school events to demonstrate your values and showcase the work you have done as a group to instil these in pupils. 

Talking about school values and highlighting how these have been achieved to parents is important and provides ongoing reassurance on all aspects of their children’s development.

The values you have as a school community help support the vision and ultimately ensure you can achieve your mission.

Malcolm McKinlay is headteacher of Parkgate House School in Clapham, London