THRIVING in Possibility
REFLECTING ON THRIVING IN
POSSIBILITY : A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CHS WITH ENA HARROP , HEAD OF SCHOOL
In February , the School ’ s new strategic plan , Thriving in Possibility , was launched at a whole-community event on campus . Coinciding with the School ’ s 125-year anniversary , the plan is the outcome of a collaborative process with students , staff , parents and alumnae , and will guide Crofton House towards 2030 and beyond .
The culmination of 18 months of consultation and refinement , Thriving in Possibility contains the CHS Identity ,
distilling the essence of a Crofton House education , and five strategies that will ensure the School ’ s commitment to belonging , agility and responsibility , which underline all we do and experience . Collectively , they provide a lens to consider what is working well and what can be improved .
We sat down with Ena Harrop , Head of School , as she shared her reflections on this new strategic plan .
What did you most enjoy about the collaborative process that resulted in this plan ? I really enjoyed hearing from so many different members of our community . The process gave us multiple opportunities to hear from students , staff , parents and alumnae , and allowed us to better understand our community and their priorities .
It was valuable to see how different stakeholders ’ perspectives overlapped in some areas , but also where the points of difference were . It allowed us to think collectively about what Crofton House is , and where we want the School to go .
Were there surprises that emerged in the planning process ? Perhaps not so much surprises , but there were definitely discoveries that helped us move forward . One of those was the idea of tensions and choices .
While there was clear agreement when discussing the fundamentals of the School that formed the CHS Identity , such as girl-centred education , it was interesting to see different perspectives on the various tensions that surfaced in our consultations , such as the tension between fulfilling an academic standard and pursuing learning for its inherent joy . The exciting part is figuring out how we can navigate those tensions at different times in different ways in a way that genuinely serves the students .
It was really helpful to have those types of discussions in the town hall sessions with students , staff , parents and alumnae . I hope that people felt that this was a plan that we built from scratch . It was about having the right answer at the end of the process rather than at the beginning .
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