ANNUAL REPORT
UWC South East Asia
2018/2019
01
MESSAGE FROM ANNA
LORD, CHAIR OF BOARD
OF GOVERNORS
03
UWCSEA GUIDING
STATEMENTS,
GOVERNANCE AND
LEADERSHIP
05 UWCSEA Guiding
Statements
07 UWC movement
09 UWCSEA Governance
and Leadership
13
UWCSEA
STRATEGY
2018–2023
Contents
67
BUSINESS REPORT
69 Human Resources
71 UWCSEA Foundation
73 Finance
75 Admissions
53
OUR COMMUNITY
57 Students and families
59 Boarders and scholars
61 Staff
63 Alumni
65 Parent Community
19
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
23 Academics
31 Activities
37 Outdoor Education
43 Personal and Social
Education
47 Service
1 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
Welcome to the UWCSEA 2018/2019
Annual Report, which provides an
overview of the College’s achievements
over the year. This year, the report has
been developed to better reflect life at
the College. While the statistics are as
useful as ever, the inclusion of student
achievement ‘in action’ stories in this
report speaks to the heart of who we
are. Read in partnership with the Impact
of Giving Report, we see a community
united in common purpose, equipping
our diverse group of incredible students
with the skills and qualities to create a
more peaceful and sustainable world, in
the fulfillment of the UWC mission.
The 2018/2019 year was the first
full year of the implementation of
the UWCSEA strategy. As the year
unfolded, the relevance of the strategy
to our long-term future became
increasingly apparent. The launch of
a review of the learning programme
with the Future of Education in mind;
the diversity cafés, which brought the
community together to define the
concept of diversity for UWCSEA; the
development of a peace curriculum
transferable to multiple contexts;
further progress on a sustainable
approach to food service; the further
development of policies and procedures
to support safeguarding practices; the
reinforcement of the UWCSEA Culture
of Care; and the implementation of
budgeting, procurement and fundraising
compliance structures—all of these
efforts will benefit us as we head
towards 2021 and the celebration of 50
years of UWCSEA in Singapore.
The celebration will look as much to
the future as it does the past, and our
vision for our next 50 years will build
on strategy and practices put in place
today. Our educators are acutely aware
of the importance of making ‘education
a force’ in today’s world, and they are
working tirelessly to empower our
students to lead the way in finding
their sense of purpose, realising their
individual potential and making an
impact on the world, whether it be in
the arts, science, politics, commerce
or a field that few of us can even
conceptualise today.
2018/2019 was also a year of transition.
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said
that the only constant is change, and
international communities are more
susceptible than most to changes in
leadership and staff. While the UWCSEA
community is unusually stable (with
only 6.7% of families leaving in June
2018, compared with a 15% average
in like schools in the region), the size
of our community does mean we say
goodbye to many families and to staff
each year. Last year we bid farewell our
Head of College after a five-year tenure,
and so a key focus of the year was the
recruitment of a College President.
The re-imagining of the President role
was part of a wider restructuring of
the leadership teams to better reflect
the strategic direction of the College.
The President’s main focus is to ensure
that the College’s external-facing
responsibilities and opportunities
(including with the UWC movement and
the Singapore authorities) are fulfilled,
while the Heads of Campus guarantee
the quality of the learning programme
and the student experience. The
search took place over seven months
and involved people from across all
stakeholder groups. We were delighted
to identify and secure Carma Elliot, who
began her new role in August 2019, and
whose already significant impact will be
reported on in next year’s report.
The role of the Board of Governors
is to ensure that the College is run
in line with our mission, values and
strategy. The Board has a significant
fiduciary responsibility to ensure that
the College has appropriate systems
and processes in place to both further
its objectives today and safeguard what
we value for the future. Each quarter,
Governors review a dashboard, which
contains main metrics for success, as
agreed with the leadership teams. These
metrics include, among other things,
academic achievement data and student
participation and wellbeing data;
financial, admissions and HR data; key
risks for the College; and achievements
against the strategy. At the same time,
each quarter, each of the six Board
committees conduct ‘deep dives’ into
specific topics in their subject area. For
example, in 2018/2019 the Education
and Talent Committee reviewed the
recruitment and retention process
for Teachers while the Audit and Risk
Committee commissioned an internal
audit on the Activities programme. This
approach ensures that committees can
work closely with leadership teams to
support and enhance critical functions
at the College.
Volunteering is a feature of life at
UWCSEA and the parent community
dedicates countless hours to support
the College in fulfilling our mission. I
am very grateful to all our volunteers,
CHAIR OF BOARD
OF GOVERNORS
MESSAGE FROM
2 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
not least to the 17 Governors and
seven advisers to the Board who work
tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure
that the College is operating at the
highest standards of governance.
The 2018/2019 year was another
exceptional year for UWCSEA, made
possible by committed staff, supportive
parents, a huge number of dedicated
volunteers, partners and supporters,
and of course our exceptional students,
whose endless optimism and boundless
energy embody the spirit of UWCSEA.
On a more personal note, and since this
will be my last message as Chair of the
Board of Governors, I would like to say
what a privilege and pleasure it has been
to work alongside such a talented and
committed group of people for the last
eight years.
Thank you all.
Anna Lord
3 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
“I’ve always had with me the activism and the motivation to do something
for others but at UWCSEA I’ve learned how to do it and that I can do it.”
VALERIA OBREGON DIAZ ’19, UWC National Committee Scholar from Mexico
UWCSEA GUIDING STATEMENTS,
GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP
5 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
The mission of the UWC movement is to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a
sustainable future. As both the starting point and the end goal of a UWCSEA education, our mission guides every decision made
at the College as we strive to educate individuals to embrace challenge and take responsibility for shaping a better world.
UWCSEA LEARNING PRINCIPLES
Our learning principles are based on the understanding that
learning is a life-long process in which the learner engages with
and reflects upon information and experiences to construct new
or modify existing understanding as well as develop and apply
qualities and skills.
We know that learning is effective when learners:
• construct new understanding by activating prior knowledge
and experience
• use timely and goal directed feedback
• collaborate
• are challenged
• feel secure and supported
• construct meaning by seeing patterns and making
connections
• actively process and reflect
• apply meta-cognitve skills
• understand the purpose of the learning
• have ownership of their learning
LEARNING
PRINCIPLES
The diagram describes how our
educational goal springs from
our mission. By establishing our
learning principles and developing
knowledge and understanding
through the five elements of the
UWCSEA learning programme,
we strive to develop skills and
qualities in our students that
will enable them to fulfil our
educational goal—and therefore
our mission.
UWCSEA
GUIDING STATEMENTS
6 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
HOLISTIC
EDUCATION
UWCSEA
LEARNING
PROGRAMME
Our learning
programme consists
of five interlinking
elements: academics,
activities, outdoor
education, personal
and social education
and service. The
elements combine to
provide our students
with a holistic, values-
based education
that develops them
as individuals and
as members of a
global society.
UWCSEA
PROFILE
UWCSEA PROFILE
We have identified the qualities and skills needed by
our community to help to fulfil our mission. Students
are given multiple, age-appropriate opportunities to
develop the following:
Qualities
Commitment to care
Principled
Resilience
Self awareness
Skills
Critical thinker
Creative
Collaborative
Communicator
Self manager
UWCSEA Ambition: Our ambition is to be a leader in international education, with a worldwide reputation for providing a
challenging, holistic, values-based education with an emphasis upon academic achievement, service to others, environmental
stewardship, teamwork and leadership.
7 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
UWCSEA is a member of the UWC movement,
which was founded in 1962 by the influential
educationalist Kurt Hahn. Opened by the then
Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew as Singapore
International School in 1971, UWCSEA was the
second member of the UWC movement. Since
then, UWCSEA has expanded to become a K–12
school of more than 5,500 students over two
campuses, making it the largest UWC in the
movement, and one of only seven that enrol
students before the IB Diploma in Grade 11.
The 17 schools and colleges in the movement
are supported by a network of National
Committees, made up of volunteers in 150
countries worldwide, who help to find and select
many of the Grade 11 and 12 students who
attend the colleges around the world as National
Committee scholars.
This information is as at 31 July 2019. In August
2019, UWC East Africa (UWCEA) became the
18th member of the UWC movement.
UWC MOVEMENT
San José, Costa Rica
UWC Costa Rica
Opened in
2006
Student population
175
Age group
16–19
Dilijan, Armenia
UWC Dilijan
Opened in
2014
Student population
219
Age group
16–18
Karuizawa, Japan
UWC
ISAK Japan
Opened in
2014
Student population
175
Age group
15–19
UWC South East Asia
Dover Campus, Singapore
Opened in
1971
Student population
3,035
Age group
4–18
East Campus, Singapore
Opened in
2008
Student population
2,557
Age group
4–18
UWC Adriatic
Duino, Italy
Opened in
1982
Student population
182
Age group
16–19
UWC
Atlantic College
Vale of Glamorgan,
United Kingdom
Opened in
1962
Student population
350
Age group
15–19
UWC
Changshu China
Changshu, Jiangsu
Province, China
Opened in
2015
Student population
443
Age group
15–18
8 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
Phuket, Thailand
UWC Thailand
Opened in
2008
Student population
460
Age group
2–18
Montezuma,
New Mexico, USA
UWC-USA
Opened in
1982
Student population
235
Age group
17–19
New Territories,
Hong Kong SAR, China
Li Po Chun UWC
Opened in
1992
Student population
256
Age group
16–18
Flekke, Norway
UWC Red Cross
Nordic
Opened in
1995
Student population
205
Age group
16–20
UWC Mahindra
Pune, Maharashtra, India
Opened in
1997
Student population
240
Age group
16–18
UWC in Mostar
Mostar, Bosnia
and Herzegovina
Opened in
2006
Student population
200
Age group
16–19
Pearson College
UWC
Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada
Opened in
1974
Student population
200
Age group
16–19
Maastricht, Netherlands
UWC Maastricht
Opened in
2009
Student population
915
Age group
4–18
Freiburg, Germany
UWC Robert
Bosch College
Opened in
2014
Student population
200
Age group
16–19
Mbabane, Eswatini
Waterford
Kamhlaba UWC
Opened in
1963
Student population
600
Age group
11–20
9 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
UWCSEA
GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP
OVERVIEW
UWCSEA is committed to the highest
standards of corporate governance.
The UWCSEA Board of Governors
recognises good governance as critical
in supporting the school in achieving
its mission and educational goal. Good
governance begins with the Board of
Governors and requires that they set the
tone for the organisation.
The Board of Governors is one of the
principal bodies with the fiduciary
obligation to ensure that the College
acts to further its stated objectives,
and that the College has appropriate
systems in place to properly account
for and safeguard the funds and assets
of the College. The Board of Governors
works closely with the management and
stakeholders of the College to shape the
vision, chart the major directions, and
develop programmes and initiatives to
produce a strong and enduring impact
for the College in Singapore and beyond.
UWCSEA BOARD OF GOVERNORS
The UWCSEA Board of Governors comprises 17 members. The Board includes
respected business and industry leaders, academics, educators, entrepreneurs and
professionals. All members serve on a voluntary basis.
Size, Committees and Meetings
The maximum number of Governors is 21. The Board has six committees:
• Education and Talent, which sets and oversees education and talent management
strategies
• Finance and Infrastructure, which oversees the College’s finances and its physical
and digital infrastructure
• Governance, which is responsible for nominations and governance matters
• Audit and Risk, which oversees audit and risk matters
• Engagement, which is responsible for improving the engagement and outreach of
the College locally and globally, including the UWCSEA Foundation
• Committee of Chairs, which functions as a coordinating and management
committee among the Chairs of the Board and Committees
Governors periodically re-evaluate the committee structure to ensure it is effective,
strategic and forward-looking.
The Board meets four times each year. Each Governor is usually a member of one
committee, which also meets four times per year.
Board Effectiveness Review
The Board carries out formal Board effectiveness reviews, externally every five years
and internally every two years. Heidrick & Struggles were commissioned to conduct
an external Board effectiveness review and their report and the Board’s response
were made available to the College community in May 2019.
Heidrick & Struggles concluded that the Board is effective and that we should
celebrate the achievements made in recent years towards effectiveness and impact.
As requested, they also recommended a number of ways in which the Board can
improve, including providing assurance to key stakeholders on important issues.
As part of efforts to implement the recommendations of the report, work on re-
evaluating the College values has already taken place. Work has also commenced on
evaluating and redrafting the Terms of Reference of each committee and the Board
Charter. Other key pieces of work include:
• Improving documentation to clarify the independence of all Governors, including
those elected by parents and/or staff
• Creating efficiencies by streamlining Board and committee papers
• Improving induction and support for new Governors and Advisers
• Providing useful and tailored training, engagement and team building
opportunities for Governors, Advisers and management
The Board has committed to report to the College community on progress every six
months, within the Board minutes.
10 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
Composition
The Board consists of three groups of Governors:
• Ad Personam Governors – the majority of Governors are appointed by the
Board itself through a rigorous selection process. Many Ad Personam Governors
are parents of current students of the College. To ensure the Board benefits from
independent thinking, there are also several non-parent Governors.
• Ex officio Governors – in 2018/2019, the Head of College (Chris Edwards)
• Interested Party Governors – these are elected directly by their constituencies
and include two parent-elects and two teacher-elects, one from each campus.
Governor Recruitment, Selection and Induction
The Board recruits Ad Personam Governors through a robust process that responds
to clearly defined skill requirements for the Board. Candidates are first co-opted
as Advisers to Board Committees. New Ad Personam Governors are usually only
selected from that pool of Advisers who have served on a Committee. Appointments
are based on an assessment of the following factors:
• Professional skills and fit with Board requirements
• Role models for UWC values, culture and alignment with the mission
• Demonstrated ability to contribute to a Board
• Past contributions to UWC/service institutions
• Impact on Board diversity
• Leadership potential
• Positive impact on government relations
There is a comprehensive induction programme for all Advisers and Governors that
includes information about the College and the Board, an induction session with the
Board Secretary, and meetings with the Chair of the Board and other Governors.
Term Limits and Reviews
Governors serve a maximum of two, three-year terms. Only the Chair may serve up
to two additional terms of three years.
The College and the Board holds its Governors and Advisers to a high standard and
regularly evaluates each Governor against the following criteria:
• is prepared for meetings
• listens to and challenges others, when appropriate, while maintaining an
atmosphere of respect
• contributes and participates in a manner consistent with UWCSEA values
• has made meaningful contributions to key decisions
• attends most meetings and is highly attentive when present
• contributes overall
Whistle Blowing Policy
The College has a Whistle Blowing policy
through which members of the UWCSEA
community may, in confidence, raise
concerns about possible wrong-doing
or improprieties in financial or other
matters within the organisation. The
Board thoroughly and appropriately
investigates matters brought to its
attention through the policy and takes
appropriate follow-up action.
Conflict of Interest
The College policy requires Board and
staff members to disclose any conflict
of interest in the performance of their
duties. In the case of the Board, the
policy requires Governors and Advisers
to report potential conflicts to the
Governance Committee, which may
impose remedies specific to the situation.
Policies on corporate
and individual behaviour
The Board also adheres to the College’s
policies on corporate and individual
behaviour, including the Board of
Governors Guidelines, Confidentiality
Policy, Harassment Policy, Staff
Safeguarding Code of Conduct, and
the Equal Opportunities, Access and
Disabilities Policy.
Commissioner of Charities
Oversight
The Board has adopted best practices in
key areas of governance that are closely
aligned with the Code of Governance
for Charities and Institutions of a
Public Character (the “Code”). In line
with the Commissioner of Charities
requirements, UWCSEA’s Governance
Evaluation Checklist can be found
via the Charity Portal website
www.charities.gov.sg.
11 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
UWCSEA/UWCSEA-EAST/UWCSEA FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS
Anna Lord
Chair
Ad Personam Governor
Committee of Chairs
Surinder Kathpalia
Chair of Audit and Risk
Committee
Ad Personam Governor
Governance Committee
Committee of Chairs
Heather Carmichael
Chair of Education and
Talent Committee
Ad Personam Governor
Audit and Risk Committee
Committee of Chairs
Priti Devi
Chair of Engagement
Committee
Ad Personam Governor
Committee of Chairs
Subodh Chanrai ’82
Chair of Governance
Committee
Ad Personam Governor
Committee of Chairs
Sajjad Akhtar
Chair of Finance and
Infrastructure Committee
Ad Personam Governor
Committee of Chairs
Heinrich Jessen ’86
Ad Personam Governor
Governance Committee
Mark Porter
Interested Party Governor
– Teacher Representative
Education and Talent
Committee
Seng Chee Ho
Ad Personam Governor
Education and Talent
Committee
Caroline McLaughlin
Interested Party Governor
– Parent Representative
Engagement Committee
Pamela Kelly Wetzell
Interested Party Governor
– Teacher Representative
Education and Talent
Committee
Kim Teo ’76
Ad Personam Governor
Governance Committee
Margarita
Encarnacion
Interested Party Governor
– Parent Representative
Education and Talent
Committee
Audit and Risk Committee
Christopher Edwards
Ex-Officio Governor
Head of College
Benjamin Hill
Detenber
Ad Personam Governor
Education and Talent
Committee
Vivek Kalra
Ad Personam Governor
Finance and Infrastructure
Committee
Davy Lau
Ad Personam Governor
Governance Committee
All information correct as at 31 July 2019.
12 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS: THE UWCSEA FOUNDATION LIMITED
Andrew Budden
UWCSEA BOARD ADVISERS
Philip Motteram
Steve Okun
WT Cheah
Sumitra Pasupathy
Sharat Sinha
Leon Toh
Tara Garson Flower
UWCSEA/UWCSEA-EAST/UWCSEA FOUNDATION COMMITTEES
Audit and Risk Committee
Surinder Kathpalia, Chair
Heather Carmichael
Margo Encarnacion
WT Cheah (Adviser)
Education and Talent Committee
Heather Carmichael, Chair
Chris Edwards
Seng Chee Ho
Benjamin Detenber
Margarita Encarnacion
Mark Porter
Sumitra Pasupathy (Adviser)
Engagement Committee
Priti Devi, Chair
Caroline McLaughlin
Chris Edwards
Steve Okun (Adviser)
Leon Toh (Adviser)
Foundation Investment and
Disbursement Committee
Andy Budden, Chair
Kim Teo ’76
Chris Edwards
Finance and Infrastructure
Committee
Sajjad Akhtar Chair
Vivek Kalra
Chris Edwards
Philip Motteram (Adviser)
Tara Garson Flower (Adviser)
Sharat Sinha (Adviser)
Governance Committee
Subodh Chanrai ’82 , Chair
Chris Edwards
Davy Lau
Surinder Kathpalia
Heinrich Jessen ’86
Pamela Kelly Wetzell
Kim Teo ’76
Committee of Chairs
Anna Lord, Chair
Heather Carmichael
Subodh Chanrai ’82
Priti Devi
Surinder Kathpalia
Sajjad Akhtar
Andy Budden
All information correct as at 31 July 2019.
13 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
“I believe you can fulfil the UWC mission if you are running a global bank,
or a suburban home with three children, or an NGO in sub-Saharan Africa,
or even if you’re sitting silently atop a mountain planning your next novel.”
CHRIS EDWARDS, Former Head of College, UWCSEA in Dunia magazine, December 2018
UWCSEA STRATEGY 2018–2023
15 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
UWCSEA STRATEGY 2018–2023
During the 2018/2019 year, the campuses embarked on enacting the College’s Strategy, based on the Strategic Vision which
describes the intended five-year outcome in each of the four Areas of Focus.
The four Areas of Focus identify 10 strategies that have become strands that will help the College to realise these outcomes.
These strands then guide planning and decision-making for campuses, schools and operational areas at the College.
During 2018/2019, each campus and operational area began implementation of the multi-year plans for the various projects that
will bring these strategies to life. Note that some strands will have been prioritised to receive focus in this first reported school
year, while other strands will be reported in more detail in later years. This priority will necessarily be different on each campus
given the operational maturity and priorities of each, as identified in the campus-specific strategies that were developed in
response to the launch of the College-wide strategy.
The Board of Governors oversees progress through a report on an Area of Focus at each of the four meetings during the year,
while the senior leadership teams monitor the detailed projects.
The following is an outline of the UWCSEA Strategy 2018–2023, highlighting 2018/2019 outcomes.
UWCSEA STRATEGIC VISION
Students will be equipped with the qualities and skills to become compassionate, engaged global citizens who seek to make a
positive contribution towards peace and a sustainable future. To achieve this, a diverse, united and caring College community will
focus creatively on students learning through a dynamic, holistic programme that supports individuals, their well-being and their
readiness for an uncertain future.
Effective operational practices will provide for the College’s long-term future in Singapore.
AREAS OF FOCUS
UWCSEA
STRATEGY
OUR STRENGTH
AND CAPACITY
PEACE AND
A SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
A UNITED
COMMUNITY
EDUCATION
AS A FORCE
17 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
Education as a Force
At UWCSEA, we educate
our students to impact on
individuals and society in
accordance with the UWC
mission. Through a holistic
Learning Programme,
students develop the skills and qualities (which meld
to form the UWCSEA Learner Profile) to fulfil their
potential and become life-long learners and ethical
agents for change.
We understand educational excellence to be manifested
by student learning across all five elements of our Learning
Programme. This spirit of excellence, balanced with a
serious commitment to well-being, will help inspire our
community to rich experiences and high achievement.
Our innovation will align with our values. We will take
scalable, safe-to-fail approaches to probe and test the
boundaries of our strategies and practices.
Within the contexts of Singapore and our Learning
Programme, we will seek to be inclusive and diverse, in
accordance with our definitions of these concepts, and we
will recognise the importance of intercultural competence.
Key developments during 2018/2019 year:
Strategy E1: Extending Excellence
• Embedding of pedagogical approaches to concept
based teaching and learning
• Development of our structures to support digital learning,
creating significant coherence between campuses
• College wide development of data analysis to inform
learning and strategy
• Launch of a review of the learning programme,
evaluating current guiding statements and future
development
Strategy E2: Deliberate Innovation
• Working groups to review innovative approaches to
school timetabling convened
• Development of pilot courses in Grade 9 and 10 to
support Diploma Learning in Grade 12 and personal
growth for students
Strategy E3: Diversity and Inclusion
• Two World Cafés allowing the community to come
together to define the concept of diversity for UWCSEA
• Follow-up survey and analysis of data from World
Café process
Peace and a Sustainable
Future
Our community is
strengthened by diversity and
united in common purpose.
On local, national and global
platforms, we will seek to
engage with and impact positively on individuals and
communities who hold similar, disparate and diverse ideas.
All members of our community should understand
Peace to include concepts such as justice, equality
and human rights and to be more than the absence of
conflict. Our Learning Programme will help seed and
nurture these concepts. We aspire to promote Peace in
all of its contexts—for the individual, our communities
and our global societies. We will embed structures
to support learning for Peace and its systematic
implementation across the College, and develop
meaningful links with like-minded organisations that
are in pursuit of the same goals.
Sustainability as a systemic response means aligning
ourselves to the UN Sustainable Development Goals to
end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity
for all within the means of nature. We will engage
with these challenges by deepening our intellectual
and moral capacities, and building our collective
wisdom. We will develop our curriculum to ensure that
sustainability is woven into all five elements of our
learning programme from K–12. We will also develop
our community’s capability in systems thinking.
Key developments during 2018/2019 year:
Strategy P1: Working for Peace
• Engagement of a team to develop a Peace curriculum
that will be transferable to multiple contexts (and
potentially other schools)
Strategy P2: Sustainability as a Systemic Response:
• Redesign of the leadership teams to establish campus
based leadership
• Review of the interaction between Service and
environmental sustainability
• Further progress on solar panel projects and
sustainability learning spaces
• Further progress with Sodexo caterers on sustainable
approaches to food service
• Sustainable approaches to parent sponsored events
introduced
EDUCATION
AS A FORCE
PEACE AND
A SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
18 | UWCSEA Annual Report 2018/2019
A United Community
A strong College community,
based on shared values, is
fundamental to our success.
Our community members
will demonstrate respectful
attention to diverse needs
and perspectives, and compassionate engagement
with others.
We seek to promote the educational significance of
UWC residential life and will seek to harmonise the
best of the day and residential experiences. We will
strengthen relationships with one another, between
campuses and with those outside our immediate
community of students, staff and parents. We will
build strategic relationships that extend our reach and
deepen our impact. We will intensify the focus of the
UWCSEA Foundation, enhance Alumni engagement,
and continue to dedicate an agreed percentage of our
annual turnover to scholarships.
Our fundamental responsibility to our community
members is to keep them safe, well and secure at all
times and in all situations. We will continue to develop
robust safeguarding practices, and empower our
community to identify and respond to safeguarding
situations. We will implement policies, practices and
programmes to support staff and student wellness and
safeguard everyone in our community.
Key developments during 2018/2019 year:
Strategy C1: Strengthening our Community
• Strategic planning for the future of Boarding embracing
structures, staffing and the Residential Life curriculum
• Refinement of induction and on-boarding practices for
students and staff
• Adoption of middle leadership development plan
• Review of the Personal Learning Programme on Dover
Campus
• Parents’ Association developed additional
programmes to further support College initiatives
Strategy C2: Keeping People Safe and Well
• Creation and update of policies and procedures to
support safeguarding practices, including compulsory
training for all staff
• Development of UWCSEA Culture of Care providing an
overarching approach to wellbeing
• Incorporation of Safe Behaviours learning into the
PSE curriculum, adapted to UWCSEA context from
Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum
Our Strength and
Capacity
UWCSEA puts people, not
systems, first. Our plan for
sustainable growth will be
transparent and support
our community, while
reflecting and responding to current realities and future
possibilities. We will guarantee the financial security
of the College while balancing present and future
educational, environmental and organisational needs.
In order to retain education as our focus, we recognise the
necessity of humane, sustainable and effective systems.
We will develop operational systems that set a positive,
data-informed culture around rigorous practices,
adhering to all external regulatory requirements.
In adapting to any changes, we will support our
community and protect the College’s ethos and values.
We will establish decision-making processes and
leadership structures that enhance operational
effectiveness while retaining flexibility to adapt to
changing circumstances.
Key developments during 2018/2019 year:
Strategy S1: Ensuring Long-term Financial
Sustainability
• Implementation of zero-based budgeting to increase
visibility and management for budget holders
• Implementation of new procurement policy
• Decision to create an investment sub-committee to
oversee management of College reserves
Strategy S2: Embedding Effective Systems
• Preparation for implementation of new, efficient
modes of invoicing and payment eg. online invoicing
of school fees; enabling payments via PayNow
• Implementation of a formal and standardised
performance management system for administrative
and support staff
• Comprehensive compliance structures to support
student fundraising
Strategy S3: Establishing Effective Decision-Making
Structures
• Establishment of College Leadership Team (CLT),
representing both educational and operational leadership,
and including the new role of College President
• Recruitment of College President
A UNITED
COMMUNITY
OUR STRENGTH
AND CAPACITY