About BCP
BCP is a distinctive and vibrant place on the south coast, combining natural beauty, economic opportunity, and strong communities. With a population of more than 400,000 and over 80 languages spoken, BCP is one of the South West’s largest urban areas, bringing together vibrant coastal towns, diverse communities, and a growing population of children and young people.
Stretching from the stunning Jurassic coastline to the edge of the New Forest, BCP is home to 98 schools, a college, three universities, and an increasingly diverse population of children and young people. BCP is already a high-performing authority in many respects, with strong outcomes across KS2 and Progress 8. But like many areas nationally, we face increasingly complex challenges including rising levels of need, SEND reform, inclusion, falling pupil rolls, recruitment pressures, and stark pockets of disadvantage hidden within an otherwise affluent coastal area. The opportunity to make a difference in this landscape is huge.
Education in BCP is delivered through a rich and diverse partnership of schools, multi-academy trusts, early years providers, post-16 settings and wider stakeholders. Each brings its own strengths, expertise and perspective. The shared ambition is to harness this collective strength to create a more connected, coherent system - one that works together with clarity, purpose and impact.
At the heart of this ambition is the Education Partnership Board: a system-led forum designed to bring partners together to own and drive the conurbation’s education agenda for the benefit of all children and young people. The Board provides strategic leadership at a system level - shaping shared priorities, aligning efforts, and enabling decisions that can only be taken collectively across the education landscape.
The Board’s focus will be shaped by partners and centred on a number of shared priorities (such as leadership, inclusion and belonging, place planning, workforce development, and effective governance) ensuring meaningful, sustained impact where it matters most.
Above all, BCP is a place defined by partnership. Through strong relationships between education leaders, the council, and wider stakeholders, there is a clear commitment to working together in the interests of children and young people. This is a system that values openness, collaboration and ambition - and which is determined to continue evolving and improving.
Our values and behaviours
When we were creating our values, we spoke to hundreds of colleagues across BCP Council to hear their views about our current and aspirational culture. We listened to our colleagues to understand how it feels to work here, the role our culture plays, and where we can improve it in the future.
We are committed to making a difference through respect, passion, integrity, innovation and pride. These core values reflect what we consider to be important; they ensure we understand what is expected of ourselves and each other every day and are at the heart of the culture we wish to create for BCP Council. They are what we stand for.
You can see our values in how we behave
We live our values every day through our behaviours - how we do things, how we treat others, and how we expect to be treated. Therefore, our behaviours play an important role in helping to shape the culture of our organisation and drive success in terms of individual, team and organisational performance.
Respect: We value diversity of thought and inclusion of all views, positively engaging with each other and our partners, working in diverse communities, to deliver the outcomes we need.
Passion: Everything we do is intended to improve the lives, wellbeing and environment of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. We are community champions and passionate local advocates.
Integrity: We ensure that every decision is based on legal, ethical and moral principles and we always strive to do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
Innovation: We make decisions and pursue continuous improvement through the use of technology, data and insights and we seek out autonomy, cherishing the opportunities to be creative and innovative.
Pride: We take pride in aspiring to be the best in our business, working hard every day to deliver the highest quality services to our customers. This is not your average local authority, it feels different, bold and ambitious, and we are proud of that, setting high expectations.