Growth Mindset
As a school we agreed our three core values to be Respect, Friendship and Perseverance. These values underpin our learning and enjoyment at school. Perseverance is a foundation for our Growth Mindset ethos. Based on the work of Carol Dweck, we believe that the brain is capable of growing if challenges are provided and that intelligence is not fixed, rather it is effort and attitude that determine our abilities.
If children find work easy we make sure they encounter more difficult tasks; fostering a resilience and a love of learning through praising effort over achievement. Children know that making mistakes is part of learning. You may hear our children refer to themselves as ‘Yetis’ – they are not mythical monsters – they are just working on their YET! “I’m not good at maths – YET”, “I don’t understand this – YET”.
Here are some recommended materials on Growth Mindset for our parents and carers:-
- thinkingeducation.co.uk
- Prof Carol Dweck TED talk on Growth Mindsets
- RSA Animate on Growth Mindsets: How To help Every Child Fulfill Their Potential (YouTube)
- John Hattie’s Visible Learning (Parts 1 & 2 on YouTube)
- Human Givens, Griffin & Tyrrell (publication)
- Mindfulness: A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world. Prof Mark Williams & Dr Danny Penman (publication).
- Mindfulness (for kids): Sitting Still Like A Frog. Eline Snel (publication)
- Philosophy for Children (“P4C”): sapere.org.uk
- Not In Your Genes Oliver James (publication)