Personal responsibility model

Design principles

  • There is a mutual understanding between adults and children; what the children want to learn and what the adults want them to learn are interfaced effectively so that time is made for both.
  • Pupils are brought into the assessment process through teacher-pupil learning conversations. During this time, a general overview on progress will be looked at by both the student and the teacher alike.
  • We aim to foster a growth mindset in our pupils in all of their endeavours in order to minimize the fear of failure and maintain a positive attitude toward achievements.
  • The school is democratically run so that pupils are given the latitude to explore both their freedoms as well as their responsibilities within the school environment.

Guy Claxton’s Learning power approach

Guy Claxton is a cognitive scientist and prolific education author of the past two decades. He has co-authored Learning Power for the Primary Classroom alongside Becky Carlzon and facets of his method have been incorporated into our approach. In line with this approach we make extensive use of Personal Progress Diaries which are used by both the pupils as well as their teachers. Guy and Becky are both consultants at Atelier 21 who help train teachers and staff on inset days.

What is the Learning power approach?

  • Celebrating the DETERMINATION and EFFORT needed for success.
  • Distinguishing between LEARNING MODE and PERFORMANCE MODE.
  • Breaking down the ‘LEARNING PROCESS’ to help children grasp the mental habits of effective learning.
  • Encouraging a positive attitude towards ‘MISTAKE MAKING’ to reduce the fear of failure.
  • LEARNISH – the language that children and adults speak in when fostering a GROWTH MINDSET.

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