Building Learning Power
Building Learning Power is simply an extension of the way that we have been encouraging children to develop as independent thinkers and learners for some time at St. Peter's.
Essentially, it is about creating a climate in the classroom and in the school that cultivates habits and attitudes that enable young people to face learning challenges, difficulty and uncertainty calmly, confidently and creatively. It is about developing young people with the appetite, confidence and capacity to face the challenges and uncertainties that life will no doubt throw at them during their lifetimes.
At St. Peter’s we believe that life-long learning is not only a birthright but it is an essential tool that young people need to be successful in today’s ever-changing world. We need to help our children become better learners, both in school and in life.
Research suggests that when children have a good understanding of the learning process they learn faster and learn more effectively. They are more focused, think harder and find learning more enjoyable.
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This is an exciting time for the children in our school. To encourage our children to become life-long learners we have been developing strategies in our teaching to support children’s learning and to continue to raise standards in all areas. We are making learning skills obvious and explicit in our lessons, enabling the children to be more involved in understanding of the process of learning.
Developing self awareness as a learner enables learners to develop successful habits which they can use in the future and continually improve. This encourages self esteem, self confidence, independence and motivation. As a result learners are more focused and have a far greater enthusiasm for learning. This greater understanding is portable and will support learning for life. [2].jpg)
We have a whole school approach to learning. Everyone at St. Peter's talks the language of learning, from Reception to Year 6. Every classroom has a Learning Power display, and each class has learning targets. Posters and prompts for what to do if children get stuck when learning also help children to become more independent learners.
This is a whole school ethos of encouraging success and building aspirations. Staff have high expectations of children – we believe that everyone can rise to the challenge. We encourage our children to reflect on the how and why a success has been achieved.
To encourage learning we have planned a programme of learning skills to support our curriculum work. We talk frequently about the learning process, linking it to real life situations to give it a purpose beyond school life. We refer to learning skills as learning muscles and encourage the children to understand that just like other muscles they need regular exercise to become stronger and more effective.
To find out more about our approach to learning and for ideas to support this at home, you can download our leaflet using the link below: