Welcome (including school values)
So, what does it mean to be a Quilteenee?
At Quilters Infant School, working closely with Quilters Junior School, we are committed to developing well-rounded, confident pupils, pupils who will take risks, persevere, embrace challenge, who are resilient to set-backs, and who are able to continually develop their abilities and talents.
In order to enable this, we strive to create a growth mindset culture, a culture where collectively pupils and staff model, encourage and develop the growth mindset of themselves and others.
So, what is Growth Mindset?
Inherently, our staff see the brain as a muscle that needs training, including making mistakes, to help it to grow. This idea opposes the concept of fixed mindset, a belief that we are born with a fixed intelligence that can’t be stretched. The brain being able to grow and develop pathways is a proven scientific fact.
Growth mindset encourages children to be resilient and not give up, even when they find something difficult or frustrating. It celebrates mistakes as an inevitable part of learning and encourages pupils not to be afraid of challenge or set-backs.
In short…growth mindset celebrates the belief and an attitude that if you can’t do it YET, with repeated EFFORT you can!
Research suggests that children who have a growth mindset are more likely to have an increased ability to try all sorts of different challenges and problems that they might not have otherwise tackled - both inside and outside of the classroom.
Growth mindset helps our children:
- To avoid self-protection strategies, such as evading difficult tasks or misbehaving
- To alter their perception of failure
- To recover quicker from set-backs by putting the focus on next time and moving forward.
At Quilters Infants School, how do we help children to develop a Growth Mindset?
In order to believe ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, children need to understand they must be BRAVE and try to tackle any challenges they face.
The staff and pupils:
• Focus on the learning process and the effort they have made rather than performance and outcome
• Promote mistakes and failure as a positive! We encourage them to understand this is a natural part of learning.
• Reflect on challenges, how it went, what they would do differently next time.
• Encourage a love of challenging oneself.
• Promote and celebrate positive role models
At Quilters Infant School, growth mindset is taught through the tales and exploits of WadeyBear.
WadeyBear wears 8 different capes, all of which give him a different growth mindset ‘super power’.
These are:
Gold - Quality
Yellow - Proactivity
Purple - Perseverance
Blue - Bravery
Green - Concentration
Red – Teamwork
Orange -Independence
Rainbow - Creativity
Staff and pupils talk about these values constantly. They are modelled and celebrated. Growth mindset is embodied in everything we do.
Pupils are encouraged to imagine ‘putting on their cape’ whenever they need it, to channel their growth mindset! They learn to use self-distancing strategies so that they are content to 'have a go' without a fear of failure.
A misconception could be that a growth mindset denies the importance of talent. It doesn’t. A growth mindset is simply the belief that the talents and abilities of all children can be developed further! Everyone can become better than they thought they could be… if they are prepared to take a risk and sometimes fall.
Quilteenees ALWAYS get back up!
Ahoy… it’s the Infant Adventure!
The Infant Adventure has begun and what an adventure it is proving to be!
We believe that strong character is formed through positive experiences. To build self-belief and to become more assured, children need to do things. They also need to be recognised and feel special. The Infant Adventure guarantees that all pupils get the chance to experience a great many wonderful things. See attachment below.
The Infant Adventure is a unique and completely inclusive system, where (with hard work and their Capes of Growth Mindset) every pupil is empowered to meet every objective.
Pupils learn best when they are all celebrated and have enjoyed moments in the spotlight, where they excel.
Every pupil at Quilters will experience these moments. As a consequence, our pupils’ self-esteem and confidence will be higher, resulting in happier pupils. And it’s a fact – happy pupils learn!