We are a Growth Mindset school!
At East Ardsley Primary Academy we believe our children deserve to grow up being happy, healthy, well-adjusted individuals in life, and to find success in whatever they intend to do. We aim to do our best to help them get there, which is why Growth Mindset is such a high priority in our school.
Growth Mindset is based on research conducted by Dr. Carol Dweck. Her research points to people having one of two mindsets: Growth or Fixed.
Fixed Mindset: “In a Fixed Mindset, children believe that their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits.”
Growth Mindset: “In a Growth Mindset, children understand their talents and abilities can be developed through effort - teaching persistence.”
Recently within the media (Welby.J, 2019) it was reported that one in eight children experience a mental health issue. This vital research conducted with children showed that there has been a 48% rise in children with anxiety and depression. The statistics reveal a vast amount of children struggling with mental health and the inability to have a positive outlook on life. By listening and understanding, and empowering our children we can do our best to reduce their anxieties.
This is where the development of a growth mindset is extremely valuable at a young age. In introducing growth mindset strategies we are enabling children to take a positive outlook on every aspect of life. Teaching growth mindset can improve academic performance, increase social behaviour, and enable children to manage anxiety and depression symptoms (Busch.B, 2018).
An example of growth mindset put into practice:
‘I cannot paint that picture’
By teaching the children vital language ‘yet’ and changing the statement to ‘I cannot paint that picture yet’ we give the child the confidence, that they have our support and faith that eventually they will be able to paint the picture.
Growth Mindset is applicable across all subjects throughout school. Every member of staff is responsible for implementing a growth mindset. Throughout daily lessons and activities they encourage children to keep on task and to have a ‘can do’ attitude. This shows children how to support their peers and encourage them to have persistence.
We work to enable children to become extremely confident and be able to tackle any situation by using their growth mindset to overcome any obstacles that come their way. They learn to use their growth mindset strategies and language to support their peers when they witness a fixed mindset approach.
This soon translates to home enabling all the family to see the changes in their child’s outlook on life therefore compelling them to not have a fixed mindset. This ensures everyone surrounding the child, be it at school or at home, will have the faith and confidence to fuel the child’s growth mindset.
Facilitating our children’s growth mindset will benefit their mental health as well as improving their academic success; seeking a positive in any given situation and solving any hurdle within their education to fulfil their dreams. So support us in continuing our hard work of implementing Growth Mindset, and provide our children with a positive outlook on life.
“Nothing is Impossible the word itself says I’m possible” Audrey Hepburn