Waterside Primary School

Developing Character, Well-being and Learning Behaviours

Our school Pirates represent values, skills and traits that will help our children to develop their own ‘character’, and so make them ‘capable’ and ‘able’ to strive, aspire and succeed in all walks of life.

‘Character’ is a complex idea – it can describe the qualities that make someone a ‘good’, or ‘not so good’ person, but it is also a set of skills that contribute to personal success and wellbeing.

It is about becoming a better person – as well as becoming a better learner.

For example; your child is at home reading a book and gets to a hard part. What does she or he do? Does he close the book? Does he give up? Does he use ‘academic’ strategies to figure out the words and meaning?

Of course academics play a role—if he can’t decode the words, he won’t get far. But he also needs other skills; like self-regulation, resilience, and optimism.

Developing character and capabilities is important for several reasons:

• It draws attention to the processes of learning and not just the products;
• It is more likely to engage pupils in active rather than passive learning;
• It enables pupils to go beyond the mere recall of information and to develop deeper understanding of topics;
• it creates positive dispositions and habits for learning; and
• they provide a new range of criteria against which pupils can evaluate their progress in learning.

Essentially, they enable pupils to learn how to learn.

We actively promote our children to:

• ask focused questions;
• plan and set goals and break a task into sub-tasks;
• use their own and others’ ideas to locate sources of information;
• select, classify, compare and evaluate information;
• select the most appropriate method for a task;
• use a range of methods for collating, recording and representing information; and communicate with a sense of audience and purpose;
• sequence, order, classify, and make comparisons;
• make predictions, examine evidence, and distinguish fact from opinion;
• make links between cause and effect;
• justify methods, opinions and conclusions;
• generate possible solutions, try out alternative approaches, and evaluate outcomes;
• examine options and weigh up pros and cons;
• use different types of questions; and make connections between learning in different contexts;
• seek out questions to explore and problems to solve;
• experiment with ideas and questions;
• make new connections between ideas/information;
• learn from and value other people’s ideas;
• make ideas real by experimenting with different designs, actions, and outcomes;
• challenge the routine method;
• value the unexpected or surprising;
• see opportunities in mistakes and failures; and take risks for learning.
• listen actively and share opinions;
• develop routines of turn-taking, sharing and cooperating;
• give and respond to feedback;
• understand how actions and words affect others;
• adapt their behaviour and language to suit different people and situations;
• take personal responsibility for work with others and evaluate their own contribution to the group;
• be fair;
• respect the views and opinions of others and reach agreements using negotiation and compromise; and
• suggest ways of improving their approach to working collaboratively.

AHOY THERE! MEET OUR PIRATES: 

Pirate Patch: I am a Responsible Learner

• I can work as part of a team; contributing to group discussions effectively and sensibly
• I can plan ahead and set long term goals
• I can make my long term goals more achievable by giving myself short term goals
• I don’t get distracted

His good habits:

• I read every day and practice my maths times-tables regularly in order to be fluent in my recall;
• I make sure I have all that I need with me so that I am ready to think and learn;
• I know I can chat to my friends in break and lunchtimes but concentrate on my learning in class;
• I will only ask for help when I have tried my best first;
• I have a positive attitude and enjoy my learning.

Pirate Pavel: I am Resilient

• I persist in my learning even when the going gets tough
• I can cope well and adapt when situations change
• I am able to recover quickly from a setback or difficulty (Boing! I can bounce back!)

His good habits:

• I learn from my mistakes and don’t let them get me down. (In fact they make me even more determined to get it right!);
• I focus on my breathing when I start to get stressed or anxious. It helps me manage my feelings and stay calm (or) When I am upset or frustrated I shrug my shoulders, learn from my mistakes and get on with it. I don’t let it get me down for long;
• I practice something in order to be successful at it.

Pirate Pele: I am a Reflective Learner

• I can pause to look, listen and consider different perspectives and dimensions
• I can consider next steps and set clear targets
• I can describe my learning progress
• I use previous learning experiences to help with new learning

His good habits:

• I respond positively to constructive feedback and advice;
• I think about how I responded to a (negative) situation and consider how to respond in a better way next time;
• I show kindness and empathy to others;
• I check my answers in maths before moving on;
• I read through my writing – sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph to make sure it all makes sense.

Pirate Polly: I am Resourceful

• I can problem solve by seeking creative and imaginative ideas.
• I can find, gather and select information from different sources in order to learn.
• I ask good questions that help me understand better.
• I have a can-do attitude

Her good habits:

• I question everything and take nothing for granted;
• I always want to do better;
• I read a wide range of books; both story and non-fiction;
• I don’t wait to be told to do something. (Homework, tidying bedroom etc);
• Every day I tell myself that I am in charge and that my ‘future me’ depends on me putting in the effort now.

Pirate Peg: I am a Reasoning Learner

• I am logical in my thinking; applying facts and my knowledge in an organised way
• I can explain my thinking and learning
• I am prepared to change what I think
• I am proud of my achievements

His good habits:

• I evaluate and assess my work all the time;
• I listen to my inner voice;
• I take my time and think.