The Growth Mindset at Houghton Conquest Lower School
At Houghton Conquest, we aim to have a growth mindset. Children understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t think everyone is the same, but they believe that everyone can improve if they work hard.
“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work – brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” (Carol Dweck)
We teach our children to continually try to have positive attitudes to learning, to improve their own personal best; to work hard and persevere; to view challenges and failures as opportunities to improve their learning and skills. We find that with this attitude, our children are more likely to continue working despite setbacks; and continually try to improve their own work.
| We don’t say… | Instead, at Houghton, we say… |
| I give up | I’ll try a different method |
| It’s good enough | Is this my best work? |
| I’m not good at this | What am I missing? |
| This is too hard for me | This might take some time |
| I made a mistake | I can learn from my mistakes |
| I can’t do this | I’m going to train my brain |
| This is the best I can do | I can always improve |
| My friend can do it | I will learn from my friend |
| I’ll never be clever enough | I will learn how to do this |
It has been proven that having a Growth Mindset can improve children’s progress and attainment. As a result, we are teaching our children that by having a Growth Mindset they can grow their brains and intelligence and achieve anything they want!