Digital Distraction

November 15, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

I recently found myself reading Nir Eyal’s, “Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life”, which is a guide to staying focused in an age of constant distraction. Eyal argues we need to stop using the word “addicted” when it comes to technology – because most of us aren’t addicted at all; we’re […]

Ability and Neuroplasticity – why do pupils need to understand about our brain’s malleability?

September 27, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Having been sat with both psychologists and school leaders for extended periods this week, a recurring theme has been that of ‘ability’. What is it? Is ability fixed? What is the difference between ability and current performance? Is our performance outcome influenced primarily by nature, or genes, or nurture, our environment and experiences? Can it be developed and cultivated? If it is […]

Facilitating resilience

September 25, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

As a school, we continually seek to monitor not only the quality of our provision, but how we do what we do. This can take the form of book scrutinies, talking with parents, pupil focus groups, peer observations, surveys and a whole host of other processes. Talking with children and watching them learn – rather […]

The impact of self-talk

September 17, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

We all have an inner voice, which can help us to plan in our heads and to figure things out, but we also use it to talk about ourselves. So, positive self-talk can impact on our resilience, concentration, confidence, self-image and performance. One area to focus on is energising self-talk, whereby self-talk can act as a […]