BLP

At Weaverham forest Primary School we place learning at the heart of all that we do.  We continually focus on developing the whole child and the broader aspects of lifelong learning are central to that - our aim is to be a 'Learning Powered School'.

Children today are growing up in a world which is rapidly changing, and we aim to give them the basic and wider skills necessary to be able to succeed now and in the future. It is estimated that many of the jobs that will be available to today's children as adults don't even exist yet. Children therefore need to be adaptable, resilient, independent and collaborative in their approach, and able to solve problems to continually learn, develop, improve and succeed.

What Does Building Learning Power mean?

Building Learning Power (BLP) is an approach to learning created by Professor Guy Claxton. It is based on the idea that we are all capable of becoming better learners. BLP applies this idea directly to the work of teachers in the classrooms, to provide a practical framework for fostering lifelong learning in all young people.

At Weaverham Forest Primary School, our ethos is to encourage children to become independent, lifelong learners.

BLP allows us to nurture this ethos and build the children’s learning power through a variety of strategies and techniques. For example, children learn techniques of 'what to do if I am stuck' to make them more independent and how to approach a challenge.

We focus on different learning muscles in assemblies, class and around school. We have a whole-school focus on one learning muscle for 3-4 weeks at a time, as well as referring to a range of them in lessons. 

There are four key learning muscles:

· Resilience

· Reflectiveness

· Resourcefulness

· Reciprocity

The new four R’s of learning.  All of these can be developed by everyone regardless of ‘ability’, social background or age.  Just as we can build our physical muscles by the right kind of exercise, we can exercise our learning muscles to develop their strength and stamina.   Within each of the four R’s  are a number of learning behaviours which can be individually trained, nurtured and exercised.

Resilience is:

being ready, willing and able to lock into learning—knowing how to work through difficulties when the pressure mounts or the going gets tough. 

Your resilience is made up of...

· Absorption

· Managing Distractions

· Noticing

· Perseverance

Reflectiveness is:

being ready, willing and able to become more strategic about learning—taking a longer-term view by planning, taking stock, and drawing out your experiences as a learner to get the best out of yourself.

Your reflectiveness is made up of ...

· Planning

· Revising

· Distilling

· Meta—Learning

Resourcefulness is:

being  ready, willing and able to learn in different ways—using both internal and external resources effectively, calling on different ways of learning.

Your resourcefulness is made up of...

· Questioning

· Making Links

· Imagining

· Reasoning

· Capitalising

Reciprocity is:

people—using a sense of independent  judgement together with skills in communication and empathy.

Your reciprocity is made up of ...

· Interdependence

· Collaboration

· Imitation

· Empathy and Listening

You can find out more at: http://www.buildinglearningpower.co.uk/

What can you do to stimulate learning at home?

Resilience

· Demonstrate sticking at things even if they are difficult

· Talk about how you feel when you are taking on challenges

· Praise your child when they persevere but also encourage them to take a break when they have had enough

· Help them to find interests and activities that are really absorbing

· Talk with them about what helps them to concentrate and manage distractions

Resourcefulness

· Encourage questions

· Demonstrate making links between different ideas

· Encourage your child’s imagination through exploration.

· Help them to find ways of using resources such as reference books, dictionaries and the internet.

Reflectiveness

· Encourage them to take responsibility for preparing for school

· Ask not what they did at school, but what they learned

· Help them to think about and plan activities

· Encourage flexibility and the ability to change a plan if necessary

Reciprocity

· Work, play and learn alongside your children, enabling them to pick up good habits through imitation

· Make expectations of turn-taking and co-operation clear