Teach Primary Issue 18.6

1 | CLASSROOM CULTURE By cultivating a safe space to explore, make mistakes, receive support, and celebrate achievements, we can strengthen self-belief.When this is combined with explicit teaching and learning about growthmindset, pupils will learn to view challenges as opportunities. Emphasising effort over talent demonstrates that hard work leads to improvement. Pearson’s recent School Report ( tinyurl.com/tp-Pearson24 ) highlights that seven in ten learners feel their future options are limited by their current academic performance; this emphasises the need for building confidence, resilience and self-efficacy. 2 | THE POWER OF LANGUAGE Use empowering language to reframe pupils as ‘experts’. So, instead of saying, “We’re doing science,” try, “As scientists, we’re going to explore…” This subtle but transformative shift helps pupils see themselves as professionals, boosting confidence and ambition. By envisioning themselves as authors, engineers or artists, children learn their current academic attainment does not define their future; with effort and persistence, they can excel and broaden their sense of future possibilities. 3 | CELEBRATE ACHIEVEMENTS Recognising and celebrating pupils’ achievements, big or small, can boost confidence and motivation. By celebrating successes, we can reinforce the belief that effort leads to progress, creating a positive environment where students feel valued and motivated to set and pursue ambitious future goals. 4 | MEANING MATTERS Research by the DfE highlights the importance of early career-related learning to broaden horizons. Incorporating regular and varied career-focused activities will initiate important conversations and provide essential real-world experiences, and help demonstrate why a subject is important. So, try structuring maths lessons around budgeting for a school event, or measuring ingredients for a recipe. And perhaps plan some art classes that involve designing promotional posters – linking to careers in graphic design. FEATURES PASTORAL 5 | PARENTAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Career carousels, where volunteers such as parents or other members or the community speak with groups of children about their jobs, can be highly effective and may enable children to visualise themselves in similar roles. These opportunities not only provide pupils with a broader understanding of various career paths, but also help to demystify professions that they might not have previously considered. 6 | ADDRESSING STEREOTYPES Research by Gottfredson in 2001 indicated that children as young as six begin to see jobs and future pathways as intrinsically gendered. Sadly, 20 years on, this is often still the case. In Pearson’s School Report, two-thirds of primary learners said they ‘learn better when I see people like me/frommy background’. So, there is a clear need for us to ensure that pupils are made aware of female engineers, male nurses, etc., as well as successful people from a range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. 7 | INSPIRATIONAL SUCCESS Sharing inspiring stories of people who have overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams can be very motivating. Talking about the ups and downs of different careers and emphasising the importance of resilience can help children aim high and believe in their potential. Highlighting that success comes in many forms can help pupils understand that they too can achieve greatness, no matter their starting point. 8 | BUILDING BLOCKS TO BRILLIANCE Aiming high often means starting in one place and progressing to another. Discussing with children how people often begin their studies and careers in one area and then move to another will help them understand how skills are transferable. Encouraging pupils to see every opportunity as a building block demonstrates that effort is never wasted, and that their journey will be full of meaningful learning moments. By instilling a sense of possibility and ambition, we can help every child to dreambig 8 WAYS to inspire learners HANNAH MANSELL is a primary school teacher of 12 years. www.teachwire.net | 11