Middle School
Education News
The next session of this Newsletter will be an insight into our Middle School classrooms, telling you what each class have focussed on over the past few weeks.
A Message from Mr Shaw At Scarisbrick Hall we are proud to be a learner centred school. Our key driver is to ensure that all of our learners are guided to reach or exceed their potential. For students to excel they must be able to take risks in their own learning, push on beyond the safe answers and look closer to evaluate answers. Creating this culture where teachers and students can take risks in learning is central to the aims and ethos of Scarisbrick Hall School . To achieve this we ensure that: Every learner is confident, Every attempt is applauded, Personal achievement targets are set and Effort as well as attainment is valued In many schools learning has become shallow and formulaic, with teachers ‘playing it safe’ to ensure their school targets are met. By doing this, students tend to fall into a habit of just asking safe questions, not pursuing a critical analysis of views or subjects. Our family approach and committed staff help us to develop a relationship of trust with all of the learners in the school. If learning involves risk-taking, teaching involves trust-building (Marilla Svinicki, University of Texas-Austin), as our students feel confident and safe this trust allows them to innovate and excel. This trust is shown practically through our feedback week. Following every assessment week all of the staff take time out to speak to the students and explain where they have done well and how to improve. They applaud students who have attempted challenging questions and initiated a dialogue of reflection to instigate improvement. Through this dialogue students are encouraged to look at different perspectives. Look at the picture on the right and answer the question “What do you see?” If you see an old lady, can you also see a young lady? If you see a young lady, can you also see an old lady? We need to try to keep our thinking as flexible as possible and not get stuck in one way of seeing something. By developing critical thinkers that take risks in learning, we believe that we are truly educating our students for achievement in life. I was intrigued to read a recent advert in the British Medical Journal that read as follows: The world is looking for people who do take risks, innovative, think creatively and potentially differently. At Scarisbrick Hall we believe that our curriculum and care of the students will see them succeed in this area. I would like to thank you for your support and belief in our school. I wish you every blessing this Christmas Time. Felix dies Nativitatis