Surrey Homes | SH17 | March 2016 | Fashion supplement inside

the tortoise children to fly were pretty limited, I
imagine? At primary school, I soon started believing
that I was not good at maths and I remember
that the activities I was given were pretty basic
and did not inspire a love of mathematics or logic.
Only when I became a teacher did I realise that
there was such a thing as mathematical beauty.
Conversely, when teachers see intelligence through a
‘growth mindset’, they can inspire children to be resilient,
learn from mistakes and see learning as a collaborative
process in which accepting that learning is difficult
does not crush potential. Dame Alison Peacock, my
colleague and friend, leads a school in which everyone
is expected to flourish; where the word ‘ability’ is not
even used. When walking around her school, what is
most noticeable is the dialogue about learning. Children
talk vociferously about their learning journey, they articulate
their hopes and they express where they are finding it difficult
and how they are going to improve. Teachers and teaching
assistants talk about learning and potential. Her school has
been rated as Outstanding by Ofsted for ten years – no easy
task – so this is not a progressive, ‘soft approach’ and dumbingdown
of education. As the Headteacher of the University
of Cambridge Primary School (the Government’s flagship
University Training School), I am always striving to ‘find ways
through’ for every child and every member of my staff team.
How do we create learning opportunities in a culture in which
everyone is expected to improve and develop; in which it is not
possible to say “I can’t do it” because, “I’m not good at it”?
Like Dame Alison, we work with parents and teachers to
re-think how we understand intelligence and ability. We resist
labelling children as bright because we do not believe any child
is dull. We don’t use the word work because we believe that
we are in the business of learning. Readers may think this is
petty and just semantics but I have noticed a real difference
in the ways children think about their learning. Only recently
I walked around our new school, talking with children to
understand their classroom experiences. A year one child
stopped me and said, “Mr Biddulph do you know why I love
this school?” I asked why. “Well basically, it’s because of the
learning,” he answered. “What do you mean?” I enquired.
“Well in my old school I was not good at maths but here
my teacher thinks it’s good when it is difficult. Because if it
is not difficult we are not learning. So, every time I try, and
now I can do it.” It is heart-warming to hear children say
such things. In my view, this will inspire them to see learning
as a journey, as a process and not a fixed or static concept.
It is an ideology that is valuable – and yes, can raise standards
for all children, not just the ones who in the past may have been
labelled as the brightest pupils. In fact, Carol Dweck shows that
Freeimages.com/DanMacdonald
in a growth mindset school, all children do better because of the
very important word - ‘yet’. In our school we have no problem in
hearing children say “I can’t do it” because it is always followed
by the word “yet”. Children tell us that it is an opportunity
when they find something difficult because with effort comes
success - not because they are born with a predetermined ability.
Of course, not everyone will be a Pavarotti, or a Mo Farah,
or a Stephen Hawking; but we can all develop our singing,
run our fastest and learn to love science – if we have a growth
mindset that expects everyone to say, “I can’t do it…yet!”
Mr James Biddulph BA PGCE MA Med is the
headteacher of University of Cambridge Primary School,
Cambridge. For more information phone 01223
792440 or visit www.universityprimaryschool.org.uk
www.wealdentimes.co.uk
118