Here at Sherborne St John C of E Primary School, we strongly believe that all of our children can develop a growth mindset, and with help from all adults involved, can succeed. We place great emphasis on effort, resilience and the importance of making mistakes and learning from them.

"No matter what your ability is; effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment."

(Dr. Carol S. Dweck)

Has your child ever said to you ‘There’s no point, I’ll never be able to do it’ or avoided doing something because they have failed at it in the past? Feelings like this can be related to what children believe about what makes them ‘good’ at something – whether it’s school work, sport or even their ability to manage their emotions or behaviour. Some children will tend to give up on challenging tasks easily, or avoid tasks they’ve failed at before. They tend to believe that being ‘good’ at a particular activity is a fixed state and something they can’t control. This way of thinking is called a fixed mindset. Other children might bounce back quickly from failure and be more likely to explore how they can get better at doing something. They tend to be children who believe that you can improve your abilities by practising, or finding a different way to achieve your goal. This way of thinking is called a growth mindset and developing it can help make children more resilient for life.

Useful websites for parents: 

Help your child try new things

Mindset works