Growth Mindsets
Talbot Primary School believes in promoting Growth Mindsets. This is the belief that people’s potential is enormous, and we all have the capacity to achieve incredible things; however, this will not always be an easy or quick journey. We need to be prepared to work hard and work smartly. It is summed up in the phrase “effort and strategies equal success.”
How to develop a Growth Mindset
To support a Growth Mindsets, Talbot Primary School teaches specific learning characteristics; these are: effort, courage, focus, independence, perseverance and resilience. Our learning heroes, who were created by the pupils, make them more memorable.
Busy Bee (effort): “Bees represent effort, because they work tirelessly to collect the nectar for their hives. At school, we should make an effort too, so we can learn more." Eva B (Year 2)
Courage Climber: “It takes great courage to climb a mountain, especially alone. We should be brave, when trying to learn difficult, new things.” Ada L (Year 3)
Fancy Focus: “Cameras can focus in on tiny details, which allows them to take clearer pictures. If we show focus in school, we will be clearer about our learning.” Etta C (Year 4)
Independent Incy: “Spiders make complicated webs by themselves and survive alone. Where possible, we should try to do complete our learning independently.” Sami A (Year 5),
Perseverance Penguin: “Penguins struggle to bring up their chicks in the freezing Antarctic. When the learning gets tough, we should try and persevere too, rather than give up.” Tilly S (Year 6),
Resilient Cacti: "Cacti survive in the deserts, demonstrating fantastic resilience. When something goes wrong with our learning, we shouldn’t crumble and get upset." Albie W and Binyameen A (former pupils)
Learning Journeys: “Important learning takes time”
School has adopted the image of growing flowers to represent the learning process. The School Council voted for this design in September 2025, because they wanted people to understand that learning can be tricky, and sometimes a little overwhelming at the start.
Significant adults, friends or clever strategies can help you grow your learning. Similarly, you can grow plants more easily, if you follow good advice like planting the seed at the right time of year, watering it and understanding what it neds to thrive.
Don’t put a ceiling on ambition: “The Power of Yet”
Growth Mindset expert, Caroline Dweck, explains how aspirations can be raised with a single word – “yet”. Click here to watch her explanation of this approach.
