In the course of the year pupils will be introduced to Art Costa's Habits of Mind. These are names for the kind of intelligent behaviours we want to encourage children to adopt across all their lessons.

With this Habit of Mind we are aiming to get children to develop the habit of always asking themselves what they already know or can do when they face a problem. We want to encourage them to search for links between different learning experiences, from school and from home, rather than tackling each new task or challenge as if it were a totally separate piece of learning.

We will be issuing stickers and certificates to children who show that they are developing this habit. If you observe your son or daughter making effective use of prior knowledge to tackle a new problem at home while doing homework or in any other activity then please download an ‘Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations' certificate from this website and get your child to add it to their learning journal.

This refers to the ability to work with others in a genuinely collaborative way. We understand that this requires social skills as well as intellectual skills and that is why we will be teaching children explicitly about how to make group work most effective. They will be getting lots of opportunities to practise team work in school but we would also like them to see the link between team work in school and team work at home. So, if you are pleased with the progress your son or daughter is making with team work in Sunday morning football or even in a family context then please use the certificates on this website.

“We need people; we need the co-operation of others. There is very little we can do alone.” Earl Nightingale.

We want students at Bassaleg to be able to able to consider alternative solutions to any given problem so that they do not get disheartened when their first attempt fails. We also want them to be able to see things from different points of view. We will be teaching them to use thinking tools which encourage them to come up with a range of ideas rather than just plumping for the first idea that comes to mind. This should lead them to being more creative, to consider less obvious solutions and to appreciate some of the complexities in life.

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it's the only one you've got." Alain (Emile August Chartier)

Year 7 pupils sometimes feel under pressure of time in class to finish work quickly. With this Habit of Mind we want to highlight the importance of slowing down, checking and taking pride in the quality of a finished piece of work, just as a craftsperson might do. This habit ties in well with our Assessment for Learning practices in the school where we encourage pupils to look at their own and each others' work and suggest ways of improving it. We want pupils to get into the habit of looking at their work again, of improving it and not being satisfied until it is exactly right. We also want them to be able to make their own decisions about which pieces of work require accuracy and precision and which need a less accurate approach.

"Quality means doing it right when no one is looking." Henry Ford

This is probably the least taught skill in schools. We are aiming to put this right by giving pupils explicit guidance on what makes a good listener, helping them to listen beneath someone's words to get the whole message. We want them to get better at listening to each other and to their teachers. We want them to learn that listening is not about being quiet while you wait for your turn to speak but about attempting to understand a different view and building on the views of others as well as understanding them.

“Listening is the beginning of understanding. . . . Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening.” Proverbs 1:5

This is the Habit of Mind which turns potential into real success. We want to teach pupils a range of ways to solve problems so that they develop the resilience to try again when their first or second attempt is not successful. We will give them a range of strategies to use when tackling a task and will be looking for evidence that they are developing the habit of sticking at difficult tasks when the going gets tough. If you are impressed with the way your son or daughter persists with something then please let them know and print off a ‘Persisting' certificate from this website so they can include it in their Learning Journal

"If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down 70 times and get up off the floor saying, 'Here comes number 71!'" Richard M. Devos