A whole school approach to Personal Learning and Thinking Skills at Launceston College

In the beginning……. Staff were asked what attributes an ideal student in Year 11 would demonstrate. These were then grouped into common categories and used to devise a number of ‘skill areas’ They looked very similar to the PLTS that were being piloted at the time. Each skill area was given a colour!

Launceston’s Language 4 Learning Self Managing Learners Pupils at Launceston College are self-managers who demonstrate organisation, creativity, initiative and enterprise skills. They show how to manage their time, their emotions and that they can build and maintain relationships. A Launceston College pupil can… Seek new challenges and responsibilities Show flexibility and commitment when working towards goals. Organise time and resources Take calculated risks and prioritise work Manage emotions…to build and maintain successful working relationships Seeking advice and support when necessary Independent enquiring Learners Pupils at Launceston College are able to process and evaluate; planning what to do and how to go about it. They can make balanced, reasoned decisions, appreciating that people have different beliefs and attitudes. A Launceston College pupil can: Identify…questions to answer and problems to solve Plan…to carry out research, to solve the problem. Explore…through different people’s perspectives. Analyse/evaluate information…based on its quality. Consider…how circumstances, beliefs and feelings influence decisions and events Conclude...with reasons which are evidence based. Creative Learners Pupils at Launceston College think creatively by generating and exploring new ideas, follow intuition and take risks for success and originality. They actively learn from mistakes and setbacks, and value the unexpected or surprising. They try different ways to tackle a problem, working with others to find imaginative solutions and outcomes that are of value. A Launceston College pupil can: Generate ideas and explore possibilities Ask ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘what if’ or unusual questions to extend their thinking Apply imaginative thinking to achieve an objective Try out alternatives or new solutions and follow ideas through Experiment with ideas and questions Challenge the routine method and take risks for learning Resilient Learners Pupils at Launceston College are ready, willing and able to learn. They show perseverance when challenged and are not afraid to fail. When confronted with something new they do their best to succeed and recognise that effort will reap rewards. A Launceston College pupil can: Recognise that making mistakes is a natural part of learning Keep going at a task until it is completed Manage distractions by recognising and reducing interruptions Focus on the task at hand and sustain attention Break tasks down into manageable steps and propose practical ways forward Process new ideas and use this to inform future learning Recognise how they learn and try to develop new ways of learning Team Learners Pupils at Launceston College are team workers who focus on the skills of working collaboratively with other people, taking responsibility and resolving issues. Students who are good team workers are sensitive to the needs of others and can adapt their behaviour to meet the demands of different situations. A Launceston College pupil can… Collaborate with their peers to form a cohesive unit to work towards a common goal. Manage discussions and reach agreements. Manage behaviour to deal with a variety of different people. Take responsibility and confidence in their contributions to a team. Provide support and constructive feedback to others To resolve conflict in a constructive manner. Reflective Learners Pupils at Launceston College are able to evaluate their strengths and limitations so as to enable them to move forward and improve. They are able to state criteria for success and monitor their own progress according to this. They are also able to accept and give positive feedback to further their learning. A Launceston College pupil can: Use self and peer assessment. Develop success criteria so as to develop their work. Review their progress along the way and adjust their practice so as to increase their achievement. Use feedback that is given in a positive manner so as to move forward. Evaluate their own learning experiences. Communicate their learning in relevant ways for different audiences.

Learning to Learn days Each half term we collapsed the curriculum for all years for one day. Year groups went to faculties for this day. Each half term had a skills theme and faculties had to plan and deliver activities to develop students competence in this area.

Impact on Learning Students benefit from the opportunity to work with experts other than their teachers The days are skills driven, outside the normal constraints of curriculum Students are transferring the skills they learn to other areas of their school life Students and staff are becoming more familiar with the language for learning

Impact on behaviour Average number of sanctions given per day Sanction type 1 2 3 Total Normal day 29 18 8 55 L2L day 4 10

The following year…. Divided each skill into sub-skills and wrote statements at gold, silver and bronze levels. Posters created for every classroom Extended tutor periods at the start and end of each half term to introduce skill and then reflect on progress Target grids and evidence logs in contact books Curriculum areas asked to deliver skills objectives in lessons Objective stems written for each skill area

Life and Learning skills Build on the success and increase awareness of LLfL Realised that SEAL, citizenship and PSHE were closely linked to our language. Develop a coordainated approach to delivery Poorly delivered and inconsistent tutor programme Ensure that students and staff see the skills as purposeful and beneficial to student progression and development

Change Groups Staff invited by Principal to give it weight Staff chosen as diagonal slice across the school Created sense of ownership to change and creative solutions to implementation Identified overlapping areas Staff skills audit Review of tutor programme New curriculum models debated by whole staff.

Planning phase Key staff involved in mapping Half termly themes Intergrated SEAL, Core 24, LLfL, IAG and Health and well-being into a delivery package Covering content through Skills Year group writing teams

Delivery 1 x 50 min lesson per week Schemes of learning written for each year group and delivered by tutors. Tutor led Links into tutor activities Builds on Learning to learn days

Opportunities Better tutoring Coherent delivery of programmes More time with tutees Tutor reports focus on skills Better K&U of student progress at academic tutoring Coherent delivery of programmes Emergence of ‘year group leads’

Messages so far Better understanding of pupils from tutors Pupils feeling better prepared to learn More reflection from pupils ‘Frantic Friday’ Some pupils taking a long time to accept the changes.

The Future…. Embed into normal lesson slot More integration between lessons and tutoring Pupils prepared to face challenges of KS4 and 5 better Subjects assessing skill achievement Pupils self assessing skills and setting own targets

Next steps…. We have been working with a commercial company called INCYTE to develop an online recording system for our language Drama are reporting attainment against Language for Learning skills

LAUNCESTON’S LANGUAGE 4 LEARNING At Launceston College we are committed to developing the learning skills pupils will need to enable them to fulfil their potential regardless of their ability. We believe strongly that Learning should not be confined to subject areas, and we have a learning to learn programme designed to equip our students with these crucial learning skills. It is hoped that it is this that will help them to remain successful learners throughout their lives and prepare them for the 21st century. We have devised a Language for Learning that incorporates six key learning skills. These are not taught as discrete units but are instead embedded and woven into the curriculum so that pupils can experience them in different contexts.

LAUNCESTON’S LANGUAGE 4 LEARNING The following framework has been created to assist teachers when planning their collapsed curriculum days next year. The framework comprises six groups of skills that are essential to success in learning of a Launceston College Pupil. It is these skills that will enable our students to develop learning habits to enter work and adult life as confident and capable individuals. The titles of the six groups of skills are set out below and are based in some part on the framework of personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) embedded in the new diplomas. Independent Enquiring Learners Team Learners Creative Learners Self-managing Learners Reflective Learners Resilient Learners For each group of skills, a focus statement sums up the range of skills. This is accompanied by a set of outcome statements that are indicative of the skills, behaviours and personal qualities associated within each group. It is these statements that provide the learning outcomes when planning a learning experience for the collapsed days. When planning your collapsed days it is hoped that you will focus on several of the statements and make it explicit to the learners which skill they are developing. You may wish to concentrate on one group of skills or chose outcome statements from more than one group in any one learning experience. The goal is to familiarise our pupils with a common learning language so that they can recognise the skills they are developing and use them in a wide range of learning experiences. This language can then be ‘infused’ into the curriculum and used to frame all learning and in activity planning rather than as a stand-alone approach.