Why are we implementing
Building Learning Power
at
Arkholme C.E. Primary
School?
School Vision and Mission
Inspire…
a love for lifelong learning
curiosity and creativity
imagination and independence
each other as individuals
collaboration within our community
awe and wonder for God’s world
School Aims
At Arkholme C.E. Primary School we believe in the concept of lifelong learning and the
notion that learning should be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for everyone; it should
be fun! In order to live out our vision and mission we aim to be a school where:

We unlock everyone’s full potential.

We are leaders in best educational practice

Teaching and learning is personalised, creative, challenging and fun

Children are inspired and supported to develop interests and skills both in and outside
school

Positive links with the local community create strong partnerships

A sense of mutual respect, care, and responsibility is shown for everyone and everything in
school

Children can contribute positively to a changing society

Everyone in school feels safe, supported, valued and happy


Children are supported to make informed decisions for a healthy lifestyle- physically,
emotionally, socially and academically
Our special Christian identity is demonstrated in the values we share and in the relationships
that all member of the school community have with one another.
“The test of successful education is not the amount of
knowledge that pupils take away from school, but their
appetite to know and their capacity to learn.”
Sir Richard Livingstone, 1941
"prepared for the opportunities, responsibilities and
experiences of later life“
DfE 2013
Learning for life
“ not just for a life of tests but for the tests of life”
BLP encourages children to focus on themselves as
learners and to realise that they can learn to be good at
learning
‘Term on term, year on year, a BLP school breeds young
people who are more curious, more willing to take a risk
and give it a go, more
imaginative, more creative, more thoughtful, more
ready, willing and able to learn with and through others.
It’s developing this adventurous
spirit that counts’.
Professor Guy Claxton
What is BLP?
We want our children to be
 Resilient
 Resourceful
 Reflective
 Reciprocal
 To do this, we need to strengthen their learning
muscles – of which there are 17!
Resilient
 Absorbed
 Able to manage
distractions
 Notice things
 Persevere
Resourceful
 Make links
 Ask questions, of others
and themselves
 Capitalise on the
resources they have
available to them
 Use their imagination
 Reason
Reflective
 Plan their learning
 Distil what they have
learnt and pick out the
important or key
information
 Revise what they are doing
 Can identify themselves as
a learner, how they learn
and what their strengths
and weaknesses are
Reciprocity
 Collaborate with others
 Have empathy with
others and can actively
listen to others
 Imitate what other
people do and learn from
them
 Make informed choices
about when to work with
others, and who to work
with
What we did
collaborate
persevere
take a
questioning
approach
How do you learn?
 “The teacher tells you something.”
 “I read books and look on the internet.”
 “You make us do things like answer questions.”
 “We do homework.”
 “I learn things by watching some TV programmes like
Horrible History.”
 “Practice.”
 “Its good when you get the answer right.”
To get the
children
thinking
about how
they learn, I
asked them
to start their
learning log
by writing
about
something
they have
learnt to do
and how
they learnt
to do it.
collaborate
“I like working on
my own – other
people bother me
and I can’t
concentrate.”
“I just like
working on
my own
because then I
can do it my
own way.”
“I like working with
my friends because I
know them better.”
Do you prefer working
with others, or on your
own?
“I sometimes like
working with other
people but I don’t
like it when people
don’t listen to my
ideas.”
“I like working
with John because
he always knows
what he’s doing.”
“I don’t like
working with
people I don’t know
very well because I
don’t know them.”
Forest Schools
“Everyone is
good at
something
different.”
“I used to just
want to do my
own thing, but
now I like sharing
ideas with other
people.”
really liked
being the expert!
Everyone was
listening – that
never happens!”
“I
“I’ve worked with some
people I wouldn’t
usually work with
and it was good fun.”
How do you feel about
Collaboration?
“I thought he just
messed about, but
actually he worked
really well in our
group.”
“Its not copying,
its imitating!”
“I was really
surprised when they
made me the leader
of the group! But I
think I was good at
it because I listened
to everyone.”
take a
questioning
approach
Observed behaviours
 Can I have ....? (insert variety of classroom equipment!)
 What do I do with this?
 Do you mean the thing we did yesterday ?
 Does ‘force’ have a C in it?
 What are we going to do next?
 Are you going to football after school?
 Is this like a fact file?
Questioning Wheel
Question Box
Rules set by the class
Can ask any question
Children decide if it is a
silly/rude question
If we don’t know the
answer we will find out.
What are
you having
for tea?
What is
your name?
Do you like
ice cream?
How do you
drive a car?
How are
rocks
made?
How do you
make
chips?
How do
staligtites
and
staligmites
grow?
Wonder Wall (before BLP)
Wonder Wall (after BLP!)
Learning logs
Distilling
Capitalising
Absorption
Making links
Planning
Questioning
Listening
Questioning Wheel
persevere
How do you feel when you are stuck?
Nervous
Confused
Frustrated
Sad
Jealous of
others
Worried
Angry
How do you feel when you work
something out?
Tired
Satisfied
Surprised
Pleased with
myself
Delighted
Relieved
“What was I
worried about?”
Happy
Stuck Strategies
How do you learn?
 “I ask questions – I think
 “I learn from other
I’m good at asking
questions.”
 “I learn from my
mistakes
 “Having a go.”
 “By using the equipment
in the classroom like
displays.”
people.”
 “BEING DETERMINED!”
 “I learn by trying
different strategies when
I’m stuck.”
 “By asking questions like
in the question box.”
What is building learning power
It makes us
better learners.
The four R’s we
need to be a
good learner.
Building up
your learning
like bricks on
a wall.
Being a good
learner.
We know we don’t
just learn from
you, but we
collaborate and
learn in different
ways.
I’ve learnt
what those 4
R words
mean!
BLP would be a good thing to
use across the country. I
though you told me
something and that’s how I
learnt it but actually I have to
ask myself questions to keep
me learning.
We should start BLP
at a younger age so
you’re doing it from
the start.
It helped me because I
thought you were just
telling me things. I
want to get to the
orange so I know I’m
stretching my
questioning muscle.
I’m persevering in
maths more.
What are your thoughts
on Building Learning
Power?
It’s made me
stronger because it
make me really
think.
I think it has made
me a better learner
because I really
think about BLP and
questioning.
It’s given me
more options
for what I can
do, like when
I’m stuck.
I’m making up my
own questions like
‘What should I do
next?’
Successes
 Attitude to learning improved
 Increased Independence
– no longer see me as the go to person when they are stuck,
and are actively engaging in their own learning though
independent research, questioning and homework.
 The children seeing and commenting on the overlap
between the capacities .
 “I used maths to present my information in RE. Thats
making links isn’t it?”
 Homework
Successes
The language the children use
 “I need to persevere at this”.
 “Oh I forgot about that one, lets revise what we’re
doing!”
 “I think I use my questioning muscle a lot!”
 “I think we should collaborate on this.”
 “RECIPROCITY!”
What can you do at home?
 Ask your children about their learning muscles they have been




using at school.
Use the language of learning when undertaking tasks at home.
If your child becomes stuck in their learning ask them to think of
what they would have to do at school to get “unstuck”.
Welcome and foster your child’s questioning spirit as much as
you can.
Involve them in your own learning activities. Try to “think aloud”
as you try a new recipe or struggle with a bit of DIY. It helps
children grow if they see that you too can struggle with
uncertainties and cope with them.