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Resilience should be gained in every lesson
North Bridge House explains
Student wellbeing is becoming increasingly vital to schools’ educational philosophies, and with awareness of mental health and its threats continuing to rise, parents and educators are ever more concerned with the emotional support available to our future generation. But at the same time, we hear of the need for resilience in today’s young people and that, given the inevitable challenges of modern society, to be successful they must be able to cope in the face of adversity.
So when should a child fi nd that ‘fi ghting spirit’ rather than ‘a shoulder to cry on’? It’s not a juggling act says successful North London schools group, North Bridge House; resilience should be gained in every lesson as a result of individualised support and the whole school environment.
From day one, North Bridge House is on a journey to understand each child as a unique and individual learner, with their own path to realising their academic and personal potential. Whether a child is beginning their journey at the Nursery School or joining at Senior School and Sixth Form, they must feel safe and secure in their learning environment in order to have the best chances of success.
“Happiness is the key to successful learning, and we are committed to both reducing the stress that children face and teaching them how to deal with it,” says Head of North Bridge House Nursery and Pre-Prep Schools, Christine McLelland. “Resilience is a learned behaviour and as with growing many qualities in our children, building resilience is most eff ective from the off set,” she continues.
Cognitive development is not only prolific in the Early Years, making this age group the most malleable and receptive to learning, but young children are more susceptible to stress than we may realise. Starting school in itself can be stressful for some young children, particularly those who experience separation anxiety from their parents, and it is not long until exam pressure creeps in with children sitting entrance tests as young as 4 and 7-years-old. While North Bridge House prepares children for automatic entry to its Prep School to combat this, the school aims to empower them with resilience-promoting tools early on to remove all barriers to learning possible.
“Resilience, like many characteristics, is stronger and most eff ective when we have support,” says North Bridge House Prep School Head, James Stenning. “Children find greater confidence, determination and opportunity to develop vital coping skills in the context of safe and trusting relationships as opposed to uncompromising independence,” he explains.
At North Bridge House, teachers work with each individual student to develop positive relationships, ensuring they feel safe and valued in the classroom, which in turn strengthens resilience.
“Our focus on the individual, tailoring teaching to their needs and providing one-to-one support, does not however mean we ‘spoon feed’ them,” explains North Bridge House Senior Schools Headteacher, Brendan Pavey. “Teachers create a high-challenge, low-threat environment to allow students to make mistakes and learn through doing so,” he says.
North Bridge House maintains small class sizes to differentiate between students, giving them each the individual attention they require in lessons to focus on understanding the subject, as opposed to perhaps feeling behind other students or opting out of engagement. Each student is challenged to achieve their own personal goals and given meaningful feedback – provoking further thought and with clear pointers for improvement (even if the student is excelling) – which in turn increase their sense of achievement and most importantly, autonomy. In understanding their own learning process, students are motivated and self-directed in their studies - at the same time as supported.
“Teachers need to provide structure and guidance to problem-solving but allow students to find and investigate their own solutions,” explains North Bridge House Prep Head, James Stenning. “With the mounting pressure of exams on both staff and students, it can become all too easy to ‘spoonfeed’ as opposed to teach. Teaching inspires intellectual curiosity and nurtures independent thinking – ideas that grow beyond the classroom and skills that facilitate life success, not just exam success… Skills such as resilience,” he says.
In not rushing to their rescue but giving them the courage to try and tackle a problem and learn through making mistakes, North Bridge House builds its students’ abilities to meet new challenges head-on.
“To truly prepare our children for adult life we must build character and resilience and teach them to welcome challenge. Personal and emotional support is integral to this however, and with our focus fi rmly on the whole child, their whole environment, and their well-being, then I truly believe we can make a big diff erence to their outcomes at school and beyond,” concludes North Bridge House Senior Schools Head, Brendan Pavey.