
We want to put them in situations where they are challenged outside of their comfort zone but not to the point where they are drowning. The stakes must be low so that pupils understand if they get something wrong, it doesn’t matter and the culture must support encouragement of effort and praise of curiosity. We want to support pupils in having the confidence to give something a go and to ask questions that they may not be able to answer, to get things wrong but then feel encouraged to work it through and ultimately succeed or learn. Failure is an intrinsic part of success and if we don’t provide an opportunity to fail, we miss an opportunity to learn.
If you place children straight into high stakes situations, that is when they may crumble. However, if children are given the confidence to try something outside of their comfort zone, whether it is playing a new position on the rugby pitch, standing on stage to perform or attempting a complex maths investigation that is beyond what they’ve been taught, that experience gives them a subconscious reference point to access next time they feel challenged or unsure. They will remember the feeling of anxiety but it will be linked to the memory of the outcome and the knowledge that either the experience turned out OK or that they learned a lesson to be used this time around.