Year 7 students are beginning their training to become ‘happy, confident, intelligent warriors’, as part of their Transitions course.

The students have now had two double lessons, are getting to know one another and developing positive relationships as this will be a key feature in their upcoming Deep Learning PERMA programme.

As part of a unit on "My Identity and Values", they have started exploring identities, thinking about how they see themselves and how others perceive them.

The aim is to allow them to explore and build a strong sense of identity and gain a clear sense of their own values and interests which can help provide clarity, direction and motivation when it comes to setting goals and working towards them.

Students have created slide decks to introduce themselves to their classmates. They are also working on developing social competencies: communication, oracy and listening skills.

The students have produced some excellent work, and have spoken with confidence to a very supportive audience of peers. They have received positive and constructive feedback on their performances.

They have also been working on their self-regulation strategies through games of hide and seek tag, building on a skill introduced to them during the year 7 induction.

The Transitions course is closely linked to the ICHK Approaches to Learning, offering students opportunities to develop these skills, along with a growth mindset, which is key to our 5+1 pastoral model.

It has been specially developed to emphasize our school's commitment, through the 5+1 model, to the work of educational theorist Kieran Egan. This states that children slowly climb through five different ecological zones as they journey to adulthood. In each zone, they come to understand the world in different ways.