The A Level mindset Introduction to VESPA V

The A Level mindset

Introduction to VESPA V ATTITUDE SYSTEMS PRACT I CE EFFORT N

Here’s what students said are the challenges in 6 th form… • • • Time management Keeping on top of IS Going beyond set work (proactive independent study) Falling behind due to missed lessons Fitting in school work and extra-curricular Procrastinating! Working independently What’s the point of all this? Work life balance – part-time work, relationships, driving, social life, family commitments AND trying to do A levels

A Level requires a different mind set to GCSE • Self-motivator • Positive • Independent learner • Using initiative • Proactive approach • Organised • Focus and effort • Resilience • Involved in all areas of 6 th form

Ceiling students and breakthrough students • Research in a school found two types of students at A level - Ceiling students – plateauing, underperforming - Breakthrough students – exceeding targets, great progress • The school looked into these students and found that each group contained a mixture of students with a range of past progress and characteristics. There was no common theme within the groups. • They concluded that past progress is not a determinant of success in 6 th form. • Students could have performed excellently at GCSE but this does not necessarily carry through to 6 th form and has very little to do with academic ability.

The answer… MIND SET • Further research allowed the school to identify patterns in the behaviours/habits of breakthrough and ceiling students. • They found that it mostly came down to a range of ‘non-cognitive skills’ such as organisation, detailed note taking, positivity, resilience and having a goal. • These all came through as characteristics and behaviours that breakthrough students had and ceiling students didn’t - regardless of prior performance. • Key message – your success in 6 th form has no relation to your prior success. To achieve you must have the right MIND SET. • The good news? These characteristics are malleable – that means they can be learned and adopted. This follows a growth mind set approach where people believe that their intelligence and performance can grow. Growth mind set individuals put themselves in challenging situations and work their way through them, listening to feedback and acting on it. They view failure as an opportunity to grow and gain resilience from this.

Introducing VESPA • VISION – having a clear vision of what you want to achieve is central to success. • EFFORT – high levels of effort which involves proactive independent study and acknowledging blockers that prevent this. • SYSTEMS – organisation of learning, resources and time is essential to learn effectively. • PRACTICE – students actively practice and develop their skills. They learn content, develop skills and use feedback to grow. • ATTITUDE – students are positive, resilient and respond well to setbacks. Successful students want to succeed more than they are afraid to fail.

So how can we all become excellent learners with a great VESPA mind set? • Researchers found that nearly EVERY problem or issue for each student they encountered could be related and solved from the VESPA mind set model and it revolutionised the way 6 th formers learn and build life skills. • This self-help model is extremely effective as it allows learners to identify and modify their own behaviours, rather than being nagged by teachers and parents. • The researchers designed a programme with activities designed to help students reflect and build on all aspects of the VESPA model.

The MIND SET programme • MIND SET will take place every other week on Wednesday tutor time • You will spend these sessions with your tutor on VESPA and building these practical mind set skills that will help you achieve in 6 th form. • In addition, there will be sessions on mental health and resilience to accompany the journey to a great mind set. • These sessions are FOR YOU and not just aimed to help you in 6 th form, but for later life. Many people in university and even the work place could benefit from the VESPA mind set.

The great thing about VESPA, is being able to keep repeating the activities. • Just because you’ve done a VESPA activity once, doesn’t mean you can’t do it again. • In fact, revisiting activities is extremely useful to your success. How you approach some of the activities and your outcomes will vary between years and based on your current goals e. g. writing coursework or preparing for exams. • Plus they’re great things to keep reminding yourself all throughout your studies, and teachers and tutors will also be able to refer to these VESPA characteristics to ensure it’s embedded into your 6 th form mind set.

Watch this video on GRIT • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=H 14 b. Buluw. B 8 • VESPA will help teach you to be gritty! • Success is a choice that needs constant development