Learning Culture at Wren Academy Enfield
At Wren Academy, we want to develop our students into lifelong learners, equipped for the challenges of living in a rapidly changing society. Our learning culture is steeped in evidence-informed practice on metacognition, teaching students to think not just about what they are learning, but how they are learning. Metacognition is thinking about one’s thinking. It is the process of planning, monitoring and then assessing what has been learned to enhance academic understanding and performance. The Wren Academies Trust’s learning culture supports this through the language of the 6Rs. This means that both inside and outside of the classroom, we will intentionally create opportunities for our young people to develop six characteristics (or learning habits) that we believe enable our students to live life to the full and become powerful learners.
The 6Rs include the habits of being:
- Resourceful: Solving problems, stewarding resources and exercising creativity
- Relational: Self-aware, empathetic, collaborative and able to recognise boundaries
- Resilient: Showing determination, focus and hope when facing challenges and disappointments
- Reverent: Appreciating awe and wonder, valuing others and having humility
- Reflective: Thoughtful, strategic and willing to revise plans
- Redemptive: Forgiving, learning from mistakes and living in a sustainable way
Inspired by the latest educational research on metacognition, the formation of these 6Rs is drawn from our Christian Vision and our intention for students to become effective, lifelong learners. Our learning culture is based on the belief that the skill of learning can itself be acquired and finetuned, that learning is about the whole person (qualities, values, self-image, relationships, skills and strategies), and that creating the right learning habits enhances life chances for young people.
Lessons at Wren Academy Enfield are planned with specific learning objectives in mind and – as well as teaching subject specific knowledge - develop one or more of the learning habits. Through the 6Rs, there is an explicit focus on how learning takes place, as well as what learning takes place.
Learning habits are regularly celebrated in assemblies, with students nominating both student learners of the week and staff learners of the week. These awards recognise and reward students demonstrating excellent learning habits in and out of the classroom, and publicly acknowledge the fantastic learning taking place at Wren Academy Enfield.