21st January 2026

Dear Parents

The Power of "Yet"

At our school, you will regularly hear staff and pupils talking about a "Growth Mindset". We revisit this theme throughout the school year for a very important reason: in a world that often prizes instant success, we want our children to understand that deep learning is a journey, not a race.

There is a common misconception that making a mistake means you have "got it wrong" or that you aren't "clever" enough. In reality, mistakes are the essential building blocks of progress.

The pioneering psychologist Carol Dweck showed that the difference between a child who gives up and one who thrives often comes down to one tiny word: Yet.

"I can't do my fractions... yet."

"I haven't mastered that spellings... yet."

Mistakes as "Additional Research"

One of my favourite quotes comes from the tennis champion Martina Navratilova, who famously said she viewed defeat as research. If a world-class athlete sees a loss not as a failure, but as data to help her improve, imagine how much confidence that gives a child in the classroom.

After all, who goes through life without making a mistake? From the greatest scientists to the finest artists, every success is built on a mountain of "additional research." We want our pupils to be "researchers" of their own potential—to see a mistake not as a red cross on a page, but as a signpost telling them which way to go next.

How to Support a Growth Mindset at Home

Parents often ask how they can reinforce this at home. Here are a few simple ways to help your child develop "bounce-back-ability":

Praise the Effort, Not the Ability: Instead of saying, "You’re a natural at Math," try, "I’m so proud of how much resilience you showed with those tricky problems." This teaches them that hard work is the key to success, rather than just "being born lucky."
Add the "Yet": When your child feels defeated and says, "I can't do this," gently add the word "yet" to the end of their sentence. It reframes the struggle as a temporary challenge.
Model "Healthy Mistakes": Talk about your own "research" at the dinner table. If you took a wrong turn while driving or burnt the toast, explain what you’ll do differently next time. If they see you handling a blunder with a smile and a plan, they will learn to do the same.
Focus on Strategy: If they are struggling on a piece of home learning, ask: "What’s a different tool we could use to tackle this?"

No apologies, that we repeat this on a termly basis, the language that we use with our children and students are key to their development - good luck !

Tim Robinson

Headteacher

Our PLG Journey: Together as a Learning Community

We are excited to continue sharing our Personal Goals Padlet platform in our weekly newsletter to celebrate achievements together as a wider community.

We kindly ask for your support in capturing moments when your child demonstrates any of the Personal Learning Goals - whether at home, in the park, during outdoor play or in daily routines. For example, if your child shows collaboration while playing outside, you may upload one photo and select the appropriate Personal Goal folder (e.g., “Collaboration”).

Families are welcome to share one photo per week if they wish, highlighting a Personal Goal your child has demonstrated.

Please click on the Padlet link below to share your child’s achievement with our community. This is a wonderful opportunity for children to celebrate their out-of-school achievements and for us to reinforce that their Personal Learning Goals are transferable skills beyond the classroom.

PLGs Padlet

Thank you for supporting the celebration of children’s achievements.

The IC Team

PDO School Class Photos - 25th January and 29th January

Please see below the dates for class photos.

For children in Reception - Year 2 - Year 3 - Year 6

Your child's class photo will take place on Sunday 25th January 2026.

For children in Nursery - Year 1 - Year 4 - Year 5

Your child's class photo will take place on Thursday 29th January 2026.

Please can children wear school uniforms on their allocated day as normal (No PE kits etc)

Thank you.

PDO School Team

Under-9 Football Tournament Success

This week, our Under-9 football team proudly represented the school at a tournament hosted by MISO School. The team played exceptionally well, showing excellent teamwork, determination and outstanding sportsmanship throughout the competition. They scored some fantastic goals, demonstrated a solid and well-organised defence, and supported one another on and off the pitch. Their hard work and positive attitude were rewarded with an impressive third-place finish overall. Well done to all the players – we are very proud of you!

Early Years

The children have been exploring a range of materials to design and build their own creations. Through hands-on play, they are developing creativity, problem-solving and teamwork skills.

Busy Builders – How We Are Learning

Throughout the unit, children have been using a variety of materials to build and construct, experimenting with different designs and structures. We have been using cubes and other resources to explore height, length and measurement using a range of tools. Children have also been combining cubes to create number sentences, supporting early mathematical thinking. Outdoors, they have been digging tunnels and creating “cement” using mud, strengthening both physical skills and imaginative play. This unit is still unfolding, so watch this space to see what learning emerges next.

Milepost 1

This week, our Year 1 children were thrilled to receive another mystery story box as they continued their IPC learning unit The Stories People Tell. At the start of the week, they eagerly opened the box to read the letter and examine the clues inside. Working together, the children used these clues to discover a traditional tale from the United Kingdom, Jack and the Beanstalk, and to work out where the story originated.

As part of our learning journey, we were also delighted to welcome parents into the classroom to share stories in their home languages, including Urdu, as well as an English and an American story. The children loved listening to and comparing different versions of Jack and the Beanstalk and used this as an opportunity to develop their storytelling skills by sequencing the events of the story. We also explored the history of traditional tales and discussed why the same story can exist in many different versions. The children are already full of excitement and curiosity as they look forward to next week’s mystery delivery.

Milepost 2

In English recently, the Year 3s have been studying the book Flotsam as a stimulus for writing.

As a wordless picture book, Flotsam has given the children valuable opportunities to develop their inference skills by using visual clues to support their ideas about plot and characters.

Through exploring a range of different flotsam objects, they were challenged to write detailed character descriptions about the possible owner.

The book has also sparked thoughtful discussions about the waste we generate and the serious issue of plastic pollution in our oceans. An issue that we will continue to explore further in our IPC unit, Island Life.

Milepost 3

This week, Year 5 explored the threats facing the world’s biomes, learning how both human and environmental factors can impact the Earth. The children worked collaboratively to research different issues, sharing ideas and supporting one another as they prepared and presented their findings.

Congratulations to our Learners of the Week!

A huge congratulations to our newest Learners of the Week! This award recognises the incredible effort they put into their learning and the excellent ways they are putting their personal goals into practice. It's fantastic to see them growing and becoming such dedicated and confident learners.

PDO School Newsletter