Learning habits are the routine ways in which we think and act when faced with the experiences and challenges we encounter through daily school life. Some habits make us productive and effective; others cause us to learn in constrained and limited ways. The more we experience the positive value of a particular habit, the more we will tend to use it throughout our lives.

Teachers are crucial to the formation of learning habits – the ways in which children perform and behave are influenced by the way teachers orchestrate and guide learning. This is best done by deliberate practise to promote positive learning habits.

At Cottingley Village Primary School we use ‘Learning to Learn’ as a strategy to ensure a consistent approach to developing positive learning habits in our children. We have identified four key habits to actively develop in our children and these are portrayed through ‘Learning Characters’. Our Learning Characters are based upon ‘real-life’ examples of animals who exhibit these traits in the natural world. They are first introduced in the Early Years Foundation Stage through the ‘Characteristics of Effective Learning’ and are a part of every classroom and every lesson as the children journey through school to the end of Year Six.