We try and help our students to not just react just from instinct, but to make decisions about their actions based on thinking about possible consequences and judging the best way to reach their goals.  Effective Characteristics of Learning or “Learning to learn” has been identified by the Education Council of the European Union as the most important competence which people need through their lives for work, everyday activities and decision-making.  The emphasis in education has moved away from simply handing down information, an approach which doesn’t take account of the rapidly changing world where we can not predict the type of knowledge that will be needed within a few years, let alone a lifetime.

Competences for learning are emphasized because they go beyond skills and knowledge, they look at how someone functions in real life situations, taking into account the whole person – feelings, attitudes, values, capacities and processes.

The competence of learning to learn also sees the person in relation to others, with the individual developing an identity as an active learning agent within a community, where they can feel a sense of purpose and feel recognized and values in the group for their individual contributions and potential. (How Children learn, characteristic of effective early learning, Nancy Stewart,pg104)