Meaningful relationships lie at the core of the School’s values of confidence, independence, persistence, resilience and respect. Our teachers are deeply committed to the wellbeing of all students.  We aim to build student confidence by working together to supported their learning and their personal growth.

Confident children are not afraid to make mistakes when learning something new but we need to let them know that making mistakes is something we all do. Confident children believe that they will be successful if they try hard so it is just as important, if not more so, to reward effort as well as talent.  Encourage your child to ask for help when they have tried their very best but they feel that there is something missing. Confident children expect to be liked and make to friends but we know that’s not always as easy as it sounds. A knockback or rebuttal can be seen as a major setback resulting in trepidation to join in so as a parent or teacher we need to make positive supportive statements that don’t disempower but encourage the child to try again or move on. This is resilience another of our core values and the subject of another blog post.

The following are some practical suggestions for growing your child’s confidence.

  • Give your child a special responsibility at home (setting the table, taking out rubbish)
  • Ask your child testing questions that you know he/she can answer.
  • Set aside time each day for your child to demonstrate what he/she has learned at school.
  • Help your child to identify and develop individual interests and talents.
  • Do not give too much attention to negative feelings about school work.
  • Encourage your child to speak clearly when asked a question.
  • Praise your child for doing something new.
  • Praise your child for completing homework or tasks on time.

Why does confidence ebb and flow? For so many reasons. My apologies if you thought I might have an answer that could be articulated in a couple of hundred words. We can all help to build confidence in an individual and we can inadvertently break it down. I believe that our job as parents and teachers (adults) is to help kids develop an intrinsic set of beliefs that provide them with their own rewards and ultimately validates their own existence and builds confidence.