Every Child. Every Voice.
Dear Ash Mount Community,
This week, as part of our Every Child. Every Voice. series, we turn our attention to agency; helping children develop the confidence, curiosity, and independence to take ownership of their learning.
At Ash Mount, we see agency as something that grows over time. It begins when a young child chooses a book, a colour, or a way to solve a problem; it matures when older students set goals, reflect on progress, and make decisions that guide their learning. When children feel they have choice and voice, they become more motivated, creative, and resilient.
Teachers nurture this by creating environments that invite participation and curiosity. Families support it by offering gentle opportunities for independence at home – small choices, responsibilities, and moments to reflect on learning together.
Learning through Environment
One way to build ownership and confidence in younger learners is through movement and active engagement with their environment. This week, our early years design conversations have focused on how learning spaces can empower children, particularly through writing, drawing, and mark-making on vertical surfaces such as easels, wall-mounted boards, and windows.
Working on a vertical surface develops coordination, strength, and focus. It allows children to use larger movements that build muscle control in the shoulders, arms, and wrists, the foundations for confident writing. It also helps with posture, balance, and spatial awareness, while offering a playful, dynamic way to explore early literacy.
You can encourage this kind of learning at home by setting up simple opportunities:
- Drawing or painting on a window or easel with washable materials.
- Creating sticker, magnet, or felt patterns on a fridge or board.
- Writing with chalk outside or using water and brushes on paving stones.
- Helping to clean a window or wipe down a whiteboard.
Small, active moments like these build concentration, confidence, and ownership. They show children that learning doesn’t just happen at a desk, it happens through movement, discovery, and creativity.
Writing as a Lifelong Skill
As children grow older and spend more time using laptops, tablets, and phones, we must help them stay connected to the value of writing by hand. Writing strengthens memory, focus, and the ability to process ideas, it helps students slow down and think more deeply.
For older children and teenagers, writing can also be a reflective practice:
- Journalling thoughts, goals, or daily reflections.
- Note-taking by hand to reinforce learning and improve recall.
- Letter writing or creative writing to explore ideas and emotions.
Encouraging these habits helps maintain the balance between digital fluency and human connection, between speed and thoughtfulness.
Growing Agency at Every Age
As children move through school, ownership takes new forms:
- In primary, it means managing time, organising materials, and beginning to reflect on personal goals.
- In secondary, it becomes self-direction – planning, collaborating, and evaluating one’s own progress.
Our role as educators is to guide, not control; to provide scaffolds and questions rather than answers. True agency emerges when learners are trusted, encouraged to take risks, and supported when things don’t go to plan.
At Ash Mount, we design learning environments, experiences, and relationships that help students to discover that sense of ownership, to understand that learning is not something done to them, but something they actively create.
As always, our goal remains the same: that every child will learn with purpose, live with compassion, and lead with courage.
Best wishes,
Abigail Fishbourne
Founding Principal, Ash Mount School
