The key to any intervention at primary level is to understand that the developmental journey of a child through primary education is fundamentally about the structural development of mind and body.
Growth in both the brain and body is extreme during these years and the role of the school is to nourish this growth holistically.
So what does this mean in reality?
Well put simply, the hundred billion brain cells a child is born with are continuing their fundamental organisation and structuring, and the processes of neural plasticity ensure that where the brain is engaged in a wide variety of experiences and stimuli, the brain develops capability that reflect these experiences.
It is important therefore, that whilst children should begin the process of understanding how to use their brain effectively over their time in school, it is as important that the environment within a primary school supports a rich developmental journey through to young adulthood.
The programmes and experiences developed for this age group, are designed to guide a teachers’ understanding of how to achieve the balance between a rich developmental environment, and the introduction of brain centred learning strategies for the individual learner.
As the critical conduit for the delivery of a rich and diverse developmental experience the school can be supported by TLP to design a strategy to optimise this most fundamental of developmental stages in the human life-cycle.