Mrs Bufton-Green's Blog - What is success?

I am sure this question has raised a few eyebrows and it would undoubtedly constitute great debate too, because, in my opinion, it is an incredibly subjective topic. I believe that success cannot be defined in one sentence, as it represents many things. I would also suggest that the definition of success depends on the individual and that the ‘one size fits all’ approach does not resonate.

What I do believe is that success is born out of a number of underlying skills and attributes. I am proud that the school’s ethos and the care and commitment of the staff and the community as a whole, really do place these skills and attributes at the heart of what we do and what we encourage in our pupils. Below are just some of the markers for success that we should not overlook and find time to celebrate.

Success is always doing your best

Success can be achieved by putting your all into everything you do with the everyday things. It doesn’t need to always lead to the big things. If you have done your best and are proud of your efforts, then this is success.

Success is setting yourself goals

Taking the time to consider and set yourself challenging, yet achievable goals, helps you firm up where you are heading. Knowing this enables you to be focussed in your everyday actions in pursuit of these goals and carrying out these actions is success.

Success is believing you can

Self-belief doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but it is certainly something we nurture here at school. Having confidence in your thoughts and abilities are powerful contributors to being successful.

Success is taking care of yourself

Especially in recent times, looking after yourself and your emotional, physical and mental needs are really important. It is essential that you take care of yourself first to be able to be the best and most successful version of yourself anywhere else as well.

Success is learning something new each day

Schools are a hub for learning, but learning doesn’t stop the moment you leave school at the end of the day, or the end of your educational journey. Learning is for life and finding new things every day that you didn’t know yesterday is reason enough to celebrate.

Success is not giving up

It is really important to celebrate every time a goal is achieved, or an obstacle is overcome as the ‘not giving up’ is a character trait of success. Having the resilience and the perseverance to keep going when things get tough is something to be proud of.

Success is relative

Success is whatever gives you the most personal fulfillment; what it is you feel proud about and what makes you feel good about yourself. It is personal, so by that very nature it may well be different to how others measure success and this is OK.

Success is not being afraid of failure

So many people that we may think of today as being successful, have often endured a number of ‘failures’ on their journeys. These didn’t stop them in the pursuit of their goals. For example, JK Rowling was turned down by twelve publishers before finding success with the Harry Potter books.

At Gateway we support the development of such skills and attributes in the way that staff interact with the children, through lesson activities, the collaborative approaches to learning, the praise and encouragement and through discussion and self-reflection. We are proud that our Gateway children embrace development beyond the academic, to help them become the capable, confident and empathetic children that we see. We celebrate success on every level and look forward to sharing in the many more successes that our children will realise in the future.

These are just some of the aspects that I believe constitute success, but there are understandably many more.

What are your definitions for success?