Organised

"Organising is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up" (AA Milne)

"Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail" (Winston Churchill)

Being ‘Organised’ is perhaps one of the most straight forward W.I.L.S. skills to understand. We all know people who are at both ends of the organisation spectrum and we can see how that may help or hinder their day to day work or life. Promoting the need to be ‘organised’ is a key element of our W.I.L.S approach, particularly in terms of independence.  We want children to be proactive about there thinking and their organisation, taking responsibility for themselves and their belongings.

What does ‘Organised’ look like?

The most obvious way to be ‘Organised’ is to have everything you need for a task. So in P.E. lessons thinking ahead and making sure that you have all of the correct kit or in an art lesson setting up water, powder-paint and pallet in an effective manner. Likewise packing up equipment, ensuring homework is handed in on time and taking general responsibility for possessions in general is all part of good organisation.

Organisation also comes in the form of thinking about potential strategies to use – not jumping into one method of problem solving without considering other options. Having awareness of what equipment is available in the classroom and independently selecting it.  Linked with our work on meta-cognition, being ‘organised’ also involves ‘reflection’ on prior learning and making links to future learning. Having an ‘organised’ approach to learning, whether practically or cognitively, is extremely important.

How organised are you? How important do you think organisational skills are? Like many of the other W.I.L.S , being organised is an important life skill not just a skill for school.