The Tanglin Ten

The Tanglin Ten has been developed through many months of collaboration between senior leaders across the school. It sets out the ten learning behaviours we believe will help all Tanglin learners flourish throughout their time here and beyond. These behaviours connect closely to our Future Ready strategic strand and describe the qualities young people will need as they navigate an increasingly complex and changing world. 

 

Importantly, the Tanglin Ten is not a separate programme or an additional curriculum. Instead, it provides a shared language for learning across the whole school. It will help students, teachers and parents talk more clearly about the behaviours that support success - in lessons, in pastoral life, in co-curricular experiences and in students’ wider development. 

The journey will begin in the Infant School, where teachers will gently introduce children to what these behaviours mean in age-appropriate ways. Nursery children will become familiar with four of the Tanglin Ten, with two more added each year: six in Reception, eight in Year 1 and all ten by Year 2. This staged approach reflects children’s age and maturity, while building on the strong foundations already established through the use of the previous Learner Profile. The behaviours will be referenced naturally through lessons, assemblies, stories, conversations and everyday experiences. Newly designed graphics will also help make each behaviour accessible and recognisable for younger children. 

In the Junior School, all ten learning behaviours will be consistently planned for, explicitly taught and embedded within the culture and language of the school. Students will reflect on and apply these behaviours across both the curriculum and co-curriculum, helping their understanding and confidence develop over time. This initiative complements the Junior School’s two-year focus on metacognition, through which students are learning to pursue curiosity, embrace challenge and develop the reflective habits needed for success. Together, these strands will support students as they move towards Senior School as increasingly capable, resilient and self-directed learners. 

By the time students reach the Senior School, the emphasis will shift towards how they actively demonstrate these behaviours. They will learn that enacting the Tanglin Ten is their responsibility, and that it takes will, effort and some struggle to do so. In this way, the framework will support them as they grow into young adults ready to make a positive contribution beyond Tanglin. 

The Tanglin Ten has been shaped through deep conversation, observation, experience and research (a selection of references is provided below). It reflects what we know from education, from the wider world and from our own understanding of Tanglin students. Most importantly, it gives us a shared language for helping children and young people understand not only what they are learning, but how they are learning and who they are becoming. 

As educationalists, we see every day the changing landscape our students are already navigating. We also recognise the importance of working closely with parents as we prepare them for the future. The Tanglin Ten captures the behaviours that will help our students “to contribute with confidence to our world” (Tanglin Mission Statement) and “to be the best they can be” (Tanglin Vision Statement).