Learning to Fail Forward
At Glenbrook School, south of Auckland, failure isn’t a dead end, it’s a FAIL – first attempt in learning. Lysandra Stuart has spent 11 years as the school’s Principal reshaping the way students, teachers, and even whānau think about mistakes using the FAIL model. She is also the Lead Principal for Franklin District’s kahui Ako. Her mentoring of emerging educator leaders, grounded in the values of manaakitanga, pono, and whanaungatanga, earned her a 2025 National Excellence in Teaching (NEiTA) Founders’ Leadership Award.
Stuart believes schools must help young people develop a skill far more essential than perfection: the ability to learn, grow, and thrive from mistakes.
“Mistakes aren’t something to be hidden or brushed aside,” Stuart says. “It’s one of the most powerful teaching tools we have, but only when we create an environment where it’s safe for students and teachers to talk about it openly.”
For Stuart, cultivating this kind of environment begins long before students crack open their exercise books. The first four to five weeks of each school year are dedicated almost exclusively to building relationships and establishing clear expectations.
“We spend that time getting to know our learners deeply,” she says. “Clear, consistent expectations help remove the assumptions and misunderstandings that can lead to unnecessary distress over mistakes. Once trust is built, students feel more comfortable taking risks, and that’s when real learning happens.”
These “deliberate acts of infrastructure,” as she describes them, include structured questioning strategies, reflective thinking routines, and collaborative goal setting. Teachers also share their own interests and passions to help spark curiosity, reduce barriers, and build a sense of mutual respect.
“Reciprocal learning is huge for us,” Stuart explains. “We want students to see that their teachers are learners too, including when we get things wrong.”
That openness extends well beyond the classroom. Staff meetings frequently begin with teachers sharing something they tried that didn’t go to plan. Assemblies sometimes include anecdotes about mishaps, delivered not with embarrassment, but with humour and reflection. Classroom walls and school newsletters highlight the process of learning, not just the polished outcomes.
“We absolutely normalise FAIL here,” Stuart says. “We talk about it in front of the students. We talk about it with each other. The message is always the same: mistakes show us where we’re growing.”
This consistency of language and values underpins the school’s growth-mindset culture. Instead of treating errors as setbacks, teachers use them to deepen learning and strengthen resilience. Students learn to articulate what went wrong, what they noticed, and what they might try next time.
Neuroscience educator Kathryn Berkett says this approach aligns powerfully with what we know about the brain.
“When we push ourselves to that point where we may or may not succeed, when we push into that tolerable stress activation, that is when the brain activates dopamine, our buzz chemical, the chemical that motivates us. Only through attempting beyond our limits can we improve, so the brain has developed an amazing way of rewarding us for going to that uncomfortable space – we get a flush of dopamine that drives us to do it again, to keep improving.
Berkett adds that teachers modelling and normalising mistakes is essential. The brain learns from what it sees, feels and hears. What Glenbrook is doing is developing resilience, one of the most essential skills for life. It’s incredible to see.”
While some schools focus heavily on content delivery, Stuart is more concerned with how students think.
“We deliberately teach our learners how to question, how to reflect, how to make decisions.”
Teachers at Glenbrook embed questioning strategies into every part of their teaching sequence. Students are encouraged to talk with peers, debate ideas, and participate in coaching circles designed to bring quieter learners into the conversation.
“Every child has a voice,” Stuart says. “But some need a scaffold to feel confident using it. That’s part of learning from failure too, trying out ideas in a safe space and understanding that not every answer will be right the first time.”
For Stuart, supporting teachers through this cultural shift is just as important as supporting students. She sees her role as creating an environment where staff can reflect on their own practice and continue growing professionally.
“If we want our students to be brave learners, our teachers have to feel brave too,” she says. “My job is to build that safety, both through clear expectations and through genuine connection.”
“Leadership can be isolating,” she says. “Having someone to talk to, someone who understands the challenges, makes all the difference.”
Berkett agrees, noting that supportive leadership is critical to embedding schoolwide resilience.
“When staff feel reassured, they can relax and model their behaviour to students,” Berkett says. “Culture always begins with the adults in the room.”
As Glenbrook School continues refining its approach, one thing remains constant: the belief that success is not defined by getting things right the first time. Instead, it emerges from curiosity, courage, and the willingness to learn from what doesn’t go to plan.
“Every failure is feedback,” Stuart says. “If our learners walk out of here understanding that, then we’ve prepared them for life, not just for school.”
Written by Penny Hartill.