What Are Executive Function Skills?

Executive Function (EF) skills are the mental processes that help children plan, stay focused, organise themselves, manage emotions, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. These skills are controlled by the brain’s prefrontal cortex and are essential for learning, wellbeing, and success in school and beyond.

Our Approach

At Rathfern, we take a whole-school, research-informed approach to developing EF skills. Our practice is rooted in neuroscience and the principle of neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to grow and strengthen through experience, routines, and repetition.

We model and explicitly teach EF strategies across the curriculum, using our gradual release model:
“I Do → We Do → You Do”.
This supports pupils to gradually take ownership of their learning by planning, monitoring, and evaluating their progress.

Inclusion & Equity

Executive Function development is for every learner. Our framework is designed to ensure equity and inclusion, supporting all pupils — including children with SEND, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Autism — to strengthen working memory, attention, self-regulation, and flexible thinking.

What began as a targeted intervention has evolved, over three years, into a universal practice. EF skills are now embedded in classroom routines, language, and pedagogy, ensuring every child has access to the tools they need to thrive.

Building Lifelong Learners

By helping pupils understand how the brain learns and by coaching them in strategies to organise thinking and manage emotions, we nurture resilient, independent, motivated learners.

Our aim is not only academic success, but to equip children with the cognitive, emotional, and social skills that underpin lifelong learning, wellbeing, and future achievement.