Skills Builder
Over the last few years, we have been delighted to be involved with the Skills Builder Partnership, running the skills builder leadership programme as a vital part of our teaching and learning. We believe that it is essential that all children learn how to use the eight essential skills of Speaking, Listening, Problem Solving, Creativity, Staying Positive, Aiming High, Leadership and Teamwork.
As the curriculum document below shows, we strongly believe that these life skills are as important as the subjects within the National Curriculum so that every child has opportunities to develop them for use throughout their whole life.
“These are skills that are needed to do almost
anything well. The need for these skills is clear, but
there is still a gap – too many children and young
people do not build these skills to the level they
need, and so miss out on opportunities to thrive in
other parts of their lives”. (Skills Builder Partnership)
The framework has been formed through collaboration between business and education. Indeed, it is being used by companies to inform employee performance Management.
At Fairburn, are working alongside the Skills Builder Partnership to provide our children with a framework to learn and embed the essential skills they will require to thrive in school life and beyond.
The world in which the children are going into is very uncertain so, even more so now than ever, our children need to creatively problem solve, self-manage, communicate effectively and work well with others.
Research by the Skills Builder Partnership has concluded that those that are exposed to and learn the essential skills will:
- Earn more.
- Have increased well-being – better life satisfaction.
- Have a lower probability of being out of work or education.
The research did find that there was a ‘skills trap’. Disadvantage and a lack of early opportunity to build essential skills leads to a lack of value placed on them. Therefore, learning these skills at primary school is essential to provide that early exposure and to demonstrate the value of the essential skills.
We need 8 essential skills to succeed in education and life:
Through using the framework, children will
Understand their existing skills: Reflecting on where their essential skills currently are, and being able to identify any gaps they might have.
See what progress looks like: Being able to see what the next steps are to improve their essential skills further
Join the dots: Using a consistent language and understanding of essential skills to
understand how they are used and practiced in lots of different settings
Capturing success: Seeing progress and be better at articulating their skills.
During the last year, 2021 – 22, we have achieved a silver award for our work although Covid prevented a higher award being achieved. As ever though, it is not achieving the award that is important. It is the process of ensuring that our children receive the best standard of provision possible.
Here is a link to the Skills Builder Framework: skills Builder
As a parent, you might like to have a look at the ‘Home Zone’ page of Skills Builder to reinforce the children’s learning at home.