Stories from Accelerator: North West England

February 28, 2022

Applications for the Accelerator are now open. Find out more and apply here, and read on for some great stories from the programme...

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‍Our work in North West England

Over the last few years, there’s been some brilliant progress happening in schools and colleges in the North West, where we work with more than 50 Primaries, Secondaries, Special Schools and Colleges.

High quality programmes that provide opportunities to boost students’ essential skills are recognised by Skills Builder Awards. Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards are given to those modelling best practice in essential skills education by embedding our six principles:

In 2021, 302 schools and colleges achieved an Award across the UK. 90 of these chose to submit a Case Study. You can explore the full Case Study Showcase here, but here are just a few highlights…

St Mary's C of E Primary School St Mary’s C.E. Primary School is a thriving and successful primary school situated in Platt Bridge, Wigan. The number of pupils eligible for support through the Pupil Premium is above average and there is also a higher than average number of children with Special Educational Needs. The vast majority of children start in the early years with skills that are below typical for their age.

‘The progress of the children in the skills is really evident through their reflections and pupil voice. They are familiar with the language of the skills and can more readily apply the skills to different situations. The teachers have become more accustomed to embedding the skills in their lessons and have developed the consistent, shared language of the skills. Parents are aware that the development of these skills underpins our curriculum. A particular highlight has been seeing how confidently the children present to each other.’

Redwood School is a pioneering secondary special school situated on a co-located site with Oulder Hill Community School in Rochdale. Redwood School opened in 2007. Redwood School was built alongside mainstream schools in a pioneering change to the way children with special education needs are taught.

‘The Skills Builder programme has been invaluable. We were attracted to the programme as it gave us a framework to evidence progress and resources to support the students. A particular highlight for us this year has been the use of the workbooks which the students have loved. Students have worked through the workbooks independently and have been taking them home at weekends and during the school holidays as they want to continue working and evidencing progress.’

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About Accelerator

Skills Builder Accelerator is our flagship programme for schools and colleges. We work together with you to develop and implement a complete strategy for teaching essential skills in your institution, including training, support, tools, and resources, resulting in real impact for your students.

Interested? Find out more here, where you can download our prospectus. You can also check your eligibility to apply for a funded programme place here.

Programme places are limited and will be allocated in three rounds.