Skills Builder Global

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Auxilium Convent High School Wadala

Context

Skills Builder is a central component of Auxilium, Wadala. We have been connected to the Skills Builder for three years now. We joined Skills Builder with an aspiration to give our students something beyond the curriculum that would aid their functioning, not only in academics but also prepare them for the challenges of the world and help them to adjust themselves seamlessly in society. In these three years we have witnessed Skills Builder evolve from theory to reality through different activities in our school. Our goal has been accomplished, wherein as an institute we are able to give the treasured gift of Skills Builder to our students and cater to their holistic development.

Overall impact

The impact of Skills Builder is highly positive and visible in diverse areas across our school. The students are sure, confident and able to deal with situations by using the eight essential skills learned under the spectrum of Skills Builder Programme. The comprehension of the essential skills empowers our students to listen critically, speak their thoughts out confidently, to analyze problems and skillfully solve them. Also to widen their thinking and generate creative ideas, to not easily give up and stay positive to achieve their goals, to aim high and not limit themselves to something small, to lead their group towards victory through their leadership skills and lastly to work together effortlessly to conquer any task given.

Keep it simple

The school development plan includes Skills Builder ensuring that essential skills are embedded within teaching and learning policies and curriculum plans across the school or college. To enable smooth functioning of the Skills Builder Programme and a shared common language all our staff are trained every year and Skills Builder updates are communicated through staff meetings. We have dedicated ‘Skill Master’ teachers that create centralised lesson plans with Skill Steps, that are shared with all teachers. The Skills Master teachers and coordinators are also recognised at our annual day for their dedication to essential skill development. We share a Skills Builder glossary with all students and teachers in their almanac, that contains all the steps of the eight skills. We also ensure that visual displays are maintained around the entire school. All our students are given skill certificates based on the level they have reached. Selected students are also rewarded with an additional certificate for achieving an advanced level of competency in their essential skills. To engage our wider community we run regular parent workshops and share updates about Skills Builder via our school community magazine. We also report on students’ progress in essential skills in our Almannac, which is shared with parents. When visitors come to our school, we provide them with information about Skills Builder and the importance of essential skills. We share our experiences with other members of the Skills Builder community at network events and share the Skills Builder approach with local educators and schools in other countries.

Start early, keep going

At our institute Skills Builder is seeded in every section, including Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary. Each section has incorporated Skills Builder in diverse ways and are growing and benefiting from it.

Measure it

We have an established assessment pattern for essential skills. Firstly, the students' comprehension of essential skills is assessed through simple and creatively designed assessments that incorporate different question types. Results for all students are recorded by the teacher in the final assessment. Students also complete an individual self reflection every month in their almanac, this creates a picture of their strengths and identifies areas for improvement. We also complete a school voice, once per month to gather data and inform practice. We have also started using skill reflection sheets for each topic of each subject where students and peers can reflect on how they've used each skill.

Focus tightly

Each year we use welcome activities to revisit the skills learned in the previous year, including a presentation that reviews all the steps accomplished to date. Kindergarten focuses on Listening and Speaking, using video presentations and fun activities and recording progress in the student’s report card. Primary have Skills Builder classes twice every week. Secondary learns and develops the essential skills through a thirty minute class dedicated to Skills Builder throughout the week. In these lessons the class teachers, with the aid of the central lesson plan and the resources available on the Skills Builder website, teach the skill step to the students. The students of the secondary section are also involved in creation of visual displays and resources throughout the school. All our teachers have access to a library of lesson plans covering all 8 essential skills across the 16 step levels.

Keep practising

Our main aim is to strike a balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of the Skills Builder Programme. Thus the essential skills taught in the Skills Builder lessons are then used by the students to create morning assemblies. In addition the skills learned are included in all the co-curricular activities at the institute, from celebrations, in house competitions to student council and leadership. We also ensure that all subject curriculums have lesson plans that include an essential skill focus and subject assessments contain a component that requires learners to reflect on their essential skills.

Bring it to life

Skills Builders is brought to life through the two whole school annual events at Auxilium, Wadala, the Ward Level Science Exhibition and Auxilium Global Connect (AGC). In the planning and organizing of the Science Exhibition, Skills Builder played a crucial role and its visibility was dominant throughout the event to spread a word to the visiting schools. Auxilium Global Connect is an annual event where the students work on a project throughout the year and present the activities accomplished and the role of Skills Builder in achieving them on the exhibition day, which welcomes parents and visitors. Our students are also part of the Scouts and Guide movement and are trained for volunteering services and they have also gathered funds for outreach programmes. Finally the student council holds regular meetings and undertakes many responsibilities such as maintenance, cleanliness, media coverage, discipline for each house. We ask students to reflect on their use of essential skills in all these real life situations. To make a strong connection to life outside of the classroom we also set vacation skill challenges for the whole family to encourage them to reflect on essential skills in a variety of real world situations.

What's next

We have many activities planned for the upcoming year, including a summer break homework programme entitled ‘My Creative Travel Log’ and a revision pack to prepare students for the new year and check their understanding of the skills learned in the previous year. Updates to the Skills Builder section in the almanac and additional ways in which students can reflect and set essential skill goals will strengthen our assessment. We will also ask students conducting morning assemblies to select a focus skill step and encourage the students to focus on it consciously through the day. We will also organize a Challenge Day for the students using resources provided by the Skills Builder Team. As part of our commitment to the Skills Builder Partnership’s collective mission we will continue to introduce Skills Builder to the other local schools.

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