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Shri Natesan Vidyasala, Chennai, India was founded 30 years ago. Our motto is “BHAKTHI,GNANAM AND SEVA” ( Devotion , Knowledge and Service ). Our school has been a part of many international events and partnership with Schools in Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea , France , UK , Greece and Egypt. Every year we go on International Educational trips to understand the culture and system of education in different parts of the world. We have been a part of the Skills Builder Accelerator+ for the last three years. Our school also associates with British council UK , The Economist Educational Foundation UK in bringing internationalism integrated to skill building to a global benchmark.
Overall impact
As we moved into our third year on the programme, we decided to involve all teachers and students. To make sure all teachers had a good understanding of the skills and the framework, we delivered a series of teacher training sessions on effective usage of hub resources, making effective assessment of skill development, with the support of our Education Associate. We are now at the stage where skill development has been made a part of our regular curriculum. We have used the Skills Builder offline assessment resources to understand students’ level of achievement. Students have improved their abilities in all the skills and they have become increasingly confident and independent . Many of the activities conducted during the year stand as an evidence. “Chithra Kala Bazaar “ (‘start up success’ Challenge Day ) was a fantastic showcase of students' creativity and communication skills. Even parents have felt the impact of the Skills Builder programme, as we conducted an orientation session for them. All these activities have helped us to move forward with the Skills Builder accelerator+ programme with a lot of confidence.
Keep it simple
The skills are a core part of our school ethos and curriculum. The students are introduced to the essential skills at Kindergarten level, and continue their studies throughout their time at school. We have a regular timetable for the essential skills teaching, where students have the opportunities to express and enhance the skills . Every competition conducted in the school is mapped against the Skill Builder framework and a learning outcome clearly defined. The Skills Builder logo is displayed on the student handbook, prospectus etc to make the parents and other stakeholders aware of it. Each and every topic of the lesson is connected with the essential skills.Our handbook has a ‘good communicator’ page to assess the students’ speaking skill which is assessed by teachers and reviewed. This means the skill is always at the forefront of students’ minds and progress can be continually assessed.
Start early, keep going
Last year, the Skills Builder programme was conducted from Grade 3 to Grade 12. This year, we wanted all grades to be involved in the approach, including the Kindergarten classes. We were delighted to see the improvement in our youngest students! To support this whole school approach, we had to differentiate the curriculum. For example in the Kindergarten classrooms, their curriculum was also focused on activities that allowed them to practise their communication skills and we read them stories. However, for older students, we used the Persona Life Skills platform to help them focus their learning and make it more appropriate for their age.
Measure it
We have chosen many assessment methodologies to understand the improvement of the students. This year, we used events and competitions to focus our teachers’ assessment. For example, primary school students participated in in ‘Smerthi 23’. This was a day of competition across different subjects, and students could choose which categories to enter based on their skill set. We also hosted a TEDex interschool competition. This provided an opportunity for students from different schools to compete with each other to understand their own strengths and weakness related to essential skill development. This allowed our teachers to have a clear focus on when assessment should happen and to give students the opportunity to showcase their skills. This year we have improved our monitoring of essential skill assessment against the Universal Framework by using the Skills Builder hub. Teachers maintain a case study of each child and it is submitted to next class teacher for to ensure consistency across grades.
Focus tightly
This year, two periods a week were allocated exclusively for skills building, with teachers using the Skills Builder Hub and its resources to plan sessions based on particular skills and steps. These sessions had a clear skill focus and outcome. Students were given opportunities to discuss the outcome of the previous skills class and given steps or areas to work on and improve. The whole school ran on this timetable.
Keep practising
Skill based activities are now integrated into the curriculum, and the skills of the students are clearly focused and reinforced by the teachers in their subject teaching. We also ran a huge number of activities across the whole academic year where students reinforced their essential skills. A highlight was our international panel discussion, where we invited schools from all over the world to debate on the topic of climate change. Through Skills Builder, we partnered with St. Bartholomew’s school in the UK. Students worked collaboratively to use their speaking and listening skills to prepare for the debate. Other activities include the Topical Talk debate event and the WOW Leadership programme. Every year, the students’ articles are published in the School magazine VOYAGE. As part of the writing process, students focus on their aiming high and teamwork skills.
Bring it to life
We engage the students in many community activities and ensure that they have the opportunity to apply their skills in a real world setting. This year, students engaged in a community outreach program to create awareness on matters related to environmental conservation and protection. Students used their creativity skills to make posters, and speaking skills to persuade people of the importance of this issue. Since beginning the Skills Builder programme, we have seen how students are more confident and ready to take the initiative to get involved in a variety of social causes, such as fundraising campaigns and toy donations.
What's next
We are looking forward to embedding the skills further into school life as we move into our fourth year on the programme. Next year we will use the skill icons during reinforcement activities, as well as making verbal connections, so links are clear for students to see. We would also like to incorporate the skills further into written policy to highlight their significance and ensure consistency across the school.
