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The Surin International School, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a progressive institution dedicated to providing each child with a customised education that meets their unique needs. While we follow the British National Curriculum, our primary focus is on nurturing 21st-century skills. Since its introduction in 2018, the Skills Builder program has greatly benefited our students, empowering them with essential life skills.
Overall impact
As we continue to continuously apply essential skills both in and out of the classroom our students develop a strong understanding of both the importance and relevance of them to many aspects of their lives. We continue to encourage effective listening, speaking, and teamwork during lessons, group work and varied activities. This continues at home with parents continuing discussion and development of these skills at home. We witness a high degree of inclusivity at our school and take pride in the camaraderie that our students demonstrate during problem-solving, creativity, teamwork, speaking, listening, maintaining a positive mind-set, and striving for high goals. Through perseverance and resilience, our students have fully embraced the essence of learning each skill. We attribute this achievement to the unwavering support and encouragement from our dedicated teachers who have taken it upon themselves to lead by example and embrace these essential skills wholeheartedly. Their commitment has been instrumental in the success of our students' skill development journey.
Keep it simple
All our staff and parents nurture the importance of essential skills for personal success with their students. They demonstrate the skills in their own actions and a common language has developed throughout the school. Visual displays in all learning areas depict each skill and reinforce their importance. The holistic approach taken by the school, encompassing both the educational and familial spheres, has created a cohesive and comprehensive framework for skill development. The reward system is in place for students to be recognised for their efforts in cultivating and practising these values followed by year end Skills Certificate Awards.
Start early, keep going
Our reception students are introduced to essential skills from an early age in all areas of their learning. This foundation is then built upon as the student progresses through our school.
Measure it
At the end of every half term, we conduct assessments to evaluate the progress of students in the 8 essential skills; each teachers’ assessment is used to reflect on the overall status of their class. This streamlined process ensures a quick and accurate assessment of where students stand in their skills journey, providing valuable insights to inform the next steps in teaching and learning. To facilitate self-reflection and personal growth, students evaluate whether they have achieved their set targets. This process encourages students to take ownership of their skill development, fostering a sense of responsibility and awareness of their progress. By integrating regular assessments and personal targets, we ensure that students and teachers alike have a clear understanding of each student's skill development. This comprehensive approach not only helps students track their own growth but also enables teachers to provide targeted support and instruction tailored to individual needs.
Focus tightly
Skills Builder is integrated into weekly lessons across the entire school, ensuring consistent and comprehensive instruction. We use lessons to review, develop and set personal step targets for our students This approach ensures that students can see, understand, and actively apply the skills in their learning.
Keep practising
Our students have multiple opportunities to practise these skills in other school activities, ranging from role plays and dramas to mathematical problem-solving cases, and project-based learning with presentations and after school club activities. At the end of year celebration students can present both their individual and group talents, fostering a sense of self-expression, creativity and collaboration.
Bring it to life
The school has effectively facilitated opportunities for students to apply their skills in real-world settings, such as during residential trips, field trips, and in preparation for school events. External visits also give our students opportunities to practise and reflect on their skills. We encourage students to take an active role in planning these activities, giving a more indepth experience of many of the essential skills.
What's next
We continue to develop our curriculum and community programmes to give our students the skills they need to thrive and essential skills are integral to this process of continuous reflection and improvement.
