All children at Herne View have the opportunity to learn about and practise the essential skills. With children ranging from EYFS to Year 6 all taking part in skills based learning, it is the very definition of 'start early and keep going'. Skills Builder Challenges are also published in the weekly school newsletter which ensures parents are involved in the development of essential skills, and encourages children to continue their learning at home.

Teachers use formative assessment techniques to assess the progress of essential skill development in their students. Many teachers use the Skills Builder Hub to complete pre and post assessments for their class, and others use alternative formative assessment techniques. There is a section on all end of year reports that details Attainment, Progress and Effort for every child in six essential skill areas. This reinforces the importance of the essential skills to parents and ensures they are aware of and included in their child's skill development.

All our students have the opportunity to build their essential skills through explicit teaching. Pupil voice has confirmed that all students are receiving these opportunities. Teachers can decide when they deliver this focused teaching. Many teachers use short lessons on the Hub to explicitly teach the essential skills, whilst some prefer to make their own resources, and our EYFS teacher has been using the Outdoor Learning Menu.

Children are given opportunities to practise their essential skills daily through use of consistent language across all staff. This ensures that the essential skills and icons are regularly referenced - in lessons, collective worships and in terms of behaviour management. Some teachers also use Class Dojo to reward children for demonstrating the essential skills particularly well. This ensures feedback is specific and the children can understand where the skills fit into their daily school lives. The skills have also been embedded into the curriculum: all foundation subjects in all year groups across the school now have a specific skill and skill step on each topic's Medium Term Plan to identify which skills will be taught and when. Positioning this on the Medium Term Plan ensures that all teachers view it regularly as a reminder about the skill focus for that unit of work. Our staff have received training on making links to skills in curriculum lessons, and now feel more confident doing so. The implementation of skill steps on Medium Term Plans has ensured that the skills are embedded in wider learning across the school, highlighting cross-curricular links to the children.

During National Careers Week, we welcome local employers and parent volunteers to school, to teach children all about the world of work and the opportunities available to them. We ask all visitors to include Skills Builder in their presentations, explaining which skills are beneficial to them in their careers. This enables the children to see the real-life application of the skills they are developing every day. They are also given the opportunity to ask questions to deepen their understanding. We are also excited to be hosting a Skills Builder Challenge Day as part of our upcoming transition process, to further reinforce the benefits and importance of the essential skills in real-life scenarios.