Located at the intersection of Surrey, Hampshire, and West Sussex, our independent prep school serves approximately 480 children aged 2 to 13. For some time, we've emphasized the importance of behaviours for learning. However, we faced challenges in measuring these behaviours and lacked a structured framework to support our teachers effectively.
A colleague with industry experience recommended the Skills Builder framework, and it has proven to be exactly what we needed. Skills Builder offers a wealth of resources and clearly defined, measurable steps, which have been instrumental in tracking our children's progress. Additionally, the robust support from our Skills Builder associate has been invaluable.
By integrating Skills Builder into our curriculum, we now have a comprehensive and structured approach that not only supports our teachers but also enhances our students' learning experience. The framework’s simplicity and effectiveness have made a significant positive impact on our educational environment.
We have made great progress this year and hope to continue next year with more explicit teaching of the skills within lessons. The children are aware of how important these skills are to develop. They know their significance for their future and how they contribute to making them better learners. Children who apply and make progress in these skills are celebrated, often highlighting those who might otherwise be overlooked. Everyone has something to celebrate, no matter what their starting point.
The eight essential skills can be seen everywhere around the school. They are written into many of our policies and have become our school values they also provide the structure for our Keys Diploma Award. This is a two-year programme that can be achieved by evidencing progress in the eight essential skills across all areas of school life: physical activity, academics, creative arts, and the enrichment programme.
We plan to use the projects more next year, possibly as an after-school club. We will also use one of the Challenge Days again, as it was very successful. Additionally, we hope to start each lesson with not only a clear learning objective but also a skill-focused objective. This will help the children understand which skill the teacher is planning to develop in each lesson.
We have also introduced a diploma specific to our school called the 'Keys Diploma'. This award is something the children work on over two years. The children evidence progress in all eight skills across the four main areas of school life: academic, creative arts, sport, and our enrichment programme. This encourages the children to build a portfolio of their strengths in all areas of school and clearly highlights areas for development. We hope that the children will transfer to their Senior Schools able to articulate their strengths in the skills as well as their academic progress.
We plan to focus more tightly on the development of the skills within each curriculum lessons and also ensure that each teacher is using the language consistently across the school. Timetabling a lesson specifically for the teaching of a skill will hopefully address some of the issues we have had this year. We have implemented so many changes this year to our school structure and curriculum that we need a year to imbed everything fully. Skills Builder has been a huge part of this change with both staff and children benefiting from the programme.
