Skills Builder Global

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Shaftesbury Park Primary School

Context

Shaftesbury Park is an award-winning, innovative community primary school in the heart of Battersea. We pride ourselves on providing our students with a rich and diverse curriculum, where the Skills Builder Programme underpins all learning within our 'Enterprise Stream'. This provision ensures that pupils have the fundamental skills necessary for success throughout their education and in later life. The 8 skills are explicitly taught in stand-alone lessons from Reception but are also embedded within all the school curriculum and are consistently referred to in the wider-school environment. We provide enhanced opportunities for pupils to showcase and practice their skills throughout their school journey and for them to understand how the specialised teaching they are receiving nurtures their development.

Overall impact

Here at Shaftesbury Park, our 'Enterprise Stream' classes are acutely aware of the importance of the 8 skills and how these will benefit them in the future as they embark on their future academic quests and journeys into the real world. The children respond excellently to their learning and have developed a culture where they are excited to link the skills into all areas of their curriculum. The students are able to use their skills in all aspects of their school life including during classwork and social environments, such as during play times. They also have many opportunities to practice their current skills as well as gain new understanding and new skills simultaneously. The students are aware and can verbalise the importance of being part of the 'Enterprise Stream' and will grow up to be well-adapted members of society when they leave school. Being part of a diverse local community, it is important that we are able to provide our students with a strong set of skills to equip them for their future to give them the best chances in life. Staff have used the programme to its best potential, to deliver Skills Builder lessons and to plan for opportunities for the skills to be practised and embedded in to all areas of the curriculum. The learning environments and displays speak volumes for how highly valued the skills are in our school. Parents and carers are provided with resources to understand each skill and to see how it can be developed at home.

Keep it simple

Our curriculum overview and school vision ensure that everyone in the school community is aware of how the skills form a key part of learning at our school. Engaging tasks using the HomeZone are set for homework, and weekly class newsletters outline the focus skill. Connections have been made with local schools who also use Skills Builder to celebrate successes together. Parents have been surveyed to gain their perspective on the Skills Builder curriculum and to offer opportunities to come in to school to participate in Enterprise activities. Our Enterprise Fair invites parents from a range of careers to speak with children, and includes workshops for the volunteers to better understand the skills that they will be discussing with pupils. This demonstrates the high status that we place on our Enterprise provision. Skills Builder have referred to us as an excellent example of the curriculum in action for other companies interested in becoming part of the work that Skills Builder do.

Start early, keep going

At Shaftesbury Park, our full time provision begins at 2 years old, which is when children begin their journey to develop their skills. Within the EYFS curriculum, the skills are embedded in planning and learning journeys in order for the children to be able to have a good foundation of the skills which can be built on as they move up through the school. Our EYFS tracking tool has been specially adapted, allowing practitioners to not only flag what area of learning an observation is related to, but also which of the skills is being demonstrated. Throughout the school, children discuss the skills as part of their routine and they are consistently referred to in assemblies, circle times and behaviour policies. Moving up the school, into Key Stages 1 and 2, teaching time is allocated daily to use the Skills Builder resources in stand alone lessons. Teachers adapt lessons to the needs of the class, allowing time to consolidate understanding of each skill before moving on to the next step.

Measure it

Each half term, teachers choose a focus skill for their class to work on. Each focus skill starts with an introductory lesson where teachers can establish the level that the class are working at using the Skills Builder dashboard. A separate tool has been designed in school to monitor each child more closely. Teachers update this document each half term, assessing each child on an individual level. This information is then used to inform future planning and end of year reports to parents. Regular staff training supports teachers to use this tool efficiently. Customised learning intentions for each Enterprise session include giving children the opportunity to self assess which step of the skill they are currently working at. This ensures the progress in each skill can be tracked through the children's workbooks. Progress is discussed with parents and with the Enterprise Lead Teacher.

Focus tightly

Staff at Shaftesbury Park use the Skills Builder Hub effectively to deliver Enterprise lessons daily. This ensures that the children are having direct instruction in each skill frequently and supports them in knowing how they are developing that skill throughout the year. The lesson resources, including the videos, are consistently used across the school. The videos and assembly presentations are used to give the children a good introduction to the skill, and the talk tasks and class discussions are carried out as group activities and shared work. New staff are trained up on how to use the Skills Builder Hub as part of their induction to the school and are supported by senior leaders in ensuring that they are accessing and using the tools available. Regular staff meetings take place where colleagues can share good practice and support each other with planning.

Keep practising

At Shaftesbury Park, we make sure that children have plenty of opportunities to practise their Enterprise skills. We have set up an Eco-Refill project, run by the children, for parents and staff to buy household items in a sustainable way. Children are also invited to take part in a Tycoon Project, where they work in teams to write and implement their own business plans, selling their products in the playground at the end of the day. Additionally, children have established and continue to run their own clubs such as Russian, History and Geography. All of these opportunities allow the children to use the skills in real life and meaningful contexts which engage the whole school community. Cross curricular links to the skills are made clear, and the skills are firmly embedded within our curriculum subjects, with logos being visible on learning objectives (WALTs). Enterprise sessions have cross curricular contexts, for example links being made to texts in Guided Reading and to significant historical events.

Bring it to life

Engaging our wider community with the Skills Builder curriculum has been a priority for us at Shaftesbury Park. We run a parent and carer Enterprise fair where members of our school community are invited in to speak with children about their jobs and to discuss how they use the skills. Children are lucky enough to visit offices in Central London to meet volunteers and discuss how the skills are used by adults in their workplaces. The virtual Enterprise trips are a highlight of the year for each class, as well as the annual Challenge Day being a chance for parents to come in a take part in Enterprise activities with their children. Children have also been publishing and distributing their own newspaper amongst the school community. Classes have taken part in local volunteering projects, and the annual residential trips for children in Key Stage 2 are also used as an opportunity for the children to discuss skills in action and to consider how skills are necessary in a real life context.

What's next

As a school, we are continuously aiming to progress and develop, continually striving to find additional ways for the children to explore the skills in a real life context. There are continued professional development meetings, which are planned to occur regularly in the next academic year to allow teachers to explore more effective ways in which the curriculum can be brought to life and skills can be mastered. The Skills Lead has created a Shaftesbury Park Enterprise Calendar, detailing all of the specific events currently being scheduled for the next academic year. These include; staff CPD insets, parents workshops, assemblies with guest entrepreneur speakers, Christmas Enterprise fairs, curriculum class projects, Essential Skills celebration assemblies, virtual trips, real-life trips and tours, meet the entrepreneur Q and A sessions and again the Tycoon and Eco Refill clubs. We are thrilled to be able to offer such exciting and engaging activities to our Enterprise students.

Greater London

United Kingdom