Skills Builder Global

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St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School

Context

St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary is one form entry based in the middle of Stoke-on-Trent. Here we value and respect every person as an individual, enabling and encouraging them to reach their full potential. At St Thomas Aquinas, we aim to recognise every individual for their talents, attributes and skills whilst encouraging them to be resilient and provide them with the right level of challenge to achieve their goals. In addition to our broad and balanced curriculum, we pride ourselves on the pastoral care that we provide through our Catholic ethos, where we aim to make the, 'heart, mind and spirit soar'. The Challenge Days have been a huge success and it has been wonderful to see every pupil from Foundation 1 to Year 6 working on the on the same project, focusing on the same set of skills. The staff and pupils have loved sharing their experiences, ideas and work. Two staff members commented on the Start-up Success Challenge Day saying, 'One of the best days we have ever had in school'. At St. Thomas Aquinas we expect high standards of behaviour. We promote the building of solid relationships between all individuals so that they remain happy and confident to work independently. By working with the Skills Builder Partnership, we been able to take this on to another level and embed the essential skills in our curriculum.

Overall impact

At St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School, we believe that developing and using essential skills will assist our pupils to succeed in life. By working with the Skills Builder Partnership, our pupils have the ability to creatively solve problems, to self-manage, to communicate effectively, and to work well with others in any given situation. Each week during the staff meeting, staff have an allocated time to explore the Hub, we discuss the skill that is the focus of the half term and share our successes. Pupils can also receive 'Dojo points' for demonstrating the skills within the classroom and on the playground. These are the skills that are required to do almost anything well, every learner has had opportunities to build on these eight essential skills to support them now and in the future. The need for these skills is clear, and our pupils now have these skills which will give them the ability and opportunity to succeed in life.

Keep it simple

The eight essential skills are firmly embedded within the curriculum here at St. Thomas Aquinas. All planning documents across the school feature the Skills Builder icons. This enables teachers to include specific skills into their plans giving pupils ample opportunities to explore them throughout the curriculum. The posters of the essential skills are displayed in every classroom and the focused skill of the term is placed near the front of the class, so that it can be referred to regularly throughout the day. Our pupils are constantly exposed to the language of the skills and we encourage them to apply them on a daily basis: this enables them to develop their own understanding of what the skills mean to them.

Start early, keep going

Throughout our school there is a consistent approach to the development of the eight essential skills. Every class from Foundation Stage 1 up to Year 6 are introduced to and explicitly taught all of the essential skills. Each half term we focus on a different skill. This enables the skills to become embedded within the classroom culture. From this, examples of how the skills are used in each classroom are written on a speech bubble and placed on the whole school Skills Builder display board that is situated in the school dining room for everyone to see. The pupils often read these whist having their lunch, which is lovely to see.

Measure it

All teachers use the Skills Builder whole class tracking tool on the Hub to record their pupils' successes and achievements against the skill descriptors. Pupils are also encouraged to self-assess and reflect on a regular basis. This was apparent during our latest Challenge Day where pupils discussed the different skills and areas that they have improved on or would like to improve on. Individual targets are frequently used for SEN pupils who have Individual Learning Passports and EAL pupils to enhance their skills. During learning walks and lesson observations, it is evident that our pupils can eloquently talk about the skills that they are focusing on.

Focus tightly

Each subject leader has allocated two of the skills to their subject area, however it is evident that all of the skills feature in all areas of the curriculum in many ways. Listening is embedded in our Music lesson where pupils are asked to focus on a piece of music and discuss the pitch, tempo and rhythm. English and RE focus on the Speaking skill, our pupils pray together four times throughout the day, we take part in reading buddies, talking partners and the use of lollipop sticks to ensure all pupils have the opportunity to speak. Each Maths lesson, in every year group involves at least one problem solving challenge that also enables our pupils to aim high. Our Computing curriculum equips our pupils with computational thinking and Creativity to understand our every changing world. Leadership and Teamwork skills are embedded within our engaging PE curriculum.

Keep practising

As a Catholic school, we pride ourselves on living out the Gospel values and virtues. Our virtues are rooted within our broad and balanced curriculum. We have also embedded the essential skills into our curriculum and they are an integral part of our daily life. The language of these skills is evident in what our pupils, say and do within the classroom and on the playground. The skills now form part of our Catholic ethos 'Making the heart mind and spirit soar'. Our pupils are encouraged to be the best version of themselves and to also learn from their mistakes. This motivates them to try new, innovative approaches to problem-solving. We believe that a lifetime, learning from mistakes helps develop wisdom and good judgment.

Bring it to life

Staff try to link all skills to everyday life so that pupils can relate more to the actual skill. Some of our KS2 pupils were able to link skills developed and used within our Challenge Days to future career prospects whereas our younger pupils use them develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. School trips are the perfect opportunity for our pupils to put their skills into practice, they include activities providing opportunities for teamwork, engagement in conversations and developing confidence, curiosity and creativity. By giving pupils an opportunity to use their skills outside of the classroom, they can see how their learning may be applicable in real life.

What's next

We have exciting plans for the future linked to our Skills Builder journey. In the next academic year, we plan on developing our entrepreneurial skills gained during our Start-up Success Challenge Day to having our very own St. Thomas Aquinas Enterprise. We aim to enhance the profile of Skills Builder even further by getting our School Council more involved, which will enhance pupil leadership skills and pupil voice leading to Skills Builder assemblies and awards given. We also aim to increase Skills Builder learning opportunities through the extra-curricular activities that we offer. Teachers are committed to building skills into their extra-curricular programme so that the students can understand the importance of applying the skills in different contexts. We also wish to involve parents more and will work alongside parents enhancing the skills of our pupils through the Skills Builder Homezone.

West Midlands

United Kingdom