At West Sussex Alternative Provision College (WSAPC), we work with students across seven separate locations across West Sussex. We provide full-time education places for 292 children and young people who have been permanently excluded, those at risk of exclusion and those out of school for medical reasons. We strive to provide our students with a fresh approach to learning and integrating the essential skills underpins this by providing the students with a concrete understanding of their value as an individual and within the context of the world of work.

Prior to taking part in Skills Builder Accelerator Programme, it was evident that students at West Sussex Alternative Provision College (WSAPC) were unaware of the skills required and how to use them. This was evidenced by Mock Interviews conducted in-house and feedback from FE interviews for our Year 11s, where if a skills related question was asked, they would give up. For our Year 7s to Year 10s it was through the creation of a Skills Builder baseline - Where do I use the skills? The data from these evidenced their lack of understanding of when and how to use the skills. Students were only able to identify using a skill in a set area, for example Speaking/Listening in English, Problem Solving in Maths, and Creativity in Art etc. It was also evident that students struggled to use the skills to help them to resolve social issues inside and outside of school. Since implementing the Skills Builder Programme to our curriculum, we have seen marked progress in the knowledge and use of the 8 essential skills, with students recognising their use and putting them into practice in both their school and home lives. Relationships between their peers and school staff are improving and the feedback from FE providers for Year 11s shows a marked improvement in interview skills. During a recent Ofsted Inspection, students were able to discuss Skills Builder, what it is, how it is used in school and give examples of how they have used it to turn a negative experience to a positive; further evidence that Skills Builder is making a positive impact to the students both academically and to their overall well-being.

Our next step will be to integrate the essential skills within the school's marking policy and have the essential skills integrated across all curriculum areas. We aim to develop the essential skills across all Key Stages (KS1-5) and this will be monitored across the centres through learning walks by the Careers Lead and our Director of Learning.