The Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review’s Call for Evidence has now launched. The Review is considering what changes need to be made to the curriculum, assessment and qualification pathways from 5-19. 

As these reviews do not come round very often, we’re excited about the opportunity it presents to embed essential skills into the curriculum and provide all learners with structured opportunities to build their essential skills. 

At Skills Builder our mission is clear: to ensure that one day everyone builds the essential skills to succeed. To achieve this, essential skills must be recognised as fundamental and embedded in education - from early years through to 19. The essential skills: communication, creative problem-solving, interpersonal, and self-management skills are critical to preparing young people for their futures, both for work and for life. 

We know the research shows that opportunities to build essential skills are not shared equally. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds receive fewer opportunities to develop their essential skills, despite higher levels of these essential skills being associated with improved life satisfaction, earnings, and employment outcomes for individuals.

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Skills Builder Partnership’s response

Through our response, Skills Builder Partnership will be sharing with the Review how the Partnership builds essential skills at scale from education through to employment, and what we know are the features of effective curriculum and assessment. 

1. The starting point must be the curriculum, models of assessment and qualifications adopting the Universal Framework. The Framework provides a practical and structured way to build and measure essential skills, already used by hundreds of schools and colleges across the country..

2. Alongside adoption of the Universal Framework, we would like the review to adopt the features of effective curriculum and assessment design that schools and colleges across the partnership are employing successfully. These include:

• Using precise language to distinguish between basic, technical and essential skills, and referring to specific skill steps rather than broad skills. For example: Speaking Step 7: ‘ I speak engagingly by using facts and examples to support my points’, instead of a general ask on schools to improve learners' communication skills.
• Setting clear age-related expectations, while enabling flexibility. The national curriculum should be clear about what the age-related expectations are of a student and what they should be able to demonstrate at specific points of their education. 
• Building essential skills across the curriculum: The national curriculum should encourage teachers to identify the skill steps to focus on for a particular year group or cohort and then look across the curriculum horizontally to identify opportunities where different skill steps can be taught, practised and secured for that year group or cohort. As a guide, teachers should be encouraged to identify 3-5 opportunities across a year for each skill step. For example, by considering tone when delivering a presentation in history, or focusing on a particular problem-solving strategy in science or geography.
• Building essential skills through applied learning, careers education and workplace experience. Essential skills can be developed and reinforced through learners applying their skills in real-world contexts, whether through group projects, workplace experience, or community engagement. Opportunities to apply skills in practical settings reinforces learners’ learning and helps them see the relevance beyond the classroom.
• Regular and ongoing assessment: a variety of teacher-led and student-led models of assessment can support learners to reflect and progress. The review should build on and adopt existing, tried and tested approaches to assessing learners’ essential skills including class observation, portfolio building and scenario assessed tasks.

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We would love to see a strong response to the Review from across the Partnership

- whether you are an educator, employer, impact organisation, parent or supporter:

Teachers responding to the review

If you are a teacher, your feedback and views are critical. You may wish to share what it is important that the curriculum includes, and any barriers you face in teaching essential skills effectively. You may also want to share your experience of using the Universal Framework, and the impact you have observed. 

If you are an teacher and want to respond to the review, you can do so through:

1. Submitting a response through the online call for evidence: There is no obligation to respond to all questions and you may only wish to respond to a couple. As a simple step you can submit your case study to questions 25, 26 or 27 which ask for views on how the curriculum and qualification pathways could “better support pupils to have the skills and knowledge they need for future study, life and work”.
2. Speaking to your Education Associate. If you want to find out more or need some support with submitting your response, please reach out to your Education Associate who would love to hear from you.

Partners and Organisations

Skills Builder Partnership is built on collaboration, and we encourage other organisations—businesses, charities, and impact organisations—to also share their experiences with the review. 

Please get in touch with our Head of External Affairs, Alice at alice.chan@skillsbuilder.org to explore how your organisation can participate and share its experience of building essential skills. If you are already planning or drafting your response, she’d love to hear from you too.

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A window of opportunity

At Skills Builder Partnership, we believe that essential skills should be a core part of every young person’s education. By working together—educators, businesses and impact organisations—we can ensure that the future curriculum is fit for purpose, and equips all learners with the essential skills they need to thrive.