Skills Builder is partnering with Multi-Academy Trusts nationwide to unlock the potential of young people. Our comprehensive program begins with a Trust-wide Training Day, where Skills Leaders from each academy come together to:
- Discover cutting-edge teaching resources
- Collaborate and share best practice
- Develop bespoke strategies to build essential skills within each school’s unique context
This collaborative approach ensures that each strategy is deeply rooted in the Trust's values and seamlessly integrates with existing educational priorities.
Young Lives, Bright Futures: Horizon Care & Education
Horizon Care & Education Group is a leading provider of children’s homes, specialist schools, and supported accommodation services. Committed to helping every young person thrive, regardless of their circumstances, Horizon operates a nationwide network of children’s services, including 12 specialist schools and an alternative learning provision called HEAL.
Horizon is on a mission to empower young people to thrive. Through its work with Skills Builder, the Trust is equipping its educators with the tools, knowledge and teaching resources to build students’ essential skills. By fostering collaboration and sharing best practice across 12 specialist schools, Horizon is creating a powerful learning ecosystem where every young person can reach their full potential.
Last year Horizon achieved a Skills Builder Bronze Award in recognition of the Trust’s work to build essential skills across its schools. This year, Horizon is building on this success by embarking on an ambitious journey to deeply embed essential skills development across all aspects of school life. This commitment reflects Horizon's unwavering dedication to empowering young people with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.
Sharing best practice: Trust-wide Training Day
In December, Sarah Barron, Senior Education Associate at Skills Builder Partnership, facilitated a Training Day for Skills Leaders in Horizon’s 12 specialist schools. The day ignited a wave of enthusiasm among Horizon’s leaders, boosting confidence and inspiring innovative approaches to skill development.
During the Training Day, Skills Leaders had the opportunity to:
- Reflect on the impact of their programme so far
- Identify key teaching resources to build essential skills
- Share best practice and success stories from across the Trust
- Develop an action plan to build essential skills at their school
Increased confidence and enthusiasm for building essential skills
Trust-wide collaboration
With each school at a different point in its Skills Builder journey, the Trust-wide Training Day provided the perfect opportunity for staff development, peer learning and the sharing of best practice. Chloe O’Malley, Head of Careers at Horizon, highlighted the importance of this opportunity to collaborate:
“Today’s training session was really successful. It highlighted all the work that we are doing across our schools to develop the essential skills. With geographical challenges and school pressures it is sometimes difficult for us to get together, but today provided the perfect opportunity for us to share best practice across the Trust.”
Skills Leaders at each school echoed this feedback:
- “The best part of today was networking with other Skills Builder Leaders and sharing good practice.” - Skills Leader at Brewood School
- “It was great to have a chance to see where other schools were and share ideas.” - Skills Leader at Dudley Port School
High-quality CPD
Skills Leaders were enthused by the pace of delivery and range of activities:
- “I appreciated the straightforward approach, which combined clear intent with well-organised resources. The passion and delivery of Sarah exceeded expectations, by keeping us engaged at all times providing a fast paced variety of activities.” - Skills Leader at Bright Minds Creative Academy
- “The structured sessions and accompanying workbook made this an interactive and meaningful experience.” - Skills Leader at Horizon Education Alternative Learning (HEAL)
Aligning strategic priorities
Chloe O’Malley, Head of Careers at Horizon, explained how the Training Day aligned with the Trust’s strategic priorities:
‘Each school has come away from today’s session with a personalised action plan which will allow them to build essential skills in their setting. This has therefore helped us progress towards our Trust’s strategic priority of enhancing careers education, and our strategic vision of enabling young people to fulfil their potential.’
Learn more about Horizon Care & Education Group and their work to build essential skills here.
Keen to build essential skills at your Trust?
Work with our expert team to develop a consistent, impactful strategy to build essential skills at your Trust. Find out more about our work with MATs here or contact us here.
