They say it takes a village to raise a child, developing essential skills is no different. Parents and carers, local employers and organisations all play an important role in developing an individual’s essential skills. A young person’s interactions with the wider community help shape their future, providing countless opportunities to build and practise essential skills. However, inconsistencies in language or understanding sometimes means that opportunities for building essential skills go unnoticed or are even forgotten.

So, the question is not why engaging the wider community is important, instead it’s how do we engage the wider community?

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In this webinar we: 

Heard from fellow Skills Leaders who shared practical advice for engaging their wider communities including, but not limited to, parents, governors, local employers and work experience providers.

During the webinar we covered the following topics:

• The importance of engaging your wider community (02:33)
• Guest Speaker: Hannah Williamson, Acomb First School (05:22)
• Guest Speaker: Souriya Gad, The Federation of Towers Schools (12:37)
• Guest Speaker: Iva Plhakova, Atkinson Road Primary (21:43)
• Guest Speaker: Sarah Wills, Comberbach Primary (25:03)
• Practical strategies for engaging your wider community (32:50)

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Here is a short summary of the top tips and ideas included within the webinar:

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Engaging parents and carers:

Increasingly, parents and carers are advocating for skill-development to be a focus in schools and colleges, with 61% of parents saying they would consider essential skill provision when choosing a school. However, for skill-development to truly be successful they need to engage with essential skills. Our guest speakers shared examples of successful parent engagement:

• Share information/updates - Send regular updates to parents and carers on essential skills. This could be through emails, social media, letters or class bulletins! You can show parents how you are building skills and what the impact is.
• Parent and Carers Skills Workshop - invite parents and carers to understand what essential skills are and give examples of how you use them in your provision. Ask them to take part in a skill-building activity and reflect on their essential skills to demonstrate the life-long relevance and importance. 
• Invite parents and carers to skill events - If you are running a skill based Challenge Day, invite parents and carers to a showcase at the end! Allow parents and carers to see first-hand what a day of skill-development looks like, how it makes learners feel and what the impact is.
• Encourage the use of Homezone -  Ask parents and carers to take part in a weekly skills challenge over the weekends. You could encourage the challenge outcomes to be shared and celebrated in school. 

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Engaging local businesses:

Creating a consistent language between your provision and local business’ will provide more meaningful opportunities for learners to build and practise essential skills.  Given that young people with four or more meaningful employer encounters are 86% less likely to be unemployed or NEET (not in education or training), and can earn up to 22% more, it's clear that these interactions are crucial. Some advice from our guest speakers:

• Share the language - Whether you have guest speakers or learners are going out to local employers, talk to them about essential skills. Share what essential skills are and highlight the importance of using the same language.
• Invite local businesses to relevant events - Whether it is a Career Fairs, Mock Interview Session or even a Challenge Day, always reach out to local employers to see if they will be a part of the day. Give learners the opportunities to ask local businesses and employers questions. Those involved will showcase the real-world applications of essential skills and be part of positive impact.
• Reach out to everyone - Get in touch with local contacts. Following requests: local government, police officers, artists and many more took part in our guest speakers' events. Whether it’s in person, email or phoning - a simple ask can often lead to a local longer term partnership. 
• Career Insight Sessions - Everyone on a programme with Skills Builder has the opportunity to sign up for Career Insight Sessions, these are online virtual encounters.

If you are interested in expanding your reach, develop a strategy to engage the wider community. The more people who understand the importance of essential skills, the greater the impact on your learners and others.

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Thank you 

Thank you to our guest speakers and to everyone who attended. It was great to hear your questions and reflections at the end of the session.  

Join a movement of educators building essential skills

If you’re currently working with us and want to do more, just get in touch with your Education Associate. 

If you’re not currently working with us, but interested in building essential skills at your school, applications for the 2025-26 Accelerator programme in Spring 2025. Find out more and register your interest online.