Stories from Accelerator: East London

February 28, 2022

Applications for the Accelerator are now open. Find out more and apply here, and read on for some great stories from the programme...

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‍Our work in East London

Over the last few years, there’s been some brilliant progress happening in schools and colleges in East London, where we work with more than 50 Primaries and Secondaries, 6 Special Schools, and 2 Colleges.

High quality programmes that provide opportunities to boost students’ essential skills are recognised by Skills Builder Awards. Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards are given to those modelling best practice in essential skills education by embedding our six principles:

In 2021, 302 schools and colleges achieved an Award across the UK. 90 of these chose to submit a Case Study. You can explore the full Case Study Showcase here, but here are just a few highlights…

Sanders Draper School is a mixed-ability Secondary School in Hornchurch, Havering, consisting of approximately 700 students, with Pupil Premium at above national average by 5%. They work with Skills Builder to promote employability skills, show students how they could improve these skills, and give them key skills to secure employment after their studies. It currently holds a Skills Builder Bronze Award.

“The programme has most definitely improved key employability skills in Year 7 and has given the students confidence in using these skills more than they would have previously. It has also made them better citizens, being more respectful to one another. Staff have also found that using Skills Builder has helped them to develop ways to improve those skills in other lessons and provide activities to enhance these skills in lessons.”

Hillyfield Primary Academy is a seven-form entry school located in East London. They began their Skills Builder journey as a way to unite and cement their school's ethos: 'Brilliance in every child, Excellence everyday.' It currently holds a Skills Builder Silver Award.

“The Skills Builder programme has acted as a cement to see us through this very challenging school year and beyond. Our entire school body has benefited from the support and training we received from our Education Associate. The skills have allowed us the language to understand the building blocks of our school's vision and values. Our children have a deeper understanding of the importance of each skill and that there is a process in developing each one.”

Mossford Green Primary School is a community primary school based in Redbridge, and uses the Skills Builder approach to support students to articulate their ideas verbally. It currently holds a Skills Builder Gold Award.

“The impact of the Accelerator programme on our children can not be underestimated. The assessment tool, targets, activities and the language framework it gave us was just what we needed to move from good intentions and sporadic good practice, to a well-structured, whole school approach that built from Nursery up to Year 6. It has allowed our senior leadership team to develop an approach that can cover the whole school and permeate all aspects of curriculum learning.”

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About Accelerator

Skills Builder Accelerator is our flagship programme for schools and colleges. We work together with you to develop and implement a complete strategy for teaching essential skills in your institution, including training, support, tools, and resources, resulting in real impact for your students.

Interested? Find out more here, where you can download our prospectus. You can also check your eligibility to apply for a funded programme place here.

Programme places are limited and will be allocated in three rounds.