On 17th May, we were delighted to hold our first-ever Partnership Day. It was a real pleasure to welcome individuals and organisations from across the Skills Builder Partnership to talk about how they are using the Framework and Principles to transform essential skills - as well as a brilliant opportunity to share experiences with others.
A huge 'thank you' to everyone who attended this inspiring and energising event. We are enormously excited about the future of the Skills Builder approach - and deeply indebted to everyone in the Partnership for their ongoing work to ensure everyone builds the essential skills to succeed.
Read on for some of the best quotes and video highlights of the day.
Melanie Richards, Chair of the KPMG Foundation and Deputy Chair of KPMG started the day by talking about the power of collaboration, and the impact a group of committed organisations can have when pursuing a common goal.
See how they embed skills into their WorkReady programme
Our Founder & CEO Tom Ravenscroft then reflected on the rapid growth of the Partnership since its launch just a year ago - 520+ schools, 130+ employers and 50+ skills-building organisations are now using the Skills Builder approach.
Watch Tom's introduction speech:
Next, Emma Birchall, Head of Insight + Forecasting at Hot Spots Movement - a leading research consultancy focused on the future of work - explained the increasing need for diverse experiences, lifelong learning and essential skills as our lifespans increase.
Our first spotlight was Rachel Saunders, Education Director at Business in the Community. She talked about how the Framework has already been embedded into their work with schools and businesses, and their plans to expand this in future.
See how they are using the Framework with partners
Next to speak was Ian Peters, Deputy Headteacher at Manor Green School in Maidenhead, which caters to over 200 students with a wide range of special needs. They have been teaching essential skills using the Expanded Skills Builder Framework.
See a recent trip they made to employer Thames Water
Our organisations spotlight was Joel Balkwill, CEO of Spiral, which provides a range of workshops and events to help young people make the most of their potential. They've used the Framework to structure their programmes and allow for more rigorous assessment.
See how they have been embedding the Framework
We heard from Chimene Peddie, Head of Enterprise at Hornsey School for Girls, about the many ways the school has integrated essential skills teaching into the everyday curriculum - from running classroom Projects to weaving skills into other subject areas.
Our last spotlight was from Claudia Harris, CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company, who talked about our strategic partnership, which has included linking the Framework to their existing work with the Gatsby Benchmarks for careers provision.
Read about our strategic partnership
Samantha Butters, CEO of The Fair Education Alliance, kicked off the afternoon's discussions by sharing her vision for building the Framework into national education policy, so that skills education becomes the status quo for every student.
Read the FEA's latest Report Card featuring our approach
Paul Drechsler, Chair of Teach First (and former President of the Confederation of British Industry) talked about how the Skills Builder approach should be adopted as widely as possible to make the most of the current generation's potential.
Finally, Dame Julia Cleverdon, Founder & Trustee of Step Up to Serve, spoke about the importance of a consistent approach to building essential skills, as well as emphasising the need to expand the Skills Builder approach into apprenticeships.
