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Atkinson Road Primary Academy is a wonderfully supportive school in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne with children coming from over 40 different countries and speaking over 40 different languages. We pride ourselves in providing children with an “Outstanding” personal development offer (Ofsted, July 2023) and our use of Skills Builder was highlighted and noted as “a strength” in our Ofsted report. Our school has 70 % pupil premium and is situated in one of the areas with the highest levels of deprivation nationally. We are a School of Sanctuary where everyone feels safe and welcomed.
We use the Skills Builder Framework to unlock children’s potential and to help them to develop essential skills so they can thrive in education and are well prepared for future and global challenges.
Overall impact
We have used the framework for several years and during that time it has had a significant impact on the children and school. It has helped children to develop essential skills and has had a positive impact on their behaviour, engagement and attendance which sits around 95 %. The school has achieved a National Attendance Award from the FFT, placing the school in the top 10% of primary schools in England. The program has helped to strengthen children’s wellbeing and self-esteem which children demonstrate in the lessons. The overall happiness and positive mental health of our children was recognised in the Wellbeing and Inclusion Quality Mark (2023). “Skills Builder is not a bolt-on extra to the curriculum it is the foundation beneath it. We know that it is absolutely the right foundation as it was created to satisfy the needs of employers, so we are guaranteeing our children the best possible success in their future lives” Lisa Macaulay, headteacher. Through Skills Builder and careers education, we have seen our children’s aspirations increase. Our pupils leave school with realistic and aspirational goals and are well prepared for transition and the next chapter of their lives.
Challenge Days, projects and Career Insight sessions enrich our bespoke creative curriculum and boost children’s motivation, broadening their horizons and helping us challenge stereotypes. Embedding skills in the curriculum and extra-curricular offer has led to consistency in teaching and has improved the quality of education.
Keep it simple
The language around the essential skills is used consistently, revisited throughout all lessons and across the curriculum. The essential skills are embedded in policies and lesson plans. The skill icons are displayed in every classroom and included in teaching materials. In MFL lessons, teachers use icons in Spanish to develop the second language acquisition. To ensure that the language is understood by all, we use inclusive icons for the SEND and EAL children. Our children have opportunities to see where and how the skills are used, for example, whenever we discuss career options linked to the curriculum content, we refer to the essential skills and so do our visitors. The staff receive monthly Skills Builder updates and we have dedicated staff meetings to train the staff and to develop their confidence. Our parents and community are informed about the skills through Facebook and newsletters. Families are informed about their child’s progress during parents’ consultations.
Start early, keep going
We understand that the development of essential skills is crucial, not only for academic success but also to significantly increase chances of employment therefore we start teaching these skills in Reception and continue through the Key Stages until Year 6. We use the 'Expanded Universal Framework' to explicitly teach the skill of the month, which is timetabled and delivered weekly. Teachers ensure that pupils master the skill before moving on to the next step.
By year 6, our pupils will have had the opportunity to master six or seven steps per skill and thus leave primary education well prepared for secondary school and their future career. Children’s progress is celebrated in the whole school assembly where children receive certificates. We use Skills Builder stickers to reward a good use of skills across the curriculum within class.The essential skills are included in our school reports.
Measure it
The accurate assessment of the skills makes learning effective and helps teachers to plan the next steps. We complete the baseline assessment at the end of September after they have become familiar with their class.
Identified gaps are addressed through the hub lessons and high quality, research-based interventions, which enable us to accelerate progress. Children have access to impactful interventions such as 'Talk Boost' to develop their communication skills. We employ a Speech and Language Therapist and offer additional English lessons to our EAL pupils who are new to the country and to those who need continued support. To develop children’s self-regulation, we follow the 'Thrive' approach. The impact of these interventions is evident in children’s behaviour and attainment.
Teachers record monthly the progress on the hub and the data is revisited to record additional steps of progress. We track Individual assessment results and pupils use digital passports to asses their skills.
Focus tightly
The high-quality Skills Builder hub lessons are timetabled and delivered weekly by all teachers across all the year groups and key stages. In line with our mastery approach to the curriculum, we use the Expanded Universal Framework to focus on mastering one step at a time, per skill, in a year so the children can build an in-depth understanding of each stage before moving on. Teachers carefully plan to build in the opportunities to practice the skill of the month in their lessons across the subjects to demonstrate the transferability and wide application of the essential skills, for example, Creativity has been used in Art, DT, Science and Writing. In post-task reflection, the class discuss how well they applied the skill, analyse what went well and what could be improved.
Keep practising
The essential skills are embedded in our curriculum overview and termly plans. The skills are included in our classroom displays to celebrate and recognise the use of essential skills across the curriculum. We have mapped out the skills in our extracurricular offer and Saturday Master Classes to support and challenge the children. Children use their skills in off-timetable days, projects and workshops. Children from Year 3 - 6, can use their teamwork and leadership skills in a Team Challenge workshop, speaking and listening are used in debates during UK Parliament Week and Student Council, self-management skills are further developed during Children’s Mental Health Week, Anti-Bullying Week and creative problem solving in annual art competitions, Science Week and IT workshops. We also hold ‘A Challenge Day’ and last year’s Crime Scene Investigation was a great success as it challenged stereotypes about the police. The impact on careers aspirations was evident in the ‘Pupil Voice.‘
Bring it to life
Our pupils organised an art exhibition to showcase their artwork to the community. They had an opportunity to work with an artist and learn about the job of curators. During this project, children used their skills in a range of situations, which helped them to understand their importance and transferability. The project had a positive impact on children’s self-esteem and wellbeing.
Pupils in year 5, explore entrepreneurship through the 'Upstart Project' where children use the skills to create a new product, learn about different types of businesses and advertising.
We celebrate 'National Careers Week' where children meet inspiring professionals and see how the essential skills are used in their careers. We have participated in impactful Career Insight Sessions.We are developing links with the local businesses, employers and schools so the children can broaden their aspirations. Children in year 6 attended a careers fair. We have contributed to the Skills Builder Webinar.
What's next
We are planning to go global and develop a partnership with another Skills Builder School in Spain. Through this project we hope to broaden the children’s horizons and develop their determination, tolerance and language skills. This partnership will be a great opportunity for the staff to share good practice internationally.
