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Cliffedale Primary school is based in Grantham in Lincolnshire. It is a friendly school with the community at the heart of everything it does. They are committed to providing high-quality education that develops the children?s passions and a love of learning. The eight essential skills were introduced and have been embedded across the school. The skills play a vital role in preparing the pupils for the future and they are the driving force of the school?s vision and values.
Overall impact
Overall impact of the accelerator programme for pupils has been very positive. The children have embraced the essential skills and understand how they will help them in future jobs. The essential skills underpin the behaviour policy, and this has seen behaviour improve across the school. The teachers are fully committed to developing the essential skills and they are fully embedded into the daily teaching and learning within the school. The highlight off the year was when Ofsted could see that the skills were fully embedded and created an ?ambitious ethos?. The skills are part of the day-to-day life at Cliffedale primary school, parents enjoy completing the challenges at home and anyone who comes to Cliffedale can see the skills radiating around the school. The children are proud of their school and can confidently discuss the eight essential skills.
Keep it simple
The essential skills are embedded across the school and underpin the schools vision and values. A recent Ofsted report states that the eight skills underpin the schools ambitious ethos. They are threaded through the curriculum. Pupils are rewarded for good speaking and listening, for staying positive and aiming high, for solving problems and being creative, as well as for showing leadership qualities and teamwork skills. The essential skills drive the schools behaviour policy and both staff and pupils use the core language daily. Throughout the school are clear displays of the skills and skills are visible on learning objectives. The children are rewarded daily for demonstrating the essential skills and these turn into house points. Weekly certificates are given to individual pupils who have shown the core essential skills that week and these are shared in the celebration assembly at the end of the week.
Start early, keep going
Skills are worked on from reception to year 6. Reception teachers have made the skills child friendly and even sing a skills builder song at the start of every carpet session daily. The skills are referred to and discussed within every teaching session across key stage 1 and 2, they are displayed on teaching PowerPoints and smart boards. The children's learning objectives display the skills for each lesson and are stuck not the children's books. Each class has elected 2 skills builder champions who ensure that the skills are at the forefront of all the learning. Essential skills are planned for and are taught explicitly twice a week and embedded into every assembly.
Measure it
Pupils are assessed regularly, and staff are confident to identify skills that need developing further. The Key Stage 2 children are very active when assessing the essential skills and they are fully engaged with the process. All the children are encouraged to reflect when they receive a skills token for their work or attitude. This can be drawn, written or an adult can scribe the reflection on our reflection sheets, which are displayed on the skills builder displays in the classrooms. When completing the end of unit subject assessments pupils are encouraged to reflect on their 8 essential skills they have used during the unit. During the skills builder days the children completed the reflection sheets provided on the Hub. Emails are sent out regularly to ensure that all teachers baseline their pupils at the start of each term on Skills Builder Hub. The essential skills are on governor monitoring sheets and subject leader's pupil questionnaires asks which essential skills have been used within the subject.
Focus tightly
Time is made in the curriculum to explicitly teach the essential skills using the resources on the hub and they are fully embedded across the teaching and learning. The skills are developed through lesson activities and skills builder days focus in tightly on all the skills.
Keep practising
The whole curriculum incorporates the eight essential skills, and they are displayed on teaching slides, learning strips, assembly rota and throughout the school. A member off the senior leadership team drops into the explicit teaching of the skills to ensure consistency across the school. Subject leader complete pupil questionnaire and always ask "what essential skills have you used in this lesson?". Governors also question the pupils in regard to their skills. The skills builder champions work with the skills builders lead to reward pupils who demonstrate the skills during playtimesThey are used daily for positive rewards and gaining house points for their teams. Students run their own clubs demonstrating their leadership skills across the school. The smart council incorporates the essential skills and focussing in on the skills of listening, teamwork and leadership. Weekly planning shows that the skills are planned for, and all planning includes the skills. At the end of units, the children reflect on the essential skills in their assessments. EYFS do a daily reveal of the essential skills they are focusing in on. All extra-curricular activities provide opportunities for the children to practise their essential skills. The school have used trips, projects and challenge days, as well as developing the essential skills in off timetable days including ?Viking days, world book day, mini-Olympics.
Bring it to life
Parents have been invited in to talk about their careers and how the essential skills are used. We have had a doctor, zoologist, banker, vet, police and NHS. The whole school took part in the Trash to Treasure Challenge Day and it was lovely to see all the essential skills coming to life. The weekly newsletter has the link to the home zone and children are encouraged to practise their essential skills at home, completing the home zone challenges. The learning icons are in the weekly homework and the activities encourage the skills. The children are encouraged to share their activities outside of school and these are shared in an assembly on a Friday linked to the essential skills. Some children visit a local care home regularly when all the skills are used. Children are rewarded for demonstrating their skills daily and weekly.
What's next
Next year we plan to develop the skills builder champions more, giving them the opportunity to lead project days and promote the essential skills across the school. We will ensure that the skills continue to underpin all that we do and continue to celebrate good practises. Throughout the year off timetable days have been planned and the teachers will continue to plan explicit lessons that develop the skills. The skills will continue to underpin of vision and values.
