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At Co-op Academy Broadhurst, we promote a careers-led curriculum, with a drive to increase pupil understanding of the skills required to be successful in various careers. Developing aspirations is also an important focus for our children, which is supported by helping pupils develop their own skill sets. Our overall aim is for pupils to develop their own identification and articulation of skills necessary to complete activities, which they can then use throughout their careers and lives. It is our ambition to encourage the children to develop a life long love of learning whilst giving them the skills and values to become positive citizens of the future. Skills Builder is the perfect vehicle to support our aims and that is why we continue to embed the 'essential skills' and use the quality resources to enhance our careers related curriculum.
Overall impact
The Accelerator + programme has helped to drive our careers led curriculum as it offers a wide range of resources for staff and pupils to use. The Hub is a great way to measure progress and supports teachers to hone in on the particular strengths and areas for development for their students. Staff feel empowered to deliver high quality personal development sessions because of the lessons and resources available to them via the online platform. Employer encounters, which Skills Builder has provided, have helped the children to see the benefit of the essential skills in relation to the world of work. This gives it a real life purpose which the pupils enjoy engaging with. In addition to this, the projects have been a particular highlight this year as they have encouraged the children to use the skills they have learned and showcase their understanding. They have also provided a context, showing the range of jobs and careers which require such skills.
Keep it simple
Since the initial training, the staff have embedded the language related to skills. At first, this was done by referring to the specific skills during assemblies. Each month, a new skill was introduced by using the Skills Builder assembly resources. Then, teachers taught the skill explicitly during lesson time. This year, the essential skills are referred to during every assembly, no matter what the context and lessons are taught when most appropriate. As a staff, we created a document which assigned certain skills to certain subject areas, for example, Science - Teamwork & Problem Solving and Art - Creativity & Staying Positive. Each skill is also included in our medium term plans. When teaching that subject area, the skill step specific for that class (which has been measured using the Skills Builder Hub) is referred to within those lessons. Each classroom has its own Skills Builder display which includes the icons and the specific skill step that is currently being focused on for each skill.
Start early, keep going
Every year group, from EYFS to Y6, learn about the skills and are expected to refer to them throughout the school curriculum. The skill steps are taught explicitly and then used discretely within subject areas. When the children exhibit the skill step independently, they are awarded with Class Dojo points which relate to that skill. Parents can then see which points have been awarded and for what. Whole school homework is given out each month via the school's newsletter which encourages parents to get involved with building the skills and consolidating their knowledge of the essential skills. We use the examples provided on 'Homezone'.
Measure it
Each year group team uses the Hub to show the progress that the children are making. At the start of the year, a baseline is completed and then this is updated every half term or when a particular skill has been addressed and improvement has been shown. The children are encouraged to refer to the skill steps within lessons and remember the skill step that they are on. Pupil voice has identified that the children know about the particular steps they are working on and how they are related to jobs and careers.
Focus tightly
The staff ensure that explicit teaching of a particular skill is taught at least twice in a half term. The skill step is identified using the Hub and through reflections. This has evolved from stand alone lessons to matching the skill with particular subject areas, which makes the skill step being learned more meaningful as it provides a context.
Keep practising
Within the curriculum, the children are reminded and encouraged to exhibit the skills within different subjects. The skill icons are used as a prompt within lesson resources. During employee encounters, we discuss the skills appropriate for the session and the children devise questions to ask in order to hone in on the essential skills. There have been opportunities for the children to showcase their skills during external visits, for example, the ECO Ministers created and delivered a presentation at a Trust wide conference. They were also given an exhibition space to promote ECO related issues to various adults attending the conference. We have also used the projects provided by Skills Builder as a way for the children to demonstrate the skills they have learned. The children have found the projects to be very enjoyable and have consolidated their knowledge.
Bring it to life
At our school, we promote aspirations and so we provide the children with a breadth of career related activities, starting from EYFS to Year 6. The essential skills underpin all of these tasks and assignments. Throughout the year, employee/employer encounters are mapped out on the long term plan. Each year group has at least one meaningful encounter per term. These are linked to subject areas where appropriate e.g. a visit from a chocolatier during their Fairtrade topic. Children from Year 5 and Year 6 have attended a careers fair at a local college. This gave them the opportunity to talk to employers about the skills and qualifications required for different careers. The Skills Builder projects that we have selected also link to year group curriculum planning and bring their learning to life. The projects have a career focus too which adds to our CRL (Careers Related Learning) curriculum, highlighting the importance of the skills for their futures.
What's next
Next year, we are going to continue to develop our CRL curriculum by using the full range of resources that Skills Builder has to offer. We will participate in a 'Challenge Day' as a way to celebrate the children's learning. The children will also log their thoughts, notes, comments and interactions with employers in their very own 'Career Journal' which will be used throughout their time at primary school. This will act as a way of reflecting on their learning and provide a place for the children to combine what has been taught and discussed.
