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The White Wings School is a Nursery, Primary and Secondary school based in Lagos, Nigeria. Currently, the school works with learners aged 4 to 12 years old. The White Wings School is a friendly and welcoming school. We develop a total child, focusing on teaching, nurturing and caring. We use the Montessori base approach, British and Nigerian Curriculum, and have a focus on 21st century essential skills.
Overall impact
Our school mission ensures that all of our students are building essential skills at every opportunity. Skills Builder has given us a clear structure to help build essential skills during assemblies, classroom activities, sports ,projects, our school events, and in the wider school environment. This clarity allows our students to grasp concepts and improve their skills in all lessons. They have improved listening and speaking skills which has built their self confidence and academic attainment. They have also improved their teamwork and self management skills in all areas. For problem solving, we have been able to instil in our learners the vital role instructions play in solving any challenges, be it in their academic work or any given task. Furthermore, learners were taught to utilise their listening skills for verbal instructions and maximised concentration and to improve focus on written or visual instructions. For staying positive, learners learnt how to manage their emotions thereby achieving the best outcome in every situation. For aiming high, students and pupils were taught how planning is important in their lives to meet their goals (academic and daily goals). They can now plan and work towards their goals, remaining positive, regardless of their challenges. For creativity, students and pupils were taught how to use their imagination to generate ideas using a clear brief and concept, they can now bring their imagination to life and improve on existing ideas.
Keep it simple
We create a clear plan and ensure that each term has a focus on 2 essential skills. This focus is used every morning in assembly, to get all learners actively engaged with the skill, while more emphasis is made in the classroom with the classroom educator. The skill names are written up in each classroom and we ask varied questions to create discussion and reflection.
We also include the skill step in classroom teachings in various subjects. We use the Skills Builder Handbook for Educators to identify the relevant steps and recite the common language of each essential skill. This ensures that all teachers are speaking the same language of the skills. It also helps our teachers to target verbal praise for good work in the skills. Educators have improved in organising their lessons by keeping it simple and making skills lessons more interactive and focused in their classrooms.
Start early, keep going
We teach essential skills to all our students, aged 4-12 but group them based on their needs and differentiate the content of our lessons.
Measure it
We measure the skill taught by a written test and a verbal presentation both at individual and group level. The Handbook for Educators gives our teachers guidance on the assessment criteria for each step of the focus skill.
Focus tightly
We focus on 2 skills per term and differentiate each skill with activities particular to the specific step and from the Skills Builder Handbook for Educators. Younger students learn the skills with the aid of pictures, whilst learners aged 6-12 are taught the skill using short lessons.
Keep practising
As a way of reinforcing the skills we ensure we practise them in other related subjects. After every lesson, teachers also ask pupils to make presentations in order to access the skill of Speaking. To also ensure pupils keep practising these skills, educators ensure that learners are applying the skills already learnt. For Staying Positive and aiming high we have a quote that states “your emotions, determines how your day goes” thereby ensuring the need to Stay Positive to learn effectively.
Bring it to life
Understanding that these essential skills are needed in our everyday life, we ensure that we make them part of our daily activities both in and outside the school environment for educators and learners. We have engaged the skills across lots of different community projects this year and have started to engage parents by giving them creativity tasks which the children are to perform at home and parent supervise and make videos of before and after the task.
What's next
We will continue to focus on the Skills Builder Framework as part of the school curriculum to fulfil our 21st century essential skills and will continue to improve on our planning to maximise impact for our students and pupils effectively.
