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Barnton Community Nursery and Primary School (BCNPS) is a vibrant, inclusive school that places essential skills at the core of its ethos. We believe skills such as speaking, listening, problem solving, and teamwork are vital for life beyond the classroom. Over the past seven years, we have embedded the Skills Builder Framework across all year groups, fostering a culture where learners naturally use and articulate these skills daily.
From Early Years to Year 6, essential skills underpin our curriculum. We prioritise communication skills in EYFS, helping children develop speaking and listening as the foundation for all learning. This focus continues through Key Stage 2, where learners gain confidence applying and reflecting on skills across subjects and activities.
Our commitment is clear: essential skills are integrated into every classroom, assembly, and event. Staff actively engage in training, staying informed on the latest research and using the Skills Builder Hub to track progress. Family involvement is growing, with workshops and events like our upcoming ‘Mission: Build Your Skills’ evening designed to bring essential skills learning to the whole community.
Our journey is ongoing, with a clear vision to make essential skills a lifelong learning journey for all pupils and staff alike.
Overall impact
Barnton’s essential skills programme has engaged pupils, staff, and families with notable success. Through a whole-school approach - including dedicated lessons and extracurricular activities - skills development has become a purposeful and progressive part of everyday learning.
Pupils confidently identify and apply their skills across subjects and real-life contexts. For instance, Year 6 learners reflect on how aiming high and leadership skills helped them set goals and prepare for SATs. Staff collaborate closely, planning focused lessons that explicitly link skills to curriculum content and model skills language consistently.
Family engagement through workshops and events reinforces skills learning at home, creating a strong partnership. Governors and senior leaders recognise the programme’s positive impact on pupil confidence and achievement. By embedding skills at the heart of school life, learners leave Barnton prepared for future education and life, confident in communication, collaboration, and embracing new challenges.
Keep it simple
At Barnton, essential skills are clear, visible, and embedded in daily school life. Classrooms feature vibrant displays outlining the eight essential skills with step-by-step language, providing learners with constant reminders and practical examples.
Teaching is manageable and focused, with weekly lessons concentrating on two specific skills each half term. This targeted approach allows teachers to explain, demonstrate, and provide ample practice opportunities. Consistent language and shared expectations ensure coherent and progressive learning.
Skills are embedded and linked explicitly to topics, reinforcing their relevance across subjects. School policies reference essential skills, integrating them into learning, behaviour, and development strategies.
Recognition motivates learners through weekly family assemblies celebrating skill achievements. Children receive handwritten Skills Awards for exceptional skill demonstration, highlighting the value of these skills to the school community.
This clear and consistent approach makes essential skills a natural, easy-to-grasp part of Barnton’s culture.
Start early, keep going
Our essential skills journey begins in Nursery, focusing on Speaking and Listening to support early communication and social development. These foundational skills help learners express themselves confidently and engage fully with learning from the outset.
Skills teaching progresses year on year, linked to curriculum targets through the Skills Builder Framework. This ensures learners build on prior knowledge and deepen their ability to apply skills across subjects.
For learners with SEND or SEMH needs, we tailor support using tools like the Expanded Framework and Inclusive Resource Pack, ensuring all learners benefit.
We were excited to be invited by Skills Builder to be a part of their new ‘Joining up the Journey’ transition project this year. We are developing our Year 6 Transition programme with local high schools, aligning skills language and expectations to prepare pupils for the next stage with confidence and continuity.
Measure it
Barnton rigorously monitors essential skills progress using the Skills Builder Hub. Every half term, teachers assess two focus skills during assessment weeks, providing regular snapshots of learners’ development.
The Hub’s Data Overview helps staff identify pupils needing extra support for timely intervention and tracks cohort-wide trends to inform teaching adjustments. Staff also self-assess through Benchmark, modelling lifelong learning and embedding a culture that values essential skills for all.
This data-driven approach maintains focus on skills development and supports ongoing school-wide improvement.
For the first time, the annual school report that is sent home in the summer term, will have an essential skills strength and next step for each child, as well as their effort and attainment in academic subjects. Early awareness allows parents to identify any challenges their child may be facing and work collaboratively with teachers to provide the right support, and it underpins the importance that Barnton places on essential skills for both academic achievement and personal growth.
Focus tightly
Essential skills are deeply integrated into daily teaching and curriculum planning at Barnton. Teachers embed these skills within core and foundation subjects, making skill development a natural part of learning.
Ongoing professional development includes Tuesday evening sessions where staff reflect on their skills, share best practice, and build confidence. Curriculum leads link essential skills to medium and long-term planning, aligned with subject content and the school’s Key Priorities.
Weekly, short lessons address skill steps highlighted by Skills Builder Hub reports, challenging learners appropriately and reinforcing progression. Staff familiarity with the skills allows frequent explicit teaching both in dedicated lessons and across the curriculum.
The Skills Leader’s specialist training supports strategic planning and cohesion, while family events combine foundation subjects with essential skills, enhancing engagement and real-world application.
This focused, well-supported approach ensures skill development is purposeful, consistent, and aligned with academic goals.
Keep practising
Barnton offers numerous opportunities for learners to practise and apply essential skills across diverse contexts. Skills are referenced throughout school life, beyond the classroom, in wider activities and events.
For example, our curriculum includes skill links across all subject areas, with staff modelling the skills and encouraging reflection on them during curriculum learning. Speaking remains a key focus, aligned with the Trust’s new Oracy curriculum and linked to wellbeing themes such as Staying Positive and Aiming High. As part of the English curriculum, we are integrating these connections across the skills programme, looking at highlighting the confidence that being able to articulate opinions, ideas and answer questions in class can give the children.
Learners practise skills through Projects, School Council, and other pupil groups such as Eco-Council and PhysKids, which develop speaking, teamwork, problem solving, and leadership. Upcoming family workshops and curriculum evenings encourage joint learning and practice, making skills active, relevant, and transferable.
Bring it to life
We provide rich, real-world opportunities to apply essential skills through careers and enterprise activities. Our annual Inspire Day introduces pupils to diverse professionals - from actors to armed forces - sparking inspiration and practical skill development. When employers ask “What do you think I need to be able to do, to do my job?” - the children always answer with essential skills! Project-based learning culminates in events like Years 3 and 4’s Food Fairs, where pupils showcase skills by running events for the local community.
The ‘Mission: Build Your Skills’ curriculum evening connects essential skills with subject learning, featuring engaging activities led by subject leads and pupils. 43.3% of parents who attended this year’s event thought that learning essential skills at school helped their child to increase their confidence and self-esteem. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
Essential skills are also embedded in transition activities to support next-stage readiness.
Leadership roles like School Council and Children’s Parliament foster speaking, problem solving, teamwork, and leadership.
We are exploring expanded parent education sessions, including careers workshops, to strengthen lifelong learning for pupils, families, and staff.
Through careers talks, enterprise projects, leadership roles, and family engagement, Barnton brings essential skills vividly to life - making them meaningful, practical, and inspiring.
What's next
Barnton is committed to deepening its partnership with Skills Builder, using the full toolkit to teach all eight essential skills. Next academic year, the primary focus will be deepening the impact of these skills on our wider community - including parents and carers, local businesses, staff and local schools.
Looking ahead, we are looking to developing the essential skills programme alongside a new outdoor play initiative. We want every child to have rich opportunities to be creative, collaborative and active in their outdoor play, explicitly developing their speaking, problem solving, teamwork, and leadership skills.
Embedding essential skills further in transition programmes and family engagement remains a priority to support learners throughout their school journey.
Our ultimate goal is for every Barnton learner to leave confident, articulate, and fully prepared to thrive in their next stage of education and life.
