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Draycott Moor College is an independent specialist day school providing high-quality education for boys and girls. Based in Staffordshire, the school meets the diverse needs of pupils aged 10-18 with Special Educational Needs (SEN) including Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Needs.
Draycott Moor provides a high-quality education for all our young people, enhanced by a caring and positive atmosphere.
Our Vision
To create an aspirational community where every child is valued and receives high-quality care and education in a welcoming and safe environment
Our Mission
To support young people to flourish and prepare them for adult life and work.
We know that young people learn more effectively if they feel valued, happy and secure. We are all extremely proud of our school and are committed to providing the very best possible education for all our young people.
The outcomes of our curriculum are highly individual. However, we strive for all young people to leave the school with a range of accredited qualifications and the independence skills to follow their chosen pathways. We report to parents regarding the progress of their child on a termly basis.
Overall impact
• Staff received training on the Skills Builder framework and how to use the Hub for tracking progress.
• Icons and key terms have been adopted into staff dialogue and classroom expectations.
• Students have begun using skills language in student voice discussions, showing an emerging understanding of how their essential skills develop over time.
Student Reflections
“I used teamwork when we made the veggie wraps because I had to listen to my partner and help cut the vegetables.”
– Year 10 student during a life skills review
“Speaking has got easier when I practice it in class and with my group.”
– Year 11 student preparing for mock interviews
Staff Reflections
“The icons are really helpful – pupils now point to the skill they’re using, which makes it easier to praise and reinforce.”
– HLTA
“The Challenge Day gave our students a chance to really shine – we had pupils leading teams who are usually quiet. They were so proud of what they achieved.”
– Vocational Tutor
Keep it simple
• All classrooms and key corridors now display the Skills Builder icons, ensuring constant visual reinforcement.
• A half-termly focus skill is promoted across the school, allowing all staff to unify language and intentions.
• Students maintain a Skills Builder profile in their Record of Achievement folders to track progress and reflection.
• Staff reference skills in everyday activities including school trips, enrichment, and visits.
• Celebration of skills has begun through end-of-term certificates and informal stickers for skill usage.
Start early, keep going
• Skills Builder is accessed by all students across year groups, with differentiated delivery according to need.
• HLTAs and specialist staff (e.g. Zara and Angie) ensure targeted support and skill development in timetabled sessions and interventions.
Measure it
• All students have been baselined on the Skills Builder Hub, with printed profiles included in their portfolios.
• The school intends to reassess annually (not termly, to reflect realistic progress in an SEN setting).
• We’re working to enhance teacher training so that formative assessment better informs next steps in essential skill development.
Focus tightly
• Some staff include 15–20 minute focused teaching blocks per week for explicit essential skill delivery.
• Interventions run by HLTAs explicitly teach skill components using Skills Builder Hub resources.
• A goal for TT2 is to fully integrate the Skills Builder tools into careers and life skills planning.
Keep practising
• Staff consistently refer to skills in daily lessons using the shared language and display posters.
• Skills are linked to wider curriculum activities and trips and visits, where pupils reflect on their skill use afterwards (e.g. during Trash to Treasure week).
• Skills Builder vocabulary is embedded across subjects and practical learning including food tech, construction, and work experience.
Bring it to life
• Real-world links have been made through:
o Workplace visits and employer encounters
o Enterprise projects like “Trash to Treasure Week” (led by Angie’s vocational group)
o Challenge Days such as Operation Moonbase, which gave learners a chance to apply a range of skills including Teamwork, Leadership, and Creativity in a project-based format.
What's next
. It has:
• Fostered a shared language among staff and students
• Created structured opportunities for skill reflection and growth
• Helped pupils begin to transfer classroom learning into real-world settings
Next year, we aim to:
• Further strengthen explicit teaching time for essential skills
• Continue using the Skills Builder Hub for structured assessment
• Engage more staff in formative assessment practices
• Pursue the Silver Award by increasing consistency in cross-curricular delivery and staff-led skill recognition
