By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
Drayton Park Primary School is a vibrant, inclusive community school located in Highbury, within the London Borough of Islington. Guided by its core values—ambition, independence, resilience, effort, and teamwork—the school strives to empower learners to become thoughtful global citizens equipped for future success. Embarking on a Skills Builder programme through the local Islington pilot has proved crucial to delivering this vision; providing a vehicle through which the school can promote its values, enhance pupil agency, and set learners up for a seamless transition into their next stages of education and adult life.
Overall impact
Embedding the Skills Builder Universal Framework has provided learners from Year 2 to 6 with a clear, accessible vocabulary for personal development. Pupil voice has demonstrated that learners use essential skills to reflect on their learning habits, speak more confidently, and collaborate effectively during tasks. Learners actively linked skill practice to improved focus in class, creative problem-solving in mathematics, and resolving conflicts independently on the playground. Furthermore, discrete skill instruction and visual prompts have fostered a positive culture where learners actively support their peers and take pride in tracking their individual skill development.
Keep it simple
The programme was formally introduced to the school community through a launch assembly, and the skills now feature regularly in staff meetings. Skill displays are featured prominently in classrooms and around shared areas, including the main school hall. The skills have also been incorporated into the school reward system, and staff use Skills Builder stickers to reward skill use in lessons and around the school. Parents and carers are kept up-to-date through regular letters, newsletters and skills challenges for learners to complete at home.
Start early, keep going
Skill building has been structured systematically across Years 2 to 6. Year group planning ensures that learners are provided with regular, planned opportunities to learn and practise essential skills throughout the academic year. Maintaining a consistent structure across year groups has ensured that essential skills are continually revisited and built upon, helping learners develop age-appropriate mastery as they progress through the school.
Measure it
Teachers use the assessment tool on the Skills Builder Hub to track learner progress. At the start of a designated skill focus period, staff complete baseline assessments for their classes. Progress is then monitored and updated at key milestones, such as the end of a skill period. This systematic evaluation enables teachers to gauge learner attainment accurately, celebrate growth, and tailor future instruction.
Focus tightly
Explicit skill instruction is delivered through dedicated 30-minute PSHE slots held fortnightly. Teaching has focussed on developing the Creative Problem Solving skills, as well as Communication, with Speaking integrated directly into the school oracy programme. Explicit skill teaching is consistently delivered across the school, with teachers using short lessons and resources from the Skills Builder Hub to deliver targeted instruction.
Keep practising
Essential skills have been woven into the broader curriculum and medium-term planning, with skill icons embedded into planning documents and thematic maps. Staff have participated in dedicated training sessions focused on embedding essential skills into daily teaching practice, and a skill step and focus is shared at the start of each week, which is then reinforced in lessons through success criteria, and celebrated through skill stickers.
Bring it to life
The school has brought essential skills to life through real-world contexts, pupil leadership, and interactive experiences. The skills have been embedded into school council agendas, yielding highly positive feedback from learners. Essential skills have been mapped into the school’s educational visits progression map, and a dedicated guide has been created for speakers and facilitators to help highlight essential skills during trips and talks. The skills have also been mapped into Drayton Park’s transition offer, including “ meet the teacher” activities and running the Operation Moonbase Challenge Day.
What's next
After a successful first year, the school plans to build on this and embed their programme further, increasing the reach of essential skills into extra-curricular activities and developing the careers and futures focus of the school’s curriculum offer.
