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Five Acre Wood School supports 350 students and 200 staff members across multiple sites and learning phases. The school aims to create a consistent approach to essential skills across all settings, building upon their existing adapted frameworks. Their ultimate goal is to embed a shared language and clear progression of skills from primary through to post-16 education, strengthening their careers provision by integrating the Skills Builder Universal Framework 2.0 alongside the Career Development Institute framework. A key objective is building staff confidence and sharing the language of skills with families to ensure a unified approach both in and out of school. The framework is currently well-embedded in the sixth form and is progressing towards full implementation across Years 8 to 11.
Overall impact
The implementation of the Skills Builder framework has enabled the school to establish a shared, fluent language of essential skills, particularly within the sixth form where staff actively use it to describe student progress. Visual displays, challenge boards, and integrated lesson resources have made skill acquisition tangible across learning environments. By aligning the framework with Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) outcomes, vocational provisions, and internal work placements, the school has successfully connected essential skills to real-world contexts, increasing staff confidence and supporting student engagement across all sites.
Keep it simple
The school has established visual cues throughout its settings to embed the language of essential skills. Visual displays, such as classroom posters and a large wall display in the sixth form reception area, introduce the eight skill areas and key terminology. Essential skill icons and language are integrated into lesson resources, teaching instructions, and displays in practical areas like teaching kitchens. The language is used fluently by sixth-form staff when summarising student progress. Additionally, internal placement provisions are expanding to include student and staff journalist roles to celebrate school developments and showcase essential skills in newsletters.
Start early, keep going
While the framework is well-established in the sixth form and Year 11 upwards, the school is actively expanding its implementation down to Years 8 through 11, focusing on satellite settings that make up a third of the student body. Essential skills are embedded into the Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) programme for younger students, ensuring continuous, age-appropriate skill development across all key stages.
Measure it
The school tracks and evaluates student progress using an "Evidence for Learning" system, where staff capture evidence using digital devices to assess progress on a "beginning, developing, or embedded" scale alongside EHCP targets. In the sixth form, students are baselined in Term 2, with progress updates conducted in Term 4 and reviewed in Term 6. To accommodate individual needs, staff consider non-linear progress and evaluate the depth and quantity of evidence for each skill step. Student self-reflections are also incorporated into their learning journeys.
Focus tightly
Essential skills are integrated into long-term plans across the sixth form and built into vocational subject schemes of work. Timetables feature dedicated sections outlining how skills are met in every lesson; for example, Life Skills lessons provide specific suggestions on implementing skill steps. Every half term, students focus on a specific skill selected according to their EHCP targets. Non-assessed medium-term schemes of work encompass all taught skills, while community learning and afternoon enrichment allocate specific two-week blocks to focus tightly on individual skills.
Keep practising
Students receive regular opportunities to practise essential skills across various subjects, including English, Mathematics, and vocational lessons. The school is also aligning skill development with the PSHE curriculum. Work experience pro formas incorporate Skills Builder information, enabling job coaches and external employers to provide feedback on student progress across the eight skill areas during placements. Plans are also underway to embed skill practice into the community café and tutor time sessions.
Bring it to life
Real-world application is embedded within practical environments such as the school's coffee shops and kitchens, where job descriptions are explicitly linked to essential skills. Students undergo interviews and must demonstrate skills within these roles. Sixth-form students participate in off-timetable "Skills Builder Days" three times a year, alongside dedicated enrichment Friday afternoons that link skill-building activities directly to EHCP targets. External engagement, employer interactions, and community learning further reinforce the practical relevance of essential skills.
What's next
The school will continue rolling out the framework across Years 8 to 11 and expanding its integration into the Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) and PSHE curricula. Following an internal review, staff will refine assessment strategies for lower year groups and continue developing work experience processes with external employers and job coaches. Additionally, the school aims to explore incorporating the Skills Builder framework into reward afternoons and enrichment events for younger students.
