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Millcourt School is an independent specialist day school providing high quality education for boys and girls. Based in Shelf, Yorkshire, the school meets the needs of a diverse group of pupils with Autism, ADHD, Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, alongside a range of other associated conditions. We are a school that provides a highly specialised educational package that encompasses a broad and varied academic and social curriculum. This curriculum will open the door for pupils to new opportunities and experiences. We got involved with the Skills builder Accelerator programme to ensure our students were receiving the best we could off, to expand the opportunities available to our students in order to ensure the best outcomes when they transition on to their next stage of education.
Overall impact
The Skills Builder Accelerator programme has given us a clear direction as a school regarding ensuring our pupils are well equipped with the skills to succeed once leaving secondary education. The Skills Builder framework will be interwoven as part of our curriculum offer, ensuring pupils are given the necessary support to develop in all aspects of the key skills areas. The online resources have given our teachers the tools for delivery which has supported with workload. Holistically, pupils are becoming more familiar with the importance of each of the key skills and how the play a part in their development at school - Jonathan Payne (deputy head teacher)
The overall impact for teachers has been a positive one, as the accelerator programme comes complete with everything you will need to plan, teach and assess and allowed students opportunities to self assess, this has helped with a reduction in teacher workload. It has also been a fantastic way of showing our students the skills they need for their futures, allowing them to take ownership of their own development. - Louise Ellis (SMSC lead)
Skills builder has highlighted strategies pupils can use in every lesson, not just the stand-alone sessions. Skills builder has made pupils more aware of areas they need to improve and gives them the skills and tools they need to be able to make progress. The teamwork has had a particularly big impact on my class as they refer back to the resources and sessions and use it to work well together. - Kimberly Hinitt
Keep it simple
Once a week all our students take part in a specific skills builder session as part of their Base times, we theme these around a different skill each half term. With our students collecting certificates for showing their new skills. The skills builder Icons are visible all around school so that our students are aware of this half terms skill. Several displays around school have skills builder Icons where we are are able to show students what skills they have been learning and improving. Our students are also completing AQA unit awards based on the skills. Parents are made aware of our Our essential skills via our school newsletter, and receipt of certificates. Information on Skills builder and our students achievements are shared on our school intranet with other schools with in our group and on the groups social media pages.
Start early, keep going
Essential skills are taught in Key stage 2, 3 and 4 at Millcourt school, Initially this was just within the stand alone base time sessions, but this has since developed in to our extracurricular activities, our learning outside of the classroom, and with in our curriculum subjects. In some cases, the Benchmark has been shared with students and parents for them to be able to access this at home.
Measure it
Some of our students have accessed they skills builder frame work, and with support were able to assess their own skills and work on areas they felt they would like to improve.
Our students have also being completing AQA unit awards linked to the essential skills, allowing our students to gain qualifications for their hard work.
Teachers also assess the students regularly using the Skills builder hub.
Focus tightly
Our students have regular Skills builder lessons, these are done at base times, giving our students a chance to have access to the resources from the skills builder hub. These sessions are run every week, and have a different half termly focus to ensure all our students are getting access to our different skills. Our Assemblies and Weekly lesson posers also have a Skills builder focus to allow our students to build their skills and put them in to practice. We regularly use the Skills builder hub, and benchmark. Students who have needed some home learning support have been signposted to the Benchmark to allow them to continue building their skills at home.
Keep practising
Our students have lots of opportunities to practice their essential skills, we have regular extra curricular visits from outside agencies, our Friday clubs, all signpost the essential skills they will be using while they are attending, their work with our clinical team all so allows time for students to practice their essential skills, we also have a very robust Futures career programme. Our Learning slides have essential skills icons on, as so our "big books". Our long term plans and medium term plans also show where the skills are both discreetly and explicitly being taught and practiced.
Bring it to life
At Millcourt we have a robust futures careers curriculum, our students take part in regular real life employer encounters, we have worked with employers, such as Lloyds bank and ASDA, who use the essential skills as part of their work experience offers, allowing our students to see how the skills learnt in their skills builder sessions can be valuable in the world of work. Our students have regular contact with external visitors who run workshops, motivational talks and careers inspiration, where they practice their essential skills, and are able to reflect on the skills they have used.
What's next
In the next school year we are adding additional Skills builder lessons to our curriculum, discreetly teaching it through our PD curriculum,
• We are inter weaving the essential skills into all aspects of our curriculum through MTP planning.
• Skills will be revisited at the beginning of every lesson to highlight what we are using for that specific lessons and this will change for each lesson.
• We are building a stand-alone curriculum that will be delivered to every class in school once a week. Resources from the website will be used and will look different for each class depending on where they sit within the steps.
• Essential skills will be built into our new Personal Development curriculum which will work progressively to prepare pupils for life after school and into adult hood.
• Essential skills will be used as a focus for STEAM days and external visits
• It will be linked into all aspects of school life
