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Percy Shurmer Academy is a thriving, well-above-average-sized primary school, home to 459 pupils, including a 24-place Deaf Learning Resource Base. We have now successfully completed our third year of working with Skills Builder, a partnership that began with the aim of empowering parents to support their children in developing the eight essential skills for success in school, the workplace, and wider life. At Percy, we are driven by the belief that every child has the right to shape a positive future. Through high expectations and a strong focus on learning, we challenge our pupils to achieve both academic excellence and personal growth. Skills Builder is central to this, helping children develop critical skills that underpin emotional well-being, resilience, and readiness for life beyond the classroom. Our academy is a passionate and innovative environment where we recognise the evolving demands of the world of work. We see our pupils not just as learners, but as the future, and we are committed to equipping them to thrive. Skills Builder supports us in nurturing lifelong learners who are confident, capable, and prepared to make meaningful contributions to their school, community, and the wider world. The Skills Builder approach aligns perfectly with our vision: with ambition, determination, and the right support, all children can succeed. After three years of committed implementation, our pupils have grown tremendously in confidence, and they now clearly understand the value of these essential skills in achieving their goal, both now and in the future. Together with Skills Builder, we’re building a future where every child can aim high and achieve excellent things.
Overall impact
The Skills Builder Accelerator programme has had a powerful impact on pupils, staff, and the wider community at Percy Shurmer Academy.
For pupils, the most noticeable change is in their confidence and ability to talk about their learning using the eight essential skills. They can explain when they’ve used skills like teamwork or problem solving and why these are important. We’ve seen growth in their independence, resilience, and motivation—particularly during projects like our Crime Scene Challenge Day, where pupils worked collaboratively to solve a mystery using a range of essential skills.
For teachers, the framework has provided a clear, consistent language that supports teaching and learning across the school. Skills Builder icons are now used in lesson slides and displays, and teachers plan opportunities for pupils to practise and reflect on their skill development. Staff value how well the framework links with our existing curriculum and how easy it is to adapt resources from the Skills Builder Hub.
For the wider community, we’ve strengthened our relationships with parents and local employers. Careers Day was a key highlight—children identified their future aspirations and heard directly from parents, past pupils, and professionals about how the essential skills are used in the real world. Parents also feel more informed and confident supporting their child’s development at home.
Overall, the Accelerator programme has helped us create a culture where essential skills are seen as just as important as academic achievement. Skills Builder has made these skills visible, teachable, and valued. Our children are more prepared not just for the next stage of education, but for life beyond school.
Keep it simple
At Percy Shurmer Academy, we have embedded the language and ethos of the Skills Builder Universal Framework across the whole school community. To raise awareness and build shared understanding:
School displays are visible in every classroom and communal areas, featuring the eight essential skills with child-friendly language and icons.
Each skill is explicitly taught and referenced in assemblies, lessons, and whole-school initiatives.
Percy Passports’ showcase individual progress and provide space for reflection on essential skills, which are celebrated during classroom sessions and wider school recognition systems.
We use common and consistent language from the Universal Framework across teaching and learning—this includes skill icons on lesson slides, visual prompts, and feedback.
Parents are regularly informed through newsletters and workshops.
The importance of essential skills is celebrated alongside academic success through praise, certificates, and pupil voice feedback, all reinforcing that these skills matter deeply to us.
Start early, keep going
At Percy Shurmer Academy, we believe that essential skills are foundational for learning and critical for future success, so we embed them from the very beginning of a child's journey and revisit them consistently as they progress through school.
Early Years and KS1: Our youngest learners are introduced to the eight essential skills through circle time, visual prompts, and short, focused activities that are developmentally appropriate. For example, we use puppets, role play, and storytelling to teach turn-taking, listening, and teamwork.
Across the school: Every year group has timetabled opportunities to build these skills explicitly. Lessons across the curriculum include planned references to essential skills using the Universal Framework, and pupils regularly reflect on how they are applying the skills in different contexts.
Dedicated sessions and skill focus: Each month includes a whole-school ‘Skill of the Month focus. This is launched in assemblies, followed up in classrooms, and reinforced during wider curriculum activities like PSHE, project days, and enrichment.
Progression: Teachers use the Skills Builder Hub to pitch activities at the right step for each class or pupil. As pupils grow, they revisit each skill at a deeper and more sophisticated level.
Parental involvement: We have involved parents from the outset through newsletters, workshops, and resources linked to the Homezone platform.
Measure it
At Percy Shurmer Academy, we are committed to ensuring that every pupil makes meaningful progress in their essential skills. To achieve this, we have developed a consistent and purposeful approach to assessing these skills.
Skills Builder Hub Diagnostics: We use the group-level diagnostic tools from the Skills Builder Hub at key points throughout the year to baseline classes and identify the most appropriate step for each skill. This ensures that teaching is well-pitched and targeted.
Percy Passports: Pupils keep individual records of the skills used.
Celebration and Motivation: Assessment is not just about tracking; it’s about motivating pupils. Certificates and praise linked to the Skills Builder steps highlight progress and reinforce the importance of the skills alongside academic learning.
These approaches provide us with a clear, actionable view of where our pupils are, what they need next, and how we can help them get there. Most importantly, they ensure that essential skills are seen as visible, valuable, and progressive, not just abstract ideas, but teachable and assessable elements of a world-class education.
Focus tightly
To provide pupils with regular opportunities to build their essential skills, we integrate direct instruction through weekly Skills Builder lessons, using their structured resources and progression steps to ensure consistency and progression. Each lesson targets a specific skill (e.g. Listening, Teamwork), with clear objectives, modelling, and practice activities.
We also use:
Baseline and end-of-unit assessments to track progress
Class displays to keep the focus visible and referenced
Weekly assemblies and reflection points to reinforce skill development
Real-life application opportunities through group tasks, leadership roles, and project-based learning
These tools ensure essential skills are explicitly taught, revisited, and meaningfully embedded across the curriculum.
Keep practising
At Percy Shurmer Academy, we believe that essential skills must be taught explicitly and then practised deliberately and often. We ensure pupils have varied, frequent opportunities to apply and develop their skills in real and relevant contexts.
Across the curriculum: Essential skills are embedded into subject teaching across the school. Teachers refer to skills during lesson, using icons on PowerPoints, questioning prompts, and feedback language—so that pupils make clear links between their learning and the eight skills. For example, problem solving is highlighted in maths, creativity in English and art, and teamwork in science investigations.
‘Skill of the Month’ focus: We spotlight a particular skill each month across the school, reinforcing it in assemblies, classroom displays, and reward systems. Teachers integrate the focus skill into multiple subject areas, creating a sense of cohesion and reinforcement.
Extra-curricular enrichment: Pupil leadership roles, and after-school opportunities (e.g. art club, coding club, eco-council) are designed with essential skill development in mind. Pupils are explicitly told which skills they are using and reflecting on.
Project-based learning: Pupils have participated in Careers Week and Crime Scene Challenge day.
Classroom and corridor displays: We use skill-specific displays and pupil work examples to show how essential skills have been applied in different subjects and contexts, reinforcing their value and visibility.
Bring it to life
At Percy Shurmer Academy, we are passionate about helping pupils see the relevance of essential skills beyond the classroom. We create authentic, engaging opportunities for pupils to apply these skills in real-life contexts—deepening their understanding and increasing their confidence in using them.
Careers Day: We hold an annual Careers Day where children explore future aspirations by identifying careers they are interested in and considering the essential skills needed in those roles. The day includes a carousel of workshops and talks delivered by parents, community members, local employers, and past pupils who share how skills like teamwork, speaking, problem solving and leadership are used in their professions.
Real-life challenges: Our Crime Scene Challenge Day was a highlight of the year. Pupils become detectives and apply essential skills like listening, staying positive, and problem solving to crack a fictional case. This immersive experience encourages collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, all with a clear purpose and excitement.
Community links: We invite local professionals, entrepreneurs, and creatives into school regularly to run workshops or speak in assemblies. These experiences show children how the essential skills they are building now are used every day in workplaces, homes, and communities.
These experiences inspire our children to see themselves as future leaders, problem solvers, and contributors to their communities.
What's next
Following the success of the Skills Builder Accelerator programme, our next step is to further embed the essential skills across our whole school community.
We plan to strengthen our relationships with parents by offering more opportunities to share the Skills Builder language and framework with families. This includes short workshops, regular updates in newsletters, and take-home activities using the Homezone platform.
We are also aiming to deepen our community links by building on the success of our Careers Day. We will invite more local professionals, businesses, and past pupils to deliver talks or run workshops that clearly reference how essential skills are used in their work. This will help pupils make real-world connections and raise aspirations.
Our aim is to ensure essential skills are not just taught and practised in lessons, but embedded in every part of school life, giving all children the tools they need to thrive—now and in the future.
