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Prior Weston Primary School and Children’s Centre is an inclusive community school located in Islington. Grounded in a rich history of progressive, child-centred education, the school aspires for all of its young learners to aim high, develop resilience, be curious and respectful, and value diversity. Prior Weston strives to provide a broad, balanced, and creative curriculum that encourages children to explore, discover, and question—nurturing independence, creativity, and a lifelong love for learning. To build essential life skills from an early stage, improve long-term life chances, and complement its child-centred ethos, the school embarked on the Skills Builder Accelerator Programme through the local Islington Skills Builder pilot.
Overall impact
Embedding the Skills Builder Universal Framework has provided staff with a structured approach to explicit skill development across all key stages. Learners have gained a clearer awareness of their capabilities, particularly within targeted focus skills such as Listening and Adapting. By connecting essential skills to school values, assemblies, classroom teaching, and extended school provision, learners at Prior Weston are systematically building confidence, resilience, and effective communication skills.
Keep it simple
The language of essential skills has been integrated into whole-school routines, including weekly focus and celebration assemblies. To maintain high visual awareness, the skills are displayed on laminated classroom displays, door displays, and featured prominently across communal school areas. Learner effort is regularly celebrated through skills-based certificates, recognition boards and skill stickers. Parents are kept informed and engaged through regular updates in letters and curriculum newsletters.
Start early, keep going
Skill development begins from the earliest stage of learning, extending from the Children’s Centre provision through to Year 6. Early Years practitioners embed foundational steps (such using the Step 1 building blocks) directly into regular daily practice, ensuring an inclusive framework that supports continuous progression and smooth transitions as learners move through the school.
Measure it
Teachers use the formative assessment tools on the Skills Builder Hub to baseline and monitor learner progress. Skill development periods-such as half-termly focuses on Listening and Adapting-are baselined during staff meetings and reassessed at the end of the focus period to track growth, evaluate impact, and inform future teaching priorities.
Focus tightly
The school focuses tightly on explicit, targeted instruction, dedicating 20 minutes each week to essential skill lessons using Skills Builder resources such as Short Lessons and Skill Stories. To support learner resilience, communication, and key transitions, the focus skills this year have been Listening and Adapting.
Keep practising
Opportunities to practise essential skills are delivered through a dedicated focus in English; reinforced using skill symbols and skill language in lesson delivery. Staff training on embedding skill practice across subjects has further strengthened implementation. Skills are also integrated beyond the standard timetable and into the extended day and breakfast clubs through the Extended Day Coordinator.
Bring it to life
Essential skills are brought to real-world context through employer encounters, educational trips, and dedicated project work. Highlights include Year 5 attending a Skills Builder Career Insight session, mapping the skills against Year 6 work experience at the Guildhall, and running a Challenge Day during Project Week. A focus on Adapting was also maintained in the summer term to support learners in their transition to new classes and secondary school.
What's next
Looking ahead, the school plans to further embed essential skills across the timetable and broader school experience. Next steps include expanding external partner engagement to link extra curricular clubs to essential skills, and using skill reflection resources to further support upcoming careers and enrichment experiences.
