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Q3 Academy Tipton is a secondary comprehensive based in the West Midlands with a diverse student body.
During my first year in the role, it was immediately noticeable that students were unaware of the skills they were utilising in lessons. When students were speaking with employers, they found it difficult to communicate strengths and weaknesses in terms of skills. Using Skills Builder, I wanted to make it the mission of our school to link employability skills with skills being taught in the classroom, and to make this as explicit as possible.
Overall impact
Students are more confident in their ability to communicate their skills and have a heightened awareness of where and how these skills may be used in the future. Students are now more able to express use of skills without the need for prompting. Finally students are equally as familiar with the essential skills as they are with the school values and can draw parallels between both.
Keep it simple
We have utilised displays throughout school within classrooms and corridors. The language of skills has been included in aspirational wraps we have had placed in every department. The language is used consistently throughout school from assemblies to PSHE lessons and beyond. Students can also be rewarded via Classcharts for displaying use of skills.
Start early, keep going
The essential skills have been planned to the the curriculum plans of every subject therefore students get to practise every skill regardless of lesson. So, for example, Art don't just focus on creativity but highlight all skills. Years 7-10 have the opportunity to focus on two different skills each year as part of their PSHE curriculum meaning that they work their way through all skills by the end of Year 10. All opportunities with employer partners prominently feature the skills, too.
Measure it
We measure students use of skills through Classcharts and reward accordingly.
Focus tightly
We utilise various resources from the Skills Builder hub to support students experiencing skills. Resources we have used this year include but are not limited to the mock interview pack as well as various essential skills in the news activities. I have my own essential skills wheel which I take to events where students, after spinning the wheel, provide examples to staff or visitors. We compliment Skills Builder with our use of Unifrog, editing activities and resources to suit our needs.
Keep practising
Skills are mapped to every single curriculum plan so students are provided with repeated opportunities to explore each skills across every subject. All subjects focus on each individual skill giving students the opportunity to both practice and reflect. Extra Curricular opportunities also highlight employment skills and are advertised as such.
Bring it to life
We work with a wide range of employer partners who contribute to school life through various events. One such event is our flagship Human Library where employers are invited in to speak specifically about the skills relevant to their job. Students are given a prompt sheet of questions to ask but are encouraged to devise their own. Students can round robin employers picking up vast details around the skills it takes to be everything from a paramedic to an app developer.
What's next
We plan to continue highlighting the skills and mapping them to our curriculums. One of our strategic aims for the next two years is to improve the SEND careers provision. We have made some strides towards this already as all SEND staff have received Skills Builder training. We would like for skills to be more consistently recognised and are looking at ways to achieve this so students can be part of more celebratory events.
