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Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School is a historic secondary school in Warrington, originally founded in 1526. The school is built on the foundational values of Hope, Compassion, and Endurance and the whole school community is committed to high standards
so that every student reaches their full potential. With a focus on developing the "whole child", the school has embedded the Skills Builder Universal Framework to equip students with the essential skills they need to succeed both in their academic journeys and the wider world.
Overall impact
Over two years on a Skills Builder programme, we have continuously expanded our impact, integrating the common language of essential skills directly into the curriculum, pastoral structures, and careers provisions. The impact of this consistent approach is clear to see, as employer visitors to the school have noted the students strong communication abilities, and students are able to speak confidently about how they learn, develop, and use these essential skills. Through dedicated effort from the staff, regular direct teaching, and employer engagement, the school has fostered an environment where essential skills thrive.
Keep it simple
To ensure the essential skills are deeply rooted in the school culture, a common language is used widely by both students and staff. Skills Builder posters are prominently displayed across all classrooms and learning spaces, acting as a visual reminder and a core feature of school tours for incoming students. Communication is a high priority, with weekly updates sent out by the team to keep skills at the forefront of staff awareness. Student achievements are celebrated regularly with a dedicated rewards assembly taking place every half term. Furthermore, the school website directly links to the framework, providing visibility and continuity for parents and the wider community.
Start early, keep going
We ensure that essential skills training begins the moment students arrive and carries right through their education. The skills are taught directly to Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 with key touch points for year 11, meaning all year groups now actively study the framework. This progression is reinforced through whole-school assemblies and a structured integration with the school councils and house systems. To support the earliest stages of the journey, essential skills serve as a core focus during transition days for prospective students.
Measure it
Students regularly use self-reflection booklets during morning form time to evaluate their own progress. Formative assessment is managed by teachers using the Skills Builder Hub during PSHE and preparation lessons to track development data. This emphasis on student voice and self-reflection has proven highly successful, with Ofsted identifying it as a crucial element in supporting the development of the whole child. Student feedback continues to provide valuable insights into how skills are growing across different cohorts.
Focus tightly
Explicit, focused time is set aside to teach the skill steps systematically. Essential skills are taught directly during form time for Years 7 through 11, ensuring a consistency for all students. These lessons are then consolidated and deepened further during timetabled PSHE lessons. Looking to the future, the school is planning to integrate essential skills into the Citizenship curriculum next year, with the theme set to be a core focus of teacher training and CPD in September.
Keep practising
Beyond direct instruction, the essential skills are heavily threaded throughout the wider curriculum and extra-curricular calendar. Geography stands out as a leading example of embedding skills into subject teaching, with plans to share this good practice across all departments. To ensure consistency, the school's trip request form includes a mandatory section requiring staff to outline which essential skills will be developed and how students will reflect on them during the experience. Practising skills also extends to student leadership: school councils use the framework in their operations. Three students recently secured places on the Youth Parliament by demonstrating exemplary Speaking, Problem Solving, and Leadership skills.
Bring it to life
Sir Thomas Boteler excels at linking skills to real-world context and external employers. The school ran the "Start Up Success" challenge day and features the framework heavily in events like the Sellafield STEM day. At the recent careers fair, skills were placed center stage: students were given special booklets to ask employers which essential skills they use most in their careers, later reflecting on their own growth during mock interviews and work experience. This engagement goes both ways, with external employers providing feedback praising the students' advanced Listening and Speaking skills.
What's next
Moving forward, we aim to continue developing the skills programme. We will focus on further embedding the framework into the Citizenship curriculum, aligning staff training to ensure subject leads are equipped to bring skills into subject teaching. Additionally, there will be an increased focus on using resources to support targeted skill areas, such as Oracy, to ensure student confidence continues to grow.
