South Staffordshire College is a large further education provider spanning four campuses. Serving a diverse community the college is driven by a core philosophy of "careers, not courses." As a long-standing partner of Skills Builder, the college is motivated to raise aspirations for learners and support them to develop the skills they need for the world of work to ‘Skill Up, Stand Out’. This year, their key drivers focused on reviewing existing Schemes of Work to explicitly and meaningfully map vocational learning to the definitive Skill Steps, while directly integrating essential skills into the college’s Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (TLA) procedures. Furthermore, leadership aimed to maximise inclusion to ensure all learners are able to access opportunities to develop the essential skills needed for long-term independent pathways and future employment. As members of the Enrichment for All coalition, a final key aim was to launch the Elevate scheme, a tutorial programme that supports learners to elevate their: Potential, Brilliance and Connections in alignment with the essential skills.

The Accelerator Programme has had a significant impact on teachers, students and the wider college community by embedding a consistent language and approach to developing essential skills across learning, enrichment and wider college life. Staff have become more confident in explicitly identifying, teaching and reinforcing skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving and self-management within their curriculum areas. This has helped move essential skills from being an implicit expectation to an integral part of teaching, learning and assessment which has been further strengthened by the addition of the STARS model. For students, the programme has increased awareness of the skills needed not only to succeed academically but also to progress into employment, apprenticeships and higher education. Learners have had opportunities to practise and apply these skills through curriculum activities, enrichment, employer encounters, work experience and wider college projects, helping them recognise the relevance of essential skills in real-world contexts. A particular highlight has been the extent to which essential skills have become embedded across the college. The common language of Skills Builder is now recognised by staff and students and is increasingly reflected in curriculum planning, enrichment activities and learner reflection. The programme has also strengthened links between curriculum learning and employability, ensuring that students can better articulate their skills, achievements and personal development. More broadly, the programme has supported a culture where essential skills are valued alongside technical and academic achievement, helping to prepare students to thrive in their careers, further study and wider life while strengthening engagement with employers and the community.

Building on the strong foundations already established through the Accelerator Programme, our next priority is to further enhance opportunities for learners to apply and showcase their essential skills through a wider range of college-wide competitions, curriculum-based challenges and enrichment activities. We also plan to build on our existing approaches to recognising and celebrating skills development by creating more opportunities for learners to reflect on, articulate and share their progress. This will include extending the use of competitions, learner showcases, awards and enrichment activities to highlight examples of excellent skills development across the college community. By continuing to embed essential skills across curriculum and enrichment provision, we aim to further strengthen learners' confidence in recognising their own progress and articulating the skills they have developed in preparation for their next steps.