By clicking “Accept”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.
Thornhill Primary School is an inclusive community primary school situated in Islington, dedicated to fostering a supportive and engaging environment where every child is encouraged to thrive. A central pillar of the school's provision is its Enrichment Friday programme, which focuses on work-related learning, community participation, and personal, social, and emotional development. Aiming to provide greater tangibility to skills delivery and measurement while integrating into existing school provision, the school embarked on the Skills Builder Accelerator Programme through the local Islington Skills Builder pilot.
Overall impact
Embedding essential skills into school provision has given staff a clear structure to explicitly teach and reinforce essential skills. Learners have built a clearer awareness of their own capabilities-particularly in key focus areas like Self-Management and Collaboration. By connecting skill progress to enrichment activities and future goals, learners are gaining practical experience in applying their learning to real-world contexts.
Keep it simple
Essential skills have been strategically linked to the school’s enrichment programme, with skills development recognised in rewards and celebrations, and fed back to parents in reporting . To maintain high visibility across the school, visual cues-including skill icons and posters-are displayed in classrooms and shared spaces, as well as featuring in assemblies.
Start early, keep going
Skill-building is introduced from the start of the primary learning journey. Dedicated, regular skill sessions are established in EYFS and Key Stage 1, using resources from the Skills Builder Hub. Older year groups actively build and learn about essential skills through the enrichment programme ,ensuring continuous progression as learners move through the school.
Measure it
Teachers in EYFS and Key Stage 1 use the assessment tools on the Skills Builder Hub to baseline and track learner skill development. Across all year groups, learners participate in ongoing reflections on their personal growth As part of this reflection, essential skills have been mapped into enrichment-focused CVs to enable learners to document their growing strengths, articulate their abilities, and recognize personal achievements.
Focus tightly
The school focuses tightly on key skill pairings, with a strong emphasis on Self-Management and Collaboration to help build teamwork and resilience. Dedicated 30-minute slots are allocated for explicit skill instruction for EYFS and Year 1, using resources such as Short Lessons from the Skills Builder Hub. Essential skills have been mapped into the school’s enrichment programme, with skill steps embedded into the enrichment reflection CVs. This has helped ensure that all learners at Thornhill Primary have skills-building opportunities, and can understand the application and importance of the skills in practical and real-world contexts.
Keep practising
Training has been delivered to support staff in making connections between curriculum learning and essential skills, through visuals and the language of the Universal Framework. The mapping of the skills to Friday afternoon enrichment ensures that learners can apply and refine skills like Teamwork and Problem Solving in dynamic, hands-on, extracurricular contexts.
Bring it to life
Enrichment courses and outdoor learning trips, such as residential visits to Cardfields outdoor learning centre, provide rich opportunities for learners to apply their skills outside the classroom. Personal development is integrated into learner reports, helping them, their teachers and parents see the direct relevance of essential skills in everyday life and future pathways.
What's next
After a successful first year, the school plans to build on its successes by further embedding essential skills across all year groups and expanding skill exposure in enrichment beyond Friday afternoons. Next steps include launching more specific, skill-focused assemblies to explicitly highlight and celebrate skills across the school, as well as finding the opportunity to run a Challenge Day. Staff will also continue to be supported to embed the skills into their regular classroom practice.
