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We are a outstanding further and higher education college located in the London Borough of Hounslow. We offers a variety of vocational courses and apprenticeships, with strong links to employers and opportunities for work experience. The college is known for its friendly and vibrant atmosphere, and its commitment to providing support to help students succeed. Skills Builder, essential skills and the Universal Framework fit perfectly in our aim for every student to leave successful and prepared for their next step in life.
Overall impact
By using language that highlights hands-on experiences, direct reflection, and the integration of essential skills into personal development, we've seen a significant positive shift across the college. This approach has moved us beyond theoretical teaching to a practical, embedded understanding of essential skills. Students are now more actively engaged in their own development, clearly seeing the relevance of these skills in real-world contexts. This has fostered a culture where students aren't just learning about skills, but are actively applying, tracking, and reflecting on their growth. It's truly bringing their learning to life and empowering them with the tools they need for future success.
Keep it simple
Last year, we introduced staff to the concept of essential skills, and this year, we're building on that foundation with further training to deepen their understanding. Simultaneously, students have been explicitly taught about these skills during tutor time and throughout the academic year.
Our tutorial tutors have received specific training on Benchmark and have actively integrated it into their sessions. You'll also see evidence of our commitment to essential skills through the posters displayed around the college.
We're not just teaching these skills; we're celebrating them! Students are being recognized and rewarded for their development in essential skills through praise and explicit feedback. The language of essential skills is now woven into the fabric of the college, particularly within tutorial and careers discussions.
Ultimately, the development of essential skills is a core component of the college's long-term strategic plans, ensuring they're integrated into every relevant aspect of student personal development.
Start early, keep going
We've made sure that essential skills are being taught to all students across the college, fully integrating them into every student's tutorial time.
Measure it
Every student is now using Benchmark to track their essential skills, with tutors providing specific monitoring to ensure progress. We've also integrated essential skills into our 'Be Your Best' programme, significantly boosting students' awareness of the skills they're developing and how they're growing.
Focus tightly
Explicit Essential Skills Integration
We're explicitly teaching essential skills to students as a core part of their tutor program. This includes dedicated lessons, engaging Challenge Days, and specific modules within both apprenticeship and work experience programmes.
To ensure consistency and comprehensive delivery, all tutorial teachers are actively participating in this explicit teaching. Furthermore, Skills Builder is fully integrated into the timetable with designated weekly slots. We're also using off-timetable days throughout the academic year, explicitly building essential skills development into these college-wide events.
Keep practising
We're strengthening our approach to essential skills with additional staff training, delivered in a convenient 'drop-in' style with support from our education associate. These skills are now also built into our curriculum through comprehensive mapping, a process happening across all subjects.
You'll notice that all staff are referring to essential skills when teaching curriculum content, often using visual cues as helpful prompts. Our educators are also asking reflective questions to spark discussions and help students connect these vital skills across different subjects.
Beyond the classroom, our extra-curricular activities consistently make verbal reference to essential skills. That's because the language and framework of essential skills have truly become the bread and butter of our school culture.
Bring it to life
We're really bringing essential skills to life through hands-on experiences. Students will have direct opportunities to reflect on the skills they've used during their work experience, making those connections explicit.
To support this, students can access online work experience modules on the Hub. We're also making great use of off-timetable Challenge Days throughout the year to provide dynamic learning environments. After project-based learning and enterprise challenges, we'll be using Benchmark to help students consider how they've applied their essential skills.
What's next
To continue building on all the handwork, providing future training and looking for more opportunities to develop essential skills.
