What is the Accelerator Programme? 

The Accelerator is a year-long training and development programme. 

At the end of the first year you will have:

• An expert lead practitioner known as your ‘Skills Leader’
• A team of confident trained teachers
• Demonstrable student progress in eight essential skills
• A Skills Builder Award in recognition of best practice 
  

How does the Accelerator programme work? 

You’ll join a cohort of just 200 UK schools. We’ll match you with a dedicated Skills Builder Education Associate who is a qualified teacher. Your programme will include Skills Leader and teacher training, peer learning opportunities, planning meetings, and a complete curriculum and assessment model for your students.

Places are limited. Apply in the Spring term and be invited to get started early in Summer. 

What could you do on an Accelerator programme?

Secondary schools tailor the programme to fit existing curriculum plans, careers strategies and school priorities. 

Skills Builder, at its best, is embedded throughout your ethos and practices: policies, staff training, the curriculum, assemblies, and more. Here are some ways others have got started. You might: 

• Introduce all eight essential skills to the whole school from the outset. Or, you might prefer to work with a target group of students initially. 
• Use a weekly tutor time slot and the 300+ 15 minute lessons from Skills Builder Hub to teach a focus skill to a particular year group, or KS3. Tutors can then reinforce skill development through their subjects. 
• Embed employability skills into your curriculum, prioritising Gatsby Benchmark 4. We can use training time with your curriculum teams to audit PSHE schemes of work, for example. 
• Look for special days in the school calendar to run longer activities or off-timetable days.
• Use self-assessments from Skills Builder Benchmark to set individual targets during CIAG or Personal Development meetings.
• Link employability skills to work experience provision, where students use downloadable passports, diaries and reflection tools to gather evidence and collect feedback from employers.

Students on an Accelerator Programme make twice the progress building their essential employability skills.