With the ongoing England Curriculum and assessment review, alongside the publication of the Get Britain Working White Paper and the development of the Industrial Strategy, we have a unique chance to ensure that essential skills are prioritised by the government. You can make a difference. Email your MP today to share your support for essential skills, experience of impact and ask them to champion the inclusion of essential skills throughout education, employment support and the Industrial Strategy.
How to contact your MP:
- Use WriteToThem.com to find your MP using your postcode.
- Send them a message on WriteToThem.com using the points below. You don’t need to draft anything lengthy.
- Describe your experience of using the Universal Framework and share examples from your school/college/organisation/business to show why they should care.
What to include in your email to your MP:
Below is a suggested structure with some bullet points you may want to include in your message. Any personal stories or experiences of developing essential skills will be most effective and impactful- you may wish to use text from your case study on our website.
Dear [Your MP name],
- I am a [teacher/role] in [constituency/area], working at [school/college/other organisation], and I am passionate about teaching essential skills to ensure learners are equipped for life and work.
OR
- I am a [job role] working at [institution/employer name]. I am passionate about developing both students’ and employees’ essential skills given the critical importance of essential skills to readiness for work and performance.
- Essential skills are those highly transferable skills including communication, collaboration, creative problem-solving and self-management skills.
- The research shows that essential skills support social mobility and success in life, work, and education. Those from disadvantaged backgrounds have fewer opportunities to build their essential skills.
- Individuals with higher levels of essential skills experience improved social mobility, employment, earnings (by 9%), job satisfaction and life satisfaction.
- At [school/college name/organisation/employer], we’ve integrated essential skills teaching into our [curriculum and assessment/staff development/outreach] using the Skills Builder Universal Framework. This has led to [learners/staff] becoming more confident in demonstrating and articulating the essential skills that employers consistently demand. [Add any impact you have seen in your organisation].
- The Skills Builder Universal Framework was co-developed with leading organisations including the CBI, Gatsby Foundation and Careers & Enterprise Company to provide a structured approach to building essential skills. The Framework is used by over 900 organisations - including schools and colleges to build and measure essential skills.
- There is an incredible opportunity with the Curriculum and Assessment review, Industrial Strategy and Get Britain Working White Paper to ensure that everyone builds their essential skills with the same rigour as other basic skills like literacy and numeracy. I urge you to ask:some text
- Bridget Philipson to ensure that essential skills are prioritised in the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review.
- Jonathan Reynolds to ensure that essential skills are prioritised in the Industrial Strategy.
- Liz Kendall to ensure that all the initiatives in the Get Britain Working White Paper, particularly the Youth Guarantee and National Jobs and Careers Service, prioritise and develop essential skills in a structured way.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
The curriculum and assessment interim report will be published early in 2025 and the government is currently implementing changes to employment support and writing the Industrial Strategy. Now is the time to act. Let’s keep up the momentum—together, we can ensure essential skills are a priority in education reform.
Thank you for your support.
