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Co-op Academy Beckfield is a small, one form entry, primary school tucked away in a close knit community in Bradford, West Yorkshire. We have 191 children on roll that range from 3-11 years old, many of which come from a disadvantaged background which is why we are passionate about supporting them to aim high, aspire to the greatest heights and believe that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. This is what led us to enrolling onto the Skills Builder Program. Our journey began in 2021 when Skills Builder was first introduced here and since then we have worked hard to embed this program deep into the Academy's daily life and prepare our children with the essential skills and knowledge they need for their future, as well as stretching it out far into the community. We knew straight away that this would be a great fit for our Academy whilst working alongside our careers curriculum and the Co-op 'Ways of Being'.
Overall impact
As an academy we have embedded Careers Related Learning and Skills Builder across our curriculum and this forms part of our core offer as a school. This work has provided us with a framework to support our children, many of whom have very low starting points, confidently develop key skills which we know will help them with their futures. Skills Builder is part of the shared language of our school: children are able to discuss their strengths and skills they need to develop; teachers confidently make meaningful links across the curriculum and explicitly teach skill development in steps and parents are engaged through homework, careers events and awards. Our 'Beckfield Careers Related Learning Map' that we have launched this year ensures that every year group from EYFS to Year 6 has a bespoke careers event each half term such as a visit to a workplace, higher education institution or an event such as a Skills Builder Challenge Day. We know that the skills developed through these initiatives and the opportunities they provide have made our children aim higher than they ever have before. We are extremely proud of all our work in this area and aim to continue this work to become a flagship school within our Trust and beyond.
Keep it simple
The 8 essential skills are displayed proudly all across our academy: visual cues are displayed at the front entrance and in each classroom as well as the main hall, corridors, offices and staff room. A new focus skill is introduced weekly in assembly; every class has a timetabled session to develop the next small step of this skill and certificates for effort and progress are given out by class teachers. Skills Builder is built into curriculum mapping: we've worked hard to make meaningful links across the curriculum and these are incorporated into documentation. Not only is Skills Builder woven into key policies such as our Behaviour Policy, but it's also a standing item on our Academy Development Plan and School Evaluation Form. As a SLT we regularly revisit our progress and priorities for this area in SLT Meeting as well as in annual meetings, and we have a Careers Link Governor. Parent-facing documentation consistently highlights the importance of Skills Builder within our academy.
Start early, keep going
Skills Builder is an integral part of all our classes from Nursery up to Year 6. Nursery and Reception have Skills Builder incorporated into their provision and it's here they start to develop our academy's shared language around key skills. EYFS are included in our bespoke Career Related Learning Map, each half-term having an event to begin to bring these skills to life. This is built upon in KS1 and KS2 where classes continue to have half-termly opportunities to build links between key skills and future opportunities. At the start of every lesson across the curriculum teachers highlight links to skills that the children will need to use to be successful. These are shared alongside learning objectives and teachers use the school's assessment for learning systems to provide meaningful feedback to move children's learning and skills development forward. Classes also have a weekly timetabled session which is used to develop the class's next step for the focus skill of the week.
Measure it
Skills Builder has been prioritised as part of our staff CPD calendar to ensure that teachers have regular opportunities to assess children's progress in the development of their skills on the Skills Builder Hub. This protected time has been valuable for us as a staff team to make accurate judgements about children's progress and discuss next steps. Monitoring has shown that building in this time has resulted in more consistent assessment across the school. The data set also shows a trend in improvement skills over time across all year groups. Children in KS2 have reflected on this improvement themselves and have recorded this in our end of year Aspiration Survey. Their feedback will inform teacher's prioritisation of key skills and steps for next academic year. The development of skills are incorporated into our end of year reports which are sent to parents and these also include a target skill for their child to continue to work on.
Focus tightly
Skills are explicitly taught in a weekly timetabled lesson with each class working on the academy's focus Skill of the Week. We use this time to teach the pupils to become better at the next small step in the aspiration of achieving mastery rather than hoping they will just become better at it with age. Teachers identify the next step that's needed through their assessment for learning as well as the more formal assessment of skills progression on the Skills Builder Hub. Teachers use resources on the Hub to deliver this input to the children, or create a bespoke activity that's needed by their learners to help them develop further. By doing this we are giving the children the tools and strategies to actively work on and constantly develop these skills. In staff meetings throughout the year, we have shared best practice in Skills Builder delivery. This dialogue has helped continue to build teachers confidence and supported staff who are new to the Skills Builder programme.
Keep practising
Our 'Bolt on' menu for extra-curricular activities are mapped out and ensure that skills are being reinforced systematically outside the classrooms. This offer is on display in school and is updated and communicated with parents every term. We track the spread of skills being offered across each academic year and to make sure that each year group has the opportunity to develop each skill outside of the classroom. In addition to this, we have further strengthened our Personal Development offer for the school by mapping this out and linking key skills throughout. This has helped to systemise our trip opportunities, visitors, assemblies, workshops, celebration days and other events and has further embedded our commitment to skills development across our academy. As part of our Professional Development and Careers Related Learning offer we ensure that whilst at our academy, all children will visit a place of higher education, a workplace, have meaningful encounters with employers and take part in an enterprise challenge.
Bring it to life
Careers Related Learning (CRL) is a strength within our school and strongly supported by our Trust. We have annual documents such as a CRL Development Plan, Policy and Audit which we complete to ensure high quality provision in this area and Skills Builder is integral to this. The creation of 'Beckfield Careers Related Learning Map' has elevated our work in this area of the curriculum further. Annual events include a World of Work Week for Year 5, a Careers Fair, Dress as Your Future Self Day, Guess the Job? the list could go on! For all these events, children prepare questions they can ask employers about their skills and reflect afterwards. This year, we have introduced 'Staff CVs'. These are displayed around the school and have helped bring the Local Labour Market to life for our students. On these, staff have highlighted the key skills they use and a skill they would like to develop. This has been another success in showing our children real-life application of the essential skills.
What's next
We are proud of the strength of our Skills Builder and Careers Related Learning curriculum at Co-op Academy Beckfield. Our intention is to continue to build upon this to become a flagship school in these areas both within our Trust and further afield. In September we will be introducing Career Portfolios for every child which will follow them through school, culminating in action planning for the future at the end of Year 6. We are excited for the children to be able to have a space to capture all the exciting work they do developing their skills and ambitions for the future. For our ?Beckfield Careers Related Learning Map? to continue to evolve, we want to continue developing the directory of employers we work with. This will ensure the opportunities we offer our children model the widest skill sets and careers possible. We want every child at our school to continue to aim as high as possible!
