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Over the past few years, one of our whole school priorities has been to provide students with opportunities to develop twenty-first-century skills to prepare them for secondary school and life beyond. To achieve this, we joined the Skills Builder Accelerator programme, recognising its importance in equipping our students with essential skills for their future. Our school is located in an area where many students face significant challenges, including economic hardship and limited access to enrichment opportunities. This context has driven our commitment to ensuring that all students have equal opportunities to succeed. Our school values—Creativity, Ambition, Responsibility and Empathy (CARE)—align perfectly with the principles of the Skills Builder programme. We focus on ensuring our students understand and can articulate twenty-first-century skills and how they align with our values. This focus has been recognised in our recent OFSTED inspection, where the inspector noted that we had modernised our curriculum and made it ambitious, enabling our students to carry forward key skills to ensure success in future careers. Skills Builder has been integral to our mission of preparing students for the future. By embedding these essential skills into our curriculum, we empower our students to learn through inspirational experiences, develop their skills and gain confidence in their abilities. We believe that by fostering our core values, we are helping our students to become well-rounded individuals ready to succeed in an ever-changing world. In summary, our involvement with Skills Builder Accelerator has been driven by our commitment to providing equal opportunities for all students, enhancing professional development for staff and embedding essential skills into our curriculum. This approach ensures that our students are not only prepared for secondary school but also for life beyond, equipped with the skills necessary for success in their future careers.
Overall impact
The Skills Builder Accelerator programme at Riverley Primary School has significantly impacted teachers, students and the wider community, fostering a comprehensive and collaborative approach to skill development. For teachers, the programme has provided structured training and resources, enhancing their ability to effectively integrate essential skills into the curriculum. Regular training sessions and team planning have empowered teachers to deliver high-quality, adaptable lessons, improving their instructional methods and ensuring continuous skill development.
Students have benefited immensely, gaining numerous opportunities to develop and practice essential skills through both curricular and extracurricular activities. Weekly Skills Builder sessions and real-life projects, such as collaborations with UCL scientists and designers from Dataspace Realities, have made learning engaging and practical. These experiences have inspired students and provided them with practical applications of skills like teamwork, leadership and creativity, preparing them for future careers.
The wider community has also experienced positive effects from the programme. Family involvement in weekly sessions and bi-weekly showcases has created a supportive learning environment that extends beyond the classroom. This collaboration has helped families understand and reinforce the skills being taught, fostering a community-wide culture of skill development.
Overall, the Skills Builder Accelerator programme has profoundly enhanced education at Riverley Primary School, equipping students with essential life skills and fostering a collaborative and supportive community.
Keep it simple
We focus on one skill every half-term, starting with listening and progressing through skills like speaking and aiming high. These skills are linked to our Learning in the Deep characters - an initiative to support learning behaviours - with posters and icons displayed in classrooms. Assemblies and celebration events regularly reference these skills and Year 6 graduations include awards for different skills. For staff, regular CPD sessions train teachers on delivering the Skills Builder framework. Skills icons are included in curriculum maps and planning documents and staff meetings review the skills focus. Teachers regularly reference these skills during lessons and assemblies. Families are introduced to the Skills Builder programme through newsletters, Twitter and meetings. They are invited to participate in bi-weekly Skills Builder sessions and use Skills Builder booklets at home with their children. Positive feedback has been received during Family Consultations where skills are discussed and celebrated. We recognise and celebrate skills through merit awards and Skills Builder awards. An End of Year Skills Builder award also raises the profile of these skills. Our behaviour policy explains how skills are rewarded and skills are included in the School Development Plan and brochures for open evenings and parent tours.
Start early, keep going
We provide learners from EYFS to Year 6 with ample opportunities to build essential skills. Weekly Skills Builder sessions are scheduled for all year groups, with families invited to join. This approach encourages the team to focus on specific skills while families support their understanding of the programme and help develop these skills at home. This consistent method allows children to review and build upon their skills each week, with learning opportunities mirrored both at home and school. The Skills Builder programme is embedded across the curriculum and extracurricular activities. Our after-school activities and lunchtime clubs, led by the Junior Leadership Team, are linked to each skill and promote teamwork and leadership. Each year, the entire school engages in Proud Traditions such as the Science Symposium and Bright Futures Week, enabling students to explore skills in real-life contexts. For example, Year 5 students were visited by a radiologist to understand the skills needed for this profession. Additionally, our STEM ambassadors collaborated with scientists from UCL and designers from Dataspace Realities to learn about mixed reality technologies and digital fabrication processes. Pupils created augmented reality content over physical artefacts, seeing their creations come to life through VR headsets and 3D printing. Families are involved in bi-weekly session showcases, actively engaging with Homezone activities and often providing positive feedback.
Measure it
At Riverley Primary School, we employ various approaches and tools to measure and understand our students' essential skills and track their progress. Each student has a handbook where they record their self-assessment and document how they have applied essential skills. These handbooks are reviewed by both teachers and families, offering a detailed view of each student’s development. Teachers assess skills every half-term using the Skills Builder Hub, with designated meeting time for this process. This data is instrumental in identifying areas where additional support might be needed. For upper Key Stage 2, expanded framework passports are used during interventions to address specific challenges such as anger management and anxiety, as well as to promote a positive mindset. These passports allow for more detailed tracking of individual progress. Progress data is also included in end-of-year reports, providing families a clear understanding of their child's strengths and next steps. This approach ensures continuity and effective handovers between teachers, facilitating smooth transitions and consistent skill development across year groups. These tools and strategies offer valuable insights into student progress and support tailored to individual needs.
Focus tightly
Students at Riverley Primary School have regular opportunities to build essential skills through a structured approach to direct instruction. Each half-term, a specific focus skill guides the curriculum and classroom activities, ensuring that skills are seamlessly integrated into daily lessons and projects. However, skills practice extends beyond the term’s focus. Teachers are encouraged to embed other relevant skills into lessons as needed, using their discretion and team planning. This flexibility ensures that essential skills are developed comprehensively across various contexts.
In Oracy lessons and starters, skills are taught explicitly through short, targeted lessons available on the Skills Builder Hub. These straightforward lessons require minimal additional planning, allowing for efficient delivery. For younger learners, Skills Builder stories are used to introduce and reinforce skills engagingly, supported by worksheets from the Skills Builder workbook. To further enhance learning, students participate in fortnightly 'Bright Futures' sessions that also involve families. This engagement helps reinforce skills and provides a platform for families to support their children’s development. Additionally, the outdoor learning menu offers practical skill application outside the classroom. This consistent focus on skills through structured lessons, resources, and family involvement builds a solid foundation in essential skills across all year groups.
Keep practising
We ensure that students have ample opportunities to practice their essential skills through a variety of methods integrated into the curriculum and extra-curricular activities. Skills are referenced in lesson planning and embedded throughout the curriculum. Each curriculum map includes skill icons to indicate how essential skills are incorporated, and teachers use these icons on slides and in reflection questions. Skill steps are embedded into lessons and used as success criteria, allowing students to actively practice and reflect on their skills. For example, Year 5 has integrated Skills Builder short lessons on aiming high and teamwork into their PSHE curriculum, with plans to expand this approach to other year groups. In addition to classroom activities, skills are featured in our outdoor learning menu and linked to after-school clubs, ensuring students can apply and develop these skills in varied settings. Skill icons are also included in extracurricular menus, highlighting their relevance beyond the classroom. Teachers regularly use posters and resources to reinforce skills in subjects like Art, DT, and History, and incorporate skills challenges into wider curriculum activities. Regular end-of-day reflections help students review how they have used their skills and learning questions at the start of lessons reference different steps of a skill. This approach aims to make skill development a consistent and integral part of every aspect of school life.
Bring it to life
We help students see how essential skills apply to real-life situations through a range of projects and partnerships with local businesses. Skills are incorporated into events such as Enterprise Week and our Careers Fair. During these events, students engage in projects that require them to use and reflect on their skills. For example, after completing Enterprise projects, students reflect on how they used each skill, which helps them connect their learning to practical outcomes. We also plan to adapt Skills Builder project lists for these events, ensuring that real-life applications of skills are central to the experience. In March, our Science Symposium involves trips and showcases, linking the skills learned to the scientific concepts explored. This event provides students with opportunities to apply their skills in different contexts and reflect on their learning. Bright Futures Week in June is another key event where each year group focuses on a specific career and develops related skills using Hub resources. Skills such as creativity and speaking are applied in school productions, such as making props and performing poetry. These projects not only enhance students' understanding of essential skills but also prepare them for future careers. Additionally, we are exploring opportunities for Careers Insights sessions and incorporating skills into year-end projects to further connect classroom learning with real-world applications.
What's next
Our next step is to seamlessly incorporate the stages of each skill as success criteria within our learning slides.
