The Competencies

What are the competencies?

These are a set of skills that students use across all their subjects. They are:

• Working with others

 • Problem solving

 • Discussion

 • Research

 • Oral presentation

 

Alongside these the students also focus on literacy and numeracy.

 

Why are we focusing on these skills?

Employers tell us that these are the skills they want future employees to have:

“As well as academic rigour, we need schools to produce rounded and grounded young people who have the skills and behaviours that businesses want.” John Cridland CBI Director.

 

How are we integrating these skills into the curriculum?

These skills have always been part of the teaching and learning that we deliver on a daily basis. They have been an explicit part of the way in which all Personal development lessons are delivered and assessed. We will now implement this framework from personal development lessons (which is tried and tested) to all our subjects at Key Stage 3. This means that at the end of each term every student in Key Stage 3 will receive a monitoring grade for each competency. Each competency will be the responsibility of a particular subject in a particular term for a particular year group. This sounds complicated but it’s not. For example in Year 7 in the summer it will the responsibility of the subjects listed below to explicitly deliver the competency and give a monitoring grade at the end of the term

• Working with others - Geography

• Problem solving - Languages

• Discussion - PE

• Research - Art

• Oral presentation – Humanities

You can find the grid which shows who assesses what and when on the attached document below.

Key Stage Three Competency Overview

 

Keeping track

As well as receiving a monitoring grade for the competencies at the end of each term, students can keep track of their progress by using their competencies booklet. This allows students to write comments on their own progress. They may be prompted to do this by their class teachers or form tutor but should feel free to use their own initiative to fill this in. Form tutors and Personal Development teachers will ask to see this booklet when they come to write end of year reports as it will help them judge how well a student has engaged with the competencies.