Calne’s Kingsbury Green Academy has been awarded the Skills Builder silver award for its commitment and proactiveness for preparing its students for future careers and entering the world of work.
The school has been part of the Skills Builder partnership since September 2020, which brings together schools and businesses to develop skills essential for success, such as problem solving, teamwork, leadership and creativity. The academy has embraced the Skills Builder framework and embedded its principles throughout the curriculum, achieving the silver award much more quickly than anticipated.
Cath Young, Careers Leader at Kingsbury Green Academy, said, “The Skills Builder partnership has already been hugely beneficial for our students by showing them how to translate their achievements during school life into skills and attributes that are recognised and valued by employers.
“However, it’s much more than just teaching them a different way of talking about their interests and activities – it’s also about supporting them to be proud of themselves, developing skills to help them stay positive and take the lead, as well as always aiming for the best.
“This school-wide initiative is successful because it has been fully embraced by staff and teachers. We have Careers Champions in every department who are responsible for embedding the skills framework into every subject and even into every lesson, which has helped us receive the silver award much more quickly than expected.”
Over the last year, a number of leading local businesses have joined Kingsbury Green Academy as part of the Skills Builder partnership, offering opportunities, mentoring and work experience.
“Our students get a lot of value from having local businesses closely involved in the partnership and it’s also a great opportunity for businesses to identify potential future members of their workforce and to be able to develop the skills their businesses need early on,” continued Cath.
“At the end of last term we held a work experience day with partner businesses including Babcock and Bevirs Law, which was an excellent opportunity for everyone to gets hands on with skills and career paths open to them.”