Skills Integral to the Four Purposes

The four purposes are also underpinned by integral skills which should be developed within a wide range of learning and teaching. At the heart of these skills is the importance of learners recognising, using and creating different types of value. In this context, value means worth and importance in a range of contexts, including financial, cultural, social and learning value. These skills are noted below.

Creativity and innovation

Learners should be given space to be curious and inquisitive, and to generate many ideas. They should be supported to link and connect disparate experiences, knowledge and skills, and see, explore and justify alternative solutions. They should be able to identify opportunities and communicate their strategies. This should support learners to create different types of value.

Critical thinking and problem-solving

Learners should be supported to ask meaningful questions, and to evaluate information, evidence and situations. They should be able to analyse and justify possible solutions, recognising potential issues and problems. Learners should become objective in their decision-making, identifying and developing arguments. They should be able to propose solutions which generate different types of value.

Personal effectiveness

Learners should develop emotional intelligence and awareness, becoming confident and independent. They should have opportunities to lead debate and discussions, becoming aware of the social, cultural, ethical and legal implications of their arguments. They should be able to evaluate their learning and mistakes, identifying areas for development. They should become responsible and reliable, being able to identify and recognise different types of value and then use that value.

Planning and organising

Where developmentally appropriate, learners should be able to set goals, make decisions and monitor interim results. They should be able to reflect and adapt, as well as manage time, people and resources. They should be able to check for accuracy and be able create different types of value.

The development of these skills allows learners to work across disciplines, providing them with opportunities for both synthesis and analysis. There is particular potential for innovation in making and using connections between different disciplines and Areas.

When developing these skills, learners should:

• develop an appreciation of sustainable development and the challenges facing humanity.

• develop awareness of emerging technological advances

• be supported and challenged so that they are prepared to confidently meet the demands of working in uncertain situations, as changing local, national and global contexts result in new challenges and opportunities for success

• be afforded the space to generate creative ideas and to critically evaluate alternatives – in an ever-changing world, flexibility and the ability to develop more ideas will enable learners to consider a wider range of alternative solutions when things change

• build their resilience and develop strategies which will help them manage their well-being – they should be encountering experiences where they can respond positively in the face of challenge, uncertainty or failure

• learn to work effectively with others, valuing the different contributions they and others make – they should also begin to recognise the limitations of their own work and those of others as they build an understanding of how different people play different roles within a team.

Cross-curricular skills

The mandatory cross-curricular skills of literacy, numeracy and digital competence are essential to all learning and the ability to unlock knowledge. They enable learners to access the breadth of a school’s curriculum and the wealth of opportunities it offers, equipping them with the lifelong skills to realise the four purposes. These are skills that can be transferred to the world of work, enabling learners to adapt and thrive in the modern world. Learners need to be adaptable, capable of learning new skills throughout life and equipped to cope with new life scenarios.

Schools must design and deliver a curriculum which enables learners to develop competence and capability in these skills and, where there are opportunities, to extend and apply them across all Areas. Developing these skills is therefore a consideration for all practitioners.

Learners must be given opportunities across the curriculum to:

• develop listening, reading, speaking and writing skills

• be able to use numbers and solve problems in real-life situations

• be confident users of a range of technologies to help them function and communicate effectively and make sense of the world.

Rather than planning for these skills separately, the whole school should be involved and engaged to embed these skills across the curriculum. It will, therefore, be the responsibility of all practitioners across all Areas to develop and reinforce these skills across the curriculum, and not just for specialist practitioners of mathematics, language and computing.