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The Meta -skills
The Meta -skills
“Building Skills for Learning, Life, and Work”
As learners move into upper primary, they begin to explore Meta- skills, which build on and align with the 6 C’s. Both frameworks highlight the essential skills and qualities young people need for learning, life, and work.
The three groups of MetaSkills are:
Self-management – skills like focusing, adapting, taking initiative, and showing integrity.
Social intelligence – skills like communicating, collaborating, showing empathy, and leading.
Innovation – skills like creativity, curiosity, critical thinking, and sense-making.
Connection to the 6 WDC’s
The 6 C’s (Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Citizenship, and Character) provide a strong foundation for learners as they prepare for life and work. MetaSkills build on this framework by offering a more detailed lens for how these qualities can be practiced and strengthened in everyday learning.
Creativity → Innovation: creativity, curiosity, sense-making
Critical Thinking → Innovation: critical thinking, sense-making
Collaboration → Social Intelligence: collaborating, leading
Communication → Social Intelligence: communicating, empathy
Citizenship → Social Intelligence: empathy, integrity, responsibility
Character → Self-Management: resilience, focus, adapting, initiative, integrity
How the Frameworks work Together
Together, the two frameworks reinforce one another:
Think → Critical Thinking and Innovation encourage learners to question, analyse, and make sense of complex problems.
Create → Creativity and Innovation inspire learners to generate ideas, experiment, and find new solutions.
Connect → Collaboration, Communication, and Social Intelligence enable learners to work effectively with others, share ideas, and build empathy.
Adapt → Character, Citizenship, and Self-Management support resilience, initiative, integrity, and the ability to thrive in a changing world.
These skills grow stronger the more they are used. By practicing both the 6 C’s and Meta-skills in the classroom and beyond, learners develop the confidence and capability they need to navigate challenges, embrace opportunities and contribute positively to their communities and future workplaces.
A collection of educator-focused resources to support embedding meta-skills across the curriculum.
Progression Framework Understand what meta-skills look like at each stage of learning.
Engaging activity sets, posters and character tools to bring meta-skills to life in your classroom.
A quick, fun personality activity that links to broader meta-skills awareness.
Practical, classroom-ready lesson packs for introducing, developing, and evaluating meta-skills, including PowerPoint presentations, pupil worksheets, and the self-evaluation wheel.
Modules and reflective tools for learners and practitioners to explore, assess, and document meta-skills in vocational or academic learning contexts.
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