On Monday, Bothal’s Year 5 classes took part in a virtual Q&A session with four employers representing financial services and law firms, facilitated by Skills Builder.

Working in groups, the children asked questions about the most important skills needed in different roles in those sectors and the various career opportunities.

They then moved on to a Skills Builder challenge where the pupils learned about the essential skills needed to be an entrepreneur before designing and making a souvenir related to the local area.

Creations include badges and bookmarks, with the more ambitious ideas including snow globes!

Today pupils were able to meet a local entrepreneur, Chris Smith, who grew-up in Ashington and runs ADM Automation Limited in Gateshead. ADM Automation builds robots for some of the biggest companies in the world.

Chris, also a trustee at Ashington Learning Partnership, led a half-hour assembly in which he talked about engineering and inspired children to be the best they can be.

On Thursday and Friday - all age groups took part in the Skills Builder challenge, with early years pupils undertaking a teamwork challenge which involved listening skills.

This week’s activities have been scheduled to coincide with National Careers Week, a one-week celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK.

However, essential skills and careers education is embedded into Bothal Primary School’s curriculum all year round.

Ashington Learning Partnership is one of only 14 organisations in the UK to hold Skills Builder Flagship status and in November we were awarded the Career Mark for excellence in careers, employability and enterprise provision.

The Career Mark assessment of our schools said: “These schools are an exceptional example of the delivery of careers related learning. Their structures, curriculum framework and delivery practices are amongst the very best and pupil response is exceptional. As a result, pupils are given the best possible preparation to make a successful transition to secondary education and to a successful and fulfilling working life.”

ALP has set ambitious age-related expectations for essential skills, setting a trajectory for our pupils for success in secondary education, further education/training, higher education, the workplace and life.

In the UK, the average adult (18-65) essential skill score is 10. The ALP sets and tracks a trajectory for all pupils of essential skill score 13 at age 18, designed to enable improved social mobility, employment, earnings, job satisfaction and life satisfaction. 

We’d like to thank Skills Builder and all the employers who took part in National Careers Week activities with ALP this week. As the photos show, the children have had a fantastic time!

#NCW2024 #National Careers Week #PathwayToSuccess #CareerInsights