Whitley Abbey

RSA Opening Minds and ASDAN: Accrediting Learner achievement at Key stage 4 through Wider Key Skills.

Whitley Abbey School (Business and Enterprise Specialism) in Coventry has been a RSA (Royal Society of Arts) “Opening Minds” centre since 2005 integrating competence based learning across the curriculum.

The school has been looking for a way to accredit the ‘learning to learn’ and ‘active learning’ process skills developed by learners at Key Stage 4. Following initial discussions with ASDAN it was decided that the Wider Key Skill ‘Working with Others’ would be used to accredit all learners in year 11.

The work supported by ASDAN has used two group activities to demonstrate the skills of working with others as part of a team.  Collapsing the timetable during PE allowed time for all groups to work collectively and gather necessary evidence. Mark Healy Assistant Headteacher responsible for Wider Key Skills reported that ‘staff were impressed and surprised at how well students were able to work with new people under pressure when given full responsibility for how they spend their time’……  ‘Learners were able to motivate, organise and direct themselves relatively quickly’. ‘It was felt that students’ engagement with the ‘Opening Minds’ competence based approaches and principles lower down the school has influenced the way they approached the activities.’

The ‘Opening Minds’ competencies include Enterprise, Citizenship, Learning, Information, People, and Situations, and these prepare learners for further development of the three Wider Key Skills qualifications on ‘Working With Others’, ‘Problem Solving’ and Improving ‘Own Learning and Performance’ as underpinning process skills qualifications offered through ASDAN

Year 11 students Adam and James commented ‘it was fun and enjoyable.’ ‘It was good to work with different people in the year group and listen to their views and opinions.’ The success of this approach has also led to the school looking to accredit Wider Key Skills with learners in Year 9 as a way of consolidating/recognising the competences and skills developed throughout the Key Stage 3 curriculum.