Govan High Future Skills System - handout Handout containing information for external bodies re the what, how and why of Govan High Future Skills System plus explanation of terms.

1. The Future Skills System
What are Future Skills
Govan High School is entirely a skills-based curriculum, based on “Future Skills”
Govan High School encourages involving pupils in discussion and identification of skills
It covers all learning areas and all adults that work with Govan High pupils, wherever that may be – in the school or elsewhere.
YOUR job with skills is raising participants’ awareness of Future Skills – not just in your own area but overall.
Highlight Future Skills developments
Complete Future Skills certificates
Help pupils make Future Skills connections
Use the Achievement Database – this has information about pupils’ skills already.
https://www.gad.ea.glasgow.sch.uk/govanhs/
How do we “do” Future Skills
By meshing together traditional and innovative elements/methods/techniques/methodologies
By looking for explicit and implicit skills – think about how pupils have done something not just what they did.
Techniques can be orally, by tasks, by questioning, reviewing, reflection, skills assessment, linking between subjects, between subjects and the
“ultra-curriculum” *
By using the Common Vocabulary*
By using the Resource Bank (see “What with” section)
By matching any previous skills set you’ve used with the Future Skills – this is essential. (Please contact Ian McCracken in the Learning
Resource Centre for advice and assistance.)
By [following our principle] which maintains that everyone is a unique combination of skills BUT that many people have not had opportunities
to discover what skills they have – one of the many reasons why Govan High provides so many different types of opportunity.
*See Explanation of terms section
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2. Why are we committed to Future Skills?
- Lifelong learning
- Relevance (to pupils, to national precepts, to employers’ needs, etc)
- Motivation
- Pupils’ Self-esteem, Self-awareness & Self-confidence
- Stimulates reflective abilities & critical faculties in pupils.
- Employability
- Enshrines principles of Curriculum for Excellence & Skills for Scotland strategies.
- Strong connections to employers’ agenda
- Client suitability
- Truly comprehensive approach
- Learner-centred
- Universality applicability of Future Skills model
- Skills Development awareness
- Skills Gaps awareness
- Transferability
Explanation of terms
Common Vocabulary – It is impossible for anyone to know what skills they have if everywhere they go in a school, the same skills are given
different names. By using the common vocabulary – the words used in the Future Skills’ names and descriptions, everyone will be much clearer
about what skills they are acquiring, and will thus have better chances of transferring the skills, developing their skills and assessing what skills
areas need improvement. Recording skills properly is impossible without a Common Vocabulary
Course – By “course”, Govan High’s definition includes not just the SQA courses offered, but all the different kinds of learning experiences
provided by our partners
Cumulative exposure – The more every adult working with pupils involves the pupils in discussing and thinking about their skills, the more
accustomed pupils will become to this concept; therefore cumulative exposure is crucial
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3. Learner – Everyone (adult and pupil)
Learning Area – Learning areas include classrooms, gyms, labs, the Learning resource centre, Hairdressing & beauty salons, Colleges, Cre8 Bus
– everywhere that learning goes on.
Mediation - This is much more than teaching. It is an interactive process whereby the learner is assisted in his/her understanding by someone
more experienced (sometimes an adult, sometimes a peer). The mediator's role is to help the learner find their way from limited knowledge to
understanding by sharing ideas, making comparisons, explanation, giving examples, highlighting skills, etc. while leaving them with full
ownership of what has been gained
Skills-based Curriculum – Govan High School’s vision of skills is not just practical skills – it’s every kind of skill.- Future Skills are uniquely
comprehensive and flexible.
Subject – Whatever the pupil is learning, whether is XL, Maths, Hairdressing
Ultra-Curriculum – Govan High uses the term “ultra-curriculum” as a way of giving an appropriate collective name to include all the many
types of learning opportunity offered by the school in conjunction with its partners. In addition, the word “ultra” literally means “beyond”, and
Govan High has gone “beyond” the traditional curriculum, anticipating Curriculum for excellence in its concepts and ideas.
Please contact Ian McCracken at 0141-582-0090 IMcCracken@govanhigh.glasgow.sch.uk for more information.
August 2009
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