Danielle Petar, Emily Bacon, Michal Geller
âMaking your own Life Skills Spaceâ
The shopping lists below have been organised around the same themes as the article in the âTeaching and Learning with Neurodiverse Childrenâ section of this edition.
Danielle Petar, Emily Bacon, Michal Geller
At Gesher we want our young people to enjoy school. We want them to enjoy learning with one another and supporting each other to succeed. We want them to have great experiences; to love physical and creative activities; to enjoy the unity of a shared faith; to find things in the curriculum that they can be passionate about; to be proud of their exhibitions of work and the real-world projects that make a difference in our community. And, of course, we want them to leave us with the best qualifications possible.
All that having been said, we are a school for young people, many of whom started their school career in a mainstream school which was not well equipped to support them. Parents (and young people as they mature) inevitably have concerns about how well they will cope with the mainstream life of employment and relationships and independent living. This is the world beyond Gesher.
And this is why we have developed a coherent, progressive and continuously evolving life skills curriculum. We are passionate about preparing learners to be assured and adept when they eventually progress from Gesher, as employees, friends, partners and citizens of the world.Â
The Gesher Life Skills Space — from top left (clockwise): bed, wardrobe, lounge area, fully functioning kitchen with hot plates, toaster, kettle, microwave, blender, fridge, sink, dining table and chairs, cash register, desk and computer, ironing board and iron, and a âmy bodyâ area with a mirror and personal grooming tools.
Ask ChatGPT what you need to set up a life skills classroom and youâll be given a list of eight steps which include finding a space, making a budget and employing a member of staff. Do some of your own research via academic articles and practical textbooks and the same three themes emerge. Sadly, what the AI and the âold-fashionedâ research tool donât take into account is that schools are not generally known for having spare rooms, giant financial budgets, or bonus staff on hand to deliver extra lessons. It can therefore be difficult to know where to start with something like life skills, which generally falls largely outside the traditional curriculum subjects like Maths, English and Science.
In Issue Two of The Bridge, we featured an article about Gesherâs life skills curriculum, so we wonât pretend that we were starting from scratch when we created our life skills classroom space. We knew what our curriculum required by way of facilities. We also wonât pretend that we werenât lucky enough to have a small space in our school, a modest budget and a skilled member of staff to deliver our sessions. Perhaps we made our own luck!
However, the journey we have travelled puts us in a position to share some of our insights in a practical and accessible way. We are also conscious that, as a result of our own journey, there isnât a huge amount of practical advice out there for schools wanting to implement and integrate life skills-related learning. We hope this article helps.
Ideally you will find a space, but it can be a shared space.
How weâve done it
We moved school sites in 2021 and, as such, were in the fortunate position of being able to include in our plans a dedicated space within our building for life skills â in other words, to give it equal claim in the allocation of space, rather than stealing space back from existing use. However, even the room we are currently using is a temporary solution which is shared with our library. (Although, of course, library use is a life skill, too!) To manage this space the room is carefully timetabled to allow for classes to use the library and for classes to use the life skills space. The room is also used for lunchtime clubs and school council meetings, and can be available as an extra learning space.
Things you could try in your setting
Despite the title of this article specifically referring to a space, there is no necessity for life skills to take place in just one place. We could have called it âCreating a life skills mindsetâ. Areas such as the lunch hall and the staff room (when not being used by staff) are ready-made life skills areas because of the practical and real-world activities that take place in them. The lunch hall, for example, can be used to practise setting the table and preparing food while the staff room is likely to contain a dishwasher, sink, and perhaps even an oven, making it an ideal environment for students to work on kitchen-based skills.
Whatâs coming next
One of the end goals for the life skills space at Gesher is to have a full-size, self-contained flat which includes a kitchen, bedroom and living area for students to be able to access during their life skills sessions. To do this we are keen to have studentsâ input to the design and to make it relevant to their interests.
How weâve done it
Our classroom space is set up to emulate elements of a small flat with a kitchen area, a bed and a sofa. Within the room, each item is labelled to support the learning of organisation skills as well as encouraging independence. All of our students use the room once a week for their timetabled life skills lesson. In addition, we have a group of learners (known as our Life Skills Legends) who attend daily life skills sessions in the space. This gives them more time to practise skills and the way the room is laid out also means that skills can be practised in sequence. For example, when doing bedroom-related life skills, students can take the sheets off the bed, wash them in the washing machine, dry them on an airer and then put them back onto the bed.
Things you could try in your settingÂ
If you donât have the luxury of having a classroom space where life skills teaching can take place, then an alternative could be to have smaller life skills-related materials stored in one place and accessible to staff. For example, items such as a kettle, a toaster and a blender could be stored relatively easily and used for food preparation skills, while items like hairdryers, straighteners and mirrors could be available for students to practise self-care skills. (Weâve included a full list of resources in the Resources for Schools section of this issue). These materials could then be used for in-school sessions. Activities which require large resources, such as a bed or washing machine, could be completed as part of homework tasks which are developed alongside parents. (It is a feature of our programme that parents are partners â deliverers and accreditors.)
Whatâs coming next
The next phase would be transferring some of the basic life skills activities into employment-related ones. For example, opening an on-site cafe run by the students would allow for greater independence around their food and drink preparation skills. Other examples are creating an allotment on the grounds, planning and running a school visit, or hosting an employersâ event.
How weâve done it
To furnish and equip the life skills rooms, we appealed for donations of furniture from our studentsâ families and friends, as well as a small amount of financial support from a community donor. Before adding anything to the room we involved parents as well as students to hear their thoughts about what should be included. The clearest piece of feedback that we received from both groups was that the room should be a place where students (as much as possible) could do things independently.
Things you could try in your setting
In the Resources for Schools section at the back of this issue, we have included a shopping list of items that might be useful for life skills sessions. Alongside each item on the list are ideas and suggestions for use. By no means do we have all the answers to these questions, so we would love to hear from you with further creative ideas. You can email us directly via [email protected].
Things that we would like to doâŚ
Moving forward, we would like to incorporate more technology into our life skills sessions. In the first instance, this could involve using online banking and doing an online food shop. However, we would also like eventually to include working with artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT which, despite offering a rather generic answer to our opening question, will undoubtedly be a huge part of our studentsâ lives in the future.
Professional Prompt Questions
Is life skills education on the agenda for your students, especially the ones most likely to be challenged by the transition to life beyond school?
What ideas in this article have most resonance for you? What ideas does your school have that you could share on an email as suggested above?
If life skills is not currently a high priority in your school, who might you need to gather together to read this article (and the one in The Bridge 2) and to discuss possible ways forward?
Read the latest Gesher Gazette below! Please click on the link below to view the video links.
Click on the link below to view the latest Gesher Gazette:
âMore than just practising daily tasksâŚâ Gesherâs new life skills scheme
The idea of teaching life skills in schools as part of a young personâs education has been formalised since the late 1990s when the World Health Organisation (WHO) introduced its ten core life skills principles. They defined life skills as âa group of psychosocial competencies and interpersonal skills that help people make informed decisions, solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, empathise with others, and cope with and manage their lives in a healthy and productive mannerâ. Before that, it was a core mission of the scouting movement (since the 1920s) and the Duke of Edinburghâs Award (founded in 1956). We have long known that life skills are an essential thing to have. For specialist schools like Gesher, they are crucial to school success, future life chances and emotional well-being.
Despite this, what the student experience of life skills learning means for day-to-day teaching can be difficult to picture. Is it discrete individual lessons about part of the WHOâs definition? Is it traditional lessons like maths, literacy, and science which implicitly teach these skills? Is it practising skills that young people will need for daily life in their classrooms and beyond? Is it something which teachers teach, or should this learning be happening at home?
What the student experience of life skills learning really means for day-to-day teaching can be difficult to picture.
These are some of the problems that Gesherâs Inclusion Team, (Danielle Petar and Matt Summers), grappled with when they first set out to develop Gesherâs own life skills scheme at the start of 2020 — and they are sharing their experience in the hope that it will be of value to others. Two years on, this scheme, called Bridges: Foundation, has been launched to Gesherâs students and will shortly also be introduced to parents. In anticipation of this, we sat down with Danielle and Matt to find out more about the journey they went on to design the scheme as well as some of its features.
Setting Up The Scheme
âThe notion of creating something which meets all of the WHO definition of life skills was exciting but also rather daunting. In the first stage of the process, we looked at the four key areas in the Governmentâs âpathway to adulthoodâ guide. These are employment; independent living; good health; and friendships, relationships and community. However, we quickly realised that weâd need some more focus and to break these down furtherâ. After going through various combinations of themes, the team decided on eight child-friendly themes.
Within each of these themes, there are eleven badges for the students to work towards achieving. In the âMy Homeâ theme, for example, the badges range from âClearing the Tableâ to âPreparing for Social Occasionsâ. âWhile each badge is very different they are all designed to focus on developing creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, the ability to communicate and collaborate, as well as commitment to personal and social responsibility.â
The approach is driven by the studentâs motivation to learn new skills, explore their areas of interest and develop their independence, as well as encouraging them to think about their future. Therefore, they have some autonomy in choosing their badges.
âWe were also eager to ensure that the young people themselves were included in the design process and itâs safe to say their feedback was refreshingly honest⌠It ultimately had a huge impact on the way the scheme looks from a visual perspective. Given that itâs the young people themselves who will be using the scheme, this is exactly what we wanted.â
The final stakeholder group that Danielle and Matt sought views from while in that crucial design phase was parents from the Gesher community. âThe scheme was designed as an exciting journey that would foster a partnership between home and school, with students completing badges both at home and at school. As parents were going to be a vital part in implementing it, then it was equally important to get their input in the design process.â
Taking Ownership
The design of the Bridges scheme was very much focused on ensuring that students can take ownership of their learning. Within each life skill, there are four âstepsâ to achieve along their journey that reflect an increasing level of independence and in this way students can see their progress.
As you journey through the different life skills badges, there are different steps along the way that you can take; each step leading you to be more independent.
Each step has a number of success criteria provided, which are visible and accessible to students. These were created by extensive research from the Inclusion team and in consultation with a wealth of other educational professionals (Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Art Therapists, Teachers, Teaching Assistants and Dramatherapists).
The different steps are not age-related but rather based on a childâs own stage of development at any given time. Both the approach and the journey navigation are highly personalised.
âUnlike the way that learning is normally structured, both the approach and the journey navigation are highly personalised. The different steps are not age-related but rather based on a childâs own stage of development at any given time and based on their individual skills and needs. We did this to reflect the fact that a young personâs journey to adulthood is not linear and they will navigate their own winding path.â Put another way, both the approach and the journey navigation are highly personalised.
Beyond Practising Daily Skills and Student Ownership
Unlike more traditional life skills schemes, Gesherâs reach is broader in terms of the themes it covers and has a greater focus on softer skills like decision-making and critical thinking. âWe wanted the scheme to be aspirational, more than a means by which to practise daily tasks.â This is evident in the inclusion of themes like âMy Imaginationâ and âMy Worldâ, which encompass skills like âMaking a giftâ and âLearning about a religionâ.
This breadth means that young people donât just work on their life skills badges in the classroom but in a home context as well. âThe success criteria for each level have been designed to include language that is accessible for students as well as the adults in their lives.â To further promote this, students work on a minimum of three badges at a time. The idea is that one is chosen by their teacher to work on in the classroom and relates to their project-based learning; one is chosen alongside the adults at home; while the last is selected by the young people themselves. This badge they will work on both at home and at school. âObtaining these badges at home and at school should be both meaningful and fun and will hopefully open up new experiences for students as they navigate their own journeys to adulthood. Itâs also important to say that there is no limit on how many badges a student can be working on at any one time. The scheme is designed to give them the opportunity to explore and to be ambitious.â
Hiding in Plain Sight
The eight themes ensure that the life skills curriculum is incorporated across the school from the Early Years class to the students in Year 8. This will allow students to become familiar with the skills they need for adulthood as early as possible in their education journey. Each class has one discrete life skills session a week where they work on their chosen badges. This is led by the schoolâs âlife skills championâ and the class teacher. In addition, for students at Gesher who are less likely to graduate with traditional academic qualifications such as GCSE and may follow a more vocational route, life skills sessions are taught daily in small groups.
As well as this dedicated time, the schoolâs holistic approach to learning means that badges can be worked on during studentsâ therapy sessions or in-class sessions through project-based learning. What will be obvious is that the approach (student ownership, personalisation, real-world tasks, school and community, etc) has many features in common with the project-based learning approach to the wider curriculum.
Next Steps
Whilst the Bridges scheme is very much underway, it will evolve and the team is already planning to create further resources to support the teaching of each life skill. They are also in the process of creating the next stage of the scheme, Bridges: For Life. This will expand on the four areas of preparing for adulthood and ensure that the students build on the life skills theyâve already developed through the Foundations scheme. This article offers a window into an important aspect of our work, one of which we are proud — both the scheme itself and the process through which it was developed. If you want to know more, please contact Gesher.
Legacy
Gesher is both privileged and humbled that this scheme has been made possible by working in collaboration with the Daniels family in order to honour the extraordinary life of Sonya Daniels, their wife, mother and grandmother.
Professional Prompt Questions
We all know how important life skills are for young people. How well established is (a) your curriculum for life skills; (b) your assessment processes?
In particular, how coherent is your life skills work with SEND youngsters?
Does the idea of badges have any merit for you?
