What are Integral Skills?
These are the skills that pupils need to be successful in all school subjects, in any career and in all aspects of their future lives. At the heart of the Integral Skills is the importance of learners recognising, using and creating different types of value. In this context, value means worth and importance in a range of contexts, including financial, cultural, social and learning value.
When planning our learning experiences, we must make sure we are providing opportunities for our pupils to develop these four areas of integral skills:
Creativity and innovation
Learners should be given space to be curious and inquisitive, and to generate many ideas. They should be supported to link and connect disparate experiences, knowledge and skills, and see, explore and justify alternative solutions. They should be able to identify opportunities and communicate their strategies. This should support learners to create different types of value.
Critical thinking and problem-solving
Learners should be supported to ask meaningful questions, and to evaluate information, evidence and situations. They should be able to analyse and justify possible solutions, recognising potential issues and problems. Learners should become objective in their decision-making, identifying and developing arguments. They should be able to propose solutions which generate different types of value.
Personal effectiveness
Learners should develop emotional intelligence and awareness, becoming confident and independent. They should have opportunities to lead debate and discussions, becoming aware of the social, cultural, ethical and legal implications of their arguments. They should be able to evaluate their learning and mistakes, identifying areas for development. They should become responsible and reliable, being able to identify and recognise different types of value and then use that value.
Planning and organising
Where developmentally appropriate, learners should be able to set goals, make decisions and monitor interim results. They should be able to reflect and adapt, as well as manage time, people and resources. They should be able to check for accuracy and be able create different types of value.
The development of these skills allows learners to work across disciplines, providing them with opportunities for both synthesis and analysis. There is particular potential for innovation in making and using connections between different disciplines and Areas.
When developing these skills, learners should:
- develop an appreciation of sustainable development and the challenges facing humanity
- develop awareness of emerging technological advances
- be supported and challenged so that they are prepared to confidently meet the demands of working in uncertain situations, as changing local, national and global contexts result in new challenges and opportunities for success
- be afforded the space to generate creative ideas and to critically evaluate alternatives – in an ever-changing world, flexibility and the ability to develop more ideas will enable learners to consider a wider range of alternative solutions when things change
- build their resilience and develop strategies which will help them manage their well-being – they should be encountering experiences where they can respond positively in the face of challenge, uncertainty or failure
- learn to work effectively with others, valuing the different contributions they and others make – they should also begin to recognise the limitations of their own work and those of others as they build an understanding of how different people play different roles within a team.