The five core skills

Core skills are those we all need to succeed in our lives. They are the skills we use
when we need to learn something new, or when we are dealing with problems or
issues in our lives. For most of us they form the basis on which we build our working
lives and most employers expect workers to be able to demonstrate these skills at
some level. These are the skills that young people who are looked after need to
develop in order to manage school successfully and ultimately to achieve any
awards. They are also the skills that will allow them to succeed as adults in their
personal and work lives. Children begin learning these skills from the time they enter
the education system, if not before, and they are essential components of the formal
assessment processes they experience particularly as they prepare to leave school.

1. Communication
Communication skills underpin almost all personal, social, learning and working
activity. They are essential in clarifying one's own thoughts, in interacting and
conversing effectively with others, in expressing thoughts and in conveying
information, feelings and opinions.

• Oral Communication – listening and talking

This involves the ability to produce and respond to oral communication for a
range of purposes and audiences; essentially, to listen, to take part in
discussions and make presentations as appropriate. For some children, sign
or symbol languages are a substitute for oral communication, for others,
English will not be their first language and they will need to learn English as a
foreign language whilst, at the same time, retaining their mother tongue.
• Written Communication – reading and writing.
This skill involves the ability to understand, produce and respond to written
communication for a range of purposes and audiences.

2. Numeracy
To cope with the demands of everyday life, including work and study, people need to
be comfortable with numbers and at ease with graphs, symbols, diagrams and
calculators:
Using graphical information – understanding graphs, tables and diagrams
Using number – understanding how to use numbers to do measurements
and calculations.

3. Problem solving
These three skill components can be seen as stages in the process of tackling issues
and problems in personal, social and vocational contexts:
Critical Thinking – thinking about all aspects of a situation or problem. This
skill involves the ability to analyse and reason in order to make decisions and
to create or suggest ideas, courses of action and strategies.
Planning and Organising – making decisions about what to do, making
arrangements and plans and carrying them out.
Reviewing and Evaluating – looking back at what has been done, judging
how successful the plan was and what improvements could be made in
future.
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4. Information & communication technology
Accessing Information
Providing/Creating Information
These skills involve finding, processing, presenting and communicating
information, for example, using the internet and e-mail, preparing documents
and presentations.

5. Working with others

Working co-operatively with others
Reviewing co-operative contribution.

These skills involve the ability to work with others to plan, agree and take
responsibility for tasks, to support co-operative working in appropriate ways
and to review the effectiveness of one's own contribution.