Skills / PUPILS ARE ABLE TO:- /  /  /  / Priority?
ENQUIRY /
  • Investigate objects & materials by using all senses

  • Ask relevant questions about why things happen & how things work

  • Explore materials to test their ideas about cause & effect

  • Ask different types of question & decide how to find answers

  • Use techniques to collect & organise information

  • Ask & answer questions, select & record relevant information

  • Use a range of data gathering techniques

  • Plan the steps & strategies for an enquiry

  • Draw conclusions & evaluate outcomes

PROBLEM-SOLVING /
  • Understand the concept of cause & effect

  • Apply prior learning to a problem

  • Recognise & talk about a problem

  • Consider a range of possible solutions

  • Ask questions & select & record information relevant to the problem

  • Plan the steps & strategies they will use

  • Predict possible effects of different solutions or modifications

  • Respond to a problem or task using trial & error

  • Use a cycle of trial, error & improvement

  • Review what has been done & recognise the outcome

CREATIVE THINKING /
  • Generate imaginative ideas in response to stimuli

  • Discover & make connections through play & experimentation

  • Explore & experiment with resources & materials

  • Ask “why”, “how”, “what if” or unusual questions

  • Try alternatives or different approaches

  • Respond to ideas, tasks & problems in surprising ways

  • Apply imaginative thinking to achieve an objective

  • Make connections & see relationships

  • Reflect critically on ideas, actions & outcomes

INFORMATION
PROCESSING /
  • Use first-hand experiences & simple information sources to answer questions

  • Know where to find information

  • Understand what is relevant information & locate this within sources

  • Use strategies such as scanning, skimming & using an index to locate information

  • Sort & classify information using a given structure

  • Talk about & recognise patterns, similarities, differences & time sequences

  • Summarise information

  • Record information using a given format

  • Record information using formats they have devised

REASONING /
  • Predict & anticipate events

  • Communicate about actions & their consequences based on practical activities & experiences

  • Explain what they have done & why & the conclusions they have reached as a result

  • Use the language of sequence

  • Use the language of similarity & difference

  • Use the language of cause & effect

  • Recognise that conclusions can be tentative or definitive & that judgements reflect this

  • Offer evidence to support reasoning

  • Recognise that conclusions can draw on explicit & implicit evidence

  • Recognise & challenge assumptions

EVALUATION /
  • Express their own views, opinions & preferences

  • Justify their own views, opinions & preferences

  • Use given criteria to make judgements

  • Develop their own criteria & use them to make judgements

  • Support judgements with their own evidence

  • Draw on a range of evidence sources to support evaluation

  • Use more than one criterion when making judgements

  • Evaluate the quality of an outcome

  • Develop criteria to evaluate the quality of an outcome or support an argument

COMMUNICATION /
  • (see objectives in the “National Literacy Strategy Framework for teaching”, “Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage”, “Speaking, listening, learning: working with children in Key Stages 1 & 2” & “Planning teaching and assessing the curriculum for pupils with learning difficulties”)

Skills Self Evaluation Document