How to plan, teach and assess essential skills

© Dan Buckley – please share and reuse under creative commons
ensuring to link references to the author and/or to
www.learningbyladders.com

All learners should have frequent opportunities to practice the skills that will
help them be successful throughout their life such as the ability to Self-manage,
Engage, Create, Reflect, Enquire and collaborate in Teams. The first letter of all
these spells SECRET. Our job as educators is to make sure learners recognise
and share their SECRETs
This PPT provides an easy step by step way for teachers to build such
opportunities into their lessons and then assess the progress made.
This PPT only covers levels 1-4 of each skill because higher levels require a greater degree of student self direction than is usually possible in
a classroom setting. Resources to cover levels 5 and above as well as resources covering sub level 1, can be found at
www.learningbyladders.com. These include links to ‘Challenge based learning’, ‘Problem based learning’ and ‘Project based learning’.


Choose a lesson you are
due to teach soon
Check which SECRET skill
fits it best using step 1
Create an ‘Assessment
Rubric’ for your lesson or
use the suggested ones e.g.
Record assessments
in this SECRET skill
for each student e.g.
Students should have regular opportunities to
practice their essential SECRET skills.
The easiest way is to just get started today!
1. Choose an activity you
are due to teach
2. Level Check your
planned activity. Is it
suitable?
3. Choose a rubric for
assessment
4. Record the assessment
for each student then
start again
Use a ‘LEVEL CHECK’ to
check the level of challenge
of your planned lesson e.g
For SECRET skills higher
than level 4 click here
For a more detailed version splitting each SECRET
skill into its four component parts click here
Start here

SECRET Skill What kind of activity are you planning?
Self Manager
Click here if you want students to practice Self Management skills AND/OR work on difficult
tasks with challenging deadlines.
Engaged Participator
Click here if you want students to practice Engagement skills AND/OR get involved in an
issue or campaign
Creative Thinker
Click here if you want students to practice Creativity
AND/OR create their own resources, stories or solutions to problems
Reflective Learner
Click here if you want your students to practice Reflective Learning AND/OR present to their
peers and invite feedback to help them plan improvements
Enquirer
Click here if you want your students to practice Enquiry
AND/OR conduct research in which they consider both sides of an argument
Team worker
Click here if you want your students to practice Collaboration AND/OR work in self directed
teams to provide an outcome
Back to flow diagram

S E C R E T
Self Management
SECRET Skills – “Share your SECRETs, don’t keep them to yourself” ©Dan Buckley 2004 please use and reuse these slides but link to www.learningbyladders.com
Next time you teach your class something you know they will find difficult…
Use this key to modify your lesson so that it is suitable as a self management skills challenge
Q – Is the challenge difficult enough for students to need to try a few ideas before one is likely to work?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 0 so is not really suitable. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Will the challenge require so much effort and organisation that most will feel proud and relieved to finally achieve it?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 1. If YES then carry on to the next question
Q – Will it involve coping with lots of smaller challenges such as how to organise their time, and deal with set backs?
Q – Will pupils be given clear deadlines and an expected outcome for the challenge? Will the project be set over two sessions
so that students have to create their own mid term deadlines and do preparation in between the two sessions?
If No then stop here, your activity is level 3. If YES then it is definitely suitable as a level 4 challenge but may actually be level 5
or higher. Click here if you want to check it against higher levels.
Continue to the Assessment Rubric  Go back to main menu

S E C R E T
Self Management
4
Award level 4 to people if the project was spread over two sessions or more and they…
• added in extra deadlines to keep the team on track.
• Were positive, driven and active right up to the deadline
• Did additional preparation between the two sessions so you could all start quickly
• Dealt with problems and emotions in the team calmly and effectively
3 Award a level 3 to people in your team who helped to organise your team so you hit the final deadline.
They were the ones who kept going when others got angry, frustrated or gave up.
2 Award a level 2 to anyone who ‘bounced back’ whenever there was a problem and helped others who were
getting stressed. Even though your team failed to complete the challenge.
1 Award a level 1 to everyone in your team who was positive and kept you all on task?
Peer Assessment Grid for assessing Self Management Skills up to level 4
Look at much more detailed rubrics  Go back to Main Menu See an example of a Basic recording chart

Self Manager
Level 1 = Positive and
kept others on task
2 = Bounced back
after every set back
3 = Organised the whole
team to hit the deadline
4 = Prepared between sessions
and actively guided others
helping them self organise
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y
Writing summaries of each level into the recording sheet is a great way of both completing the table for each
student and reviewing the results. Remember that all of 1 AND 2 must be true to tick box 2. This is because
it is not possible to add all the detail to the final box.
 Go back to main menu See another example of a recording chart  Look at much more detailed rubrics 

S E C R E T
Engaged Participation
Q – Will most pupils have the chance to debate a ‘right or wrong’ issue and come up with ideas for how they personally could
get involved to improve things?
Q – Will pupils debate an issue, hear people’s views and come up with their own suggestions to make a difference ?
Q – Will pupils have the opportunity to consider an issue as a whole group (15+ people?) and work out what different skills
people could bring to make a difference AND what different views they have e.g. about what is fair?
Q – Will the activity unlock positive passions: Will pupils who feel strongly about an issue be able to whip up support for a
campaign or get the class actively involved in some way? E.g. taking charge of charity raising for a cause they believe in.

S E C R E T
4 Award level 4 to people if they really do get people thinking and manage to stir up passions and enthusiasm
for a project that goes on to actually make a difference, help people or raise money.
3
Award a level 3 to people in your team who collect the views of everyone in the wider group (15 or more
views) and then work out what skills they have in their team to pull together and make the biggest
impact.
2 Award a level 2 to anyone who listens to other people’s views about an issue and comes up with suggestions
for how they could have an impact through their own actions.
1 Award a level 1 to everyone in your team who can debate a right and wrong issue and come up with
suggestions for how they could improve things

Engaged / Effective Participator
Level 1 = Debated
right and wrong
2 = listened to
other’s opinions
3 = Collects views to find a big
issue and suggests a plan
4 = Actually completes a project
that works and engages others
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y
 Go back to main menu See another example of a recording chart 

S E C R E T
Creative Thinking
Q – Will all pupils be expected to present their final work in very different ways (and did they)?
Q – Are some pupils likely to be surprised or pleased (in a good way!) when they see what others in the group create?
Q – Will the classroom be safe to make mistakes in and safe to come up with strange or new ideas involving ‘lateral
thinking’? Will people have the chance to criticise only in respectful and supportive ways?
Q – Will pupils explore other’s ideas or established ideas in depth and find new angles, new twists or produce something
complementary or solve a problem in an original way?

S E C R E T
Creative Thinking
4 Award level 4 to people if people are able to build on the ideas of others to create something new and
imaginative perhaps from a new angle or a new approach.
3 Award a level 3 to people in your team who felt safe to make a ‘strange’ suggestion and keep on
contributing and listening to people’s opinions even if others didn’t get their ideas
2 Award a level 2 to anyone who comes up with an good idea or something that surprises you in a good way
and is different to how others approached it.
1 Award a level 1 to everyone in your team who presents or adds to their work in a way that is different
from everyone else.

Creative Thinker
Level 1 = Their work
is different
2 = Good idea or
different approach
3 = Confident in their
suggestions and new ideas
4 = Listens and builds on ideas
of others adding their own
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y

S E C R E T
Reflective Learning
Q – Will all pupils get the chance to set themselves a personal challenge, try it out for more than 10 minutes, share what they
learned and ask others what they thought about it?
Q – Will pupils receive feedback to help them improve their work AND have the opportunity to try and use this feedback?
Q – Will all pupils get chances to reflect on own and other people’s work , sharing positive ideas for how they could improve?
Q – Will pupils have chances to talk openly of extra challenges they have set themselves to personally improve and openly
receive recognition as well as feel confident to share mistakes and learn from them?

S E C R E T
Reflective Learning
4
Award level 4 to people if they set themselves challenges in areas that test their confidence and that they
keep to for at number of lessons, responding to help and suggestions from others and giving advice to
others to help them too.
3 Award a level 3 to people in your team who shared positive suggestions and ideas for how others could
improve and then invited comments from others that they then usefully used themselves.
2 Award a level 2 to anyone who responds to feedback and makes actual improvements.
1 Award a level 1 to everyone in your team who manages to set themselves a personal challenge, keep to it
for more than 10 minutes and then explain what they have improved.

Reflective Learner
Level 1 = Sets personal
challenge
2 = Responds to
feedback
3 = Accepts and gives
constructive positive feedback
4 = Sets challenges out of
comfort zone based on advice
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y

S E C R E T
Enquiry Skills
Q – Will Pupils have freedom to explore (e.g. a question, object or idea) in ways they want to and reach their own conclusions?
Q – Will most pupils be helped to think logically before starting their enquiry by listening to other people’s ideas?
Q – Will most pupils make up their own question to explore…. AND …. explore at least 2 different answers or 2 different views?
Q – Will pupils do research on a topic with differing opinions so they have the chance to demonstrate they can consider both
sides fairly? If there is lots of information they can give reasons for only using some of it. Or if they decide to use the Scientific
method they do so through fair tests, changing only one variable at a time.

S E C R E T
Enquiry Skills
4 Award level 4 to people who can deal with a question by looking at all of the evidence systematically and
come up with well balanced, thought out and evidenced conclusions that make a clear case.
3
Award a level 3 to people in your team who explores a question that has FOR and AGAINST arguments or
different theories and ideas. They find information for both sides and come to conclusions about what
they have found out.
2 Award a level 2 to anyone who thinks up a question to explore and then listens to other people, collects
information and works out answers.
1 Award a level 1 to everyone in your team who thinks up a question to explore and then tries to answer it.

Enquiry Skills
Level 1 = Explores
own question
2 = Answers
using research
3 = Conclusion after presents
for and against arguments
4 = Balanced and systematically
fair answer to complex question
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y

S E C R E T
Team Work
Q – Will all pupils be working in teams for at least 5 minutes?
Q – Will all students in each team have their own role (e.g. Leader, Coach, Manager and Evaluator?)
Q – Will there be at least an hour so teams can decide on roles, work on the task then meet to discuss how it went at the end?
Q – Will pupils have a few hours to show they can work as a self directed team reliably to deliver a resource or a service
designed to help others without needing reminding?

S E C R E T
Team Work
4
Award level 4 to people who were essential to the success of the team because they played their part well
and reliably for a number of sessions without fail. For anyone in the team to be awarded level 4 the whole
team must have met their target to provide a service or resource to other people reliably
3
Award a level 3 to people in your team who can keep other people on task or help them improve. They
check everyone is keeping up and playing their part as well as giving positive suggestions for how people
could contribute better.
2 Award a level 2 to anyone who listens to their specific roles and carries their role out reliably. They never
are in a position where they have nothing to do. If they finish their part they find some other way to help.
1 Award a level 1 to everyone in your team who works on the team project for the whole time and keeps
focussed.

Team Working Skills
Level 1 = Keeps
focussed
2 = Carries out
their role well
3 = Regulates the team so
everyone always on task
4 = Whole team hits target, they
were essential to success
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y

Self Manager Engaged Creative Reflective Enquirer Team Worker
Level 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y
Mark G
One idea is to leave this chart open in the room, students write in a back slash when they
have peer assessed a level. Teacher adds a forward slash if they agree or have assessed
them. Only highest level is recorded. Each lesson activity just concentrates on one skill area.

Set a level 4 challenge for specific
students to do independently
outside of their lessons in their
own directed time – see an
example here
 Start here
Check which SECRET skill
fits it best using step 1
Create an ‘Assessment
Rubric’ for your lesson or
use the suggested ones e.g.
Record assessments
in this SECRET skill
for each student e.g.
Use a ‘LEVEL CHECK’ to
check the level of challenge
of your planned lesson e.g
Students
at level 4
Allstudentscontinueto
practice
Choose a lesson you are due to teach soon
For students who successfully pass
an individual level 4 challenge, set
a level 5 challenge
Continue up to level 9. Typically,
level 6 challenges take 6 months
each to complete.

General
Planning
Cognitive
(Think deeper)
Strategic
(Work it out)
Emotional
(Feel it)
Social
(Share it)
Self Manager Key Manage Risk Be Organised Go for it. Finish it Manage Emotions
Engaged Participator Key Persuade Others Find Solutions Identify Issues Get Involved
Creative Thinker Key Imagine Make Links Take Creative Risks Question Assumptions
Reflective Learner Key Set Yourself Challenges Plan-Do-Review Invite Feedback Share Learning
Enquirer Key Explore a Question Evaluate Evidence Stay Objective Reach Conclusions
Team worker Key Take Responsibility Manage the team Build team strengths Evaluate the team
For examples of how to record student achievement see here: Example 1 , Example 2, Example 3, Example 4
 Go back to main menu
Each SECRET skill has emotional, social, strategic and cognitive elements. Click on a specific
skill name for more detail. A full curriculum of opportunities would provide for all of these.

S E C R E T
Self Management
4
To be well prepared for this activity I had to do some preparation work and remember to bring it in with me.
I got started on the activity straight away without needing reminding and I completed the task using what I
brought with me to the lesson. (Example – remembering ingredients and preparing the recipe for a cooking
project)
3
I never forget any equipment I need for my lessons. I have pens, pencils, calculators etc. If people forget
something they are very likely to ask me if they can borrow from me because I am known for being
organised. If you are not sure what lessons we have tomorrow you would probably ask me.
2 I am never late and if you look at my work, it has headings underlined, dates present and if I do leave gaps
to fill in afterwards then I remember to go back and fill them in.
1 If I have two things to do I can choose which one should be done first. (I can prioritise – For example I
decide to write out a question before answering it or decide to write the date before starting my work)
Levels 5 and higher click here

S E C R E T
Self Management
4
I volunteered for a new activity or one in which I was not confident. I thought about the risks, asked for
advice from a reliable source I could trust, and then decided the risk was worth the achievement and
decided to try even though I was nervous.
If the advice is that something is too risky then I listen to that advice and don’t try even if I’m not nervous.
3
If I am not sure or I am nervous I ask someone who is responsible for advice. I know that it is just advice
and I still have to make my own decisions but I am willing to try things out if I have been reassured. I pass
on the advice to others and will check if they are not sure.
2 I make an area safer before doing an activity. For example I can move things that we might bump into.
1 I have the courage to tell others to be careful if I think they are doing something unsafe or risky.

S E C R E T
Self Management
4
I have stuck with a hard problem or project till it was solved which took at least two hours. At least once, I
wasn’t enjoying it and so I had to steel myself up. I used methods like stopping for breaks, giving myself
rewards and trying to think about how it would feel to finish.
3 I can describe something I have achieved that was difficult. Other people I was working with gave up and
I wanted to give up as well but I carried on because I knew I would feel good in the end.
2 I have evidence of something that took me lots of attempts and lots of time and I am really proud that I
finished it.
1 I can try again when something doesn’t work first time. E.g. building a tower from dominoes.

S E C R E T
Self Management
4
I congratulate myself when I have done something well. When something goes wrong I admit it to myself. I
can think of times when I was down and I found ways to make myself positive again. I didn’t ignore the
feelings that were making me feel down but found ways to make them less important.
3 I always stay in control. I can think of examples when someone was being unkind or angry and I managed
to stay calm, polite and confident.
2 I can talk about my emotions to my friends and listen to when they talk about theirs.
1 I am positive and can focus on the activity well.

S E C R E T
4 Award a level 4 if the person not only engages with everyone in the class but enables others to do so as
well. They deal really positively with people who may be critical, argumentative or unhelpful.
3 Award a level 3 if the person knows the opinion of everyone in the class regarding an issue, regularly tries
to talk to people, knows their names and listens to their view points.
2 Award a level 2 if the person can name lots of extra clubs and activities they are regularly involved with.
1 Award level 1 if the person is always volunteering to help and enjoys helping others.

S E C R E T
4
Award level 4 if the person can ask people around them about issues like global warming or cruelty to
animals and find out what is the issue most people have feelings about. They can describe which issues
matter most to the people around them and give examples.
3
Award level 3 if the person is able to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and feel sad or angry about
when they were treated unfairly. They control their emotion and either just listen or suggest ideas to
help.
2 Award level 2 if the person has opinions they feel strongly about and have their own ideas for how to
improve things. They may feel passionately or emotionally about some issues .
1 Award level 1 if the person has a good sense of what is right and wrong. Especially if they have thought
about why some things are right and some are wrong.

S E C R E T
4
I have solved a problem that needed lots of different resources and people. For example if we were creating
a poster display quickly we would need someone to agree the space, someone to find paper and materials,
someone to decide content etc. This needs a quick plan and everyone needs clear jobs.
3 Award level 3 if the person solves a problem with someone else by breaking it into different tasks and
then do their own parts so that together they get it done much faster.
2 Award level 2 if the person can solve problems without any help.
1 Award level 1 if the person comes up with good ideas

S E C R E T
4 Award level 4 if the person can put together lists of reasons FOR and AGAINST when considering a difficult
decision they have to make. They can explain their decision and how they thought about other opinions.
3 Award level 3 if the person can listen to other peoples reasons for making a choice, explain their own
reasons and then come up with a decision that they have thought about both opinions.
2 Award level 2 if the person can convincingly explain why it is better to do thing than another when there is a
difficult decision to be made.
1 Award level 1 if the person can give a reasons for actions they have taken.

S E C R E T
Creative Thinking
4 Award level 4 if the person can be inspired by a story, art, dance etc. And build on these ideas to create
something themselves that is inspired by the idea or the methods used.
3 Award level 3 if the person can use an analogy to explain how something works. They could also suggest
things that have not been invented yet or new characters to explain how something COULD work.
2 Award level 2 if the person is able to tell a story using role-play or art or dance (any creative form) and can
talk respectfully about other people’s stories .
1 Award level 1 if the person can give examples of art, songs or writing to help them explain how they are
feeling.

S E C R E T
Creative Thinking
4
Award level 4 if the person can link things together that don’t normally go together. They may use
metaphors to say how one thing is like another or merge different objects or sounds in new ways based on
things they have in common.
3
Award level 3 if the person can play spot the odd one out. People can give them four objects and they
find ways of linking them together with words. For example a spoon and a cupboard may both be made
of wood and could both be found in the kitchen.
2 Award level 2 if the person can put things into groups and then find other ways of grouping them.
1 Award level 1 if the person can put things into groups based on what they have in common

S E C R E T
Creative Thinking
4 Award level 4 if the person can question something that most people take for granted and suggest other
ways of looking at things.
3 Award level 3 if the person can ask ‘why’ questions about past events and can suggest how the world may
have been different if people in the past had made different choices.
2 Award level 2 if the person can think of something that they believe only their family does and most other
families don’t do. They don’t assume the way that their family does it is better in any way.
1 Award level 1 if they ask a good question that is hard to answer.

S E C R E T
Creative Thinking
4 Award level 4 if the person takes part in an exhibition of their work or a production or performance of their
own work or ideas, sharing things that are new or they are nervous about or feel strongly about.
3 Award level 3 if the person takes a risk by presenting to an audience or acting our a performance.
Basically it is something that has a risk of going wrong but they try it anyway.
2 Award level 2 if the person comes up with a surprising way to end a story or create a piece of work. Their
ideas seem quite original.
1 Award level 1 if the person’s work in this task is different from everyone else’s

S E C R E T
Reflective Learning
4 Award level 4 if the person identifies something they are currently not very good at and then challenges
themselves to improve it and carries out this challenge.
3 Award level 3 if the person listens to how someone else would achieve a challenge and then tries this
method themselves. For example they may try someone else’s method for revising.
2 Award level 2 if the person has set themselves a challenge and then carries it out.
1 Award level 1 if the person tries something they don’t normally do. They may try working in a different
way for example

S E C R E T
Reflective Learning
4 Award level 4 if the person makes a plan to improve something or learn something and then sticks to their
plan for a week or more, improving as they go. They evaluate how well they met their own challenge.
3 Award level 3 if the person does a good plan that sounds like it will work well and while they are carrying
it out they make improvements as they go.
2 Award level 2 if the person plans what they will do, carries it out and then evaluates it afterwards to tell you
how they could have done it better.
1 Award level 1 if the person chooses an activity and then sticks at it for at least 10 minutes.

S E C R E T
Reflective Learning
4 Award level 4 if the person can be honest about mistakes they have made and how they plan to put them
right or improve them.
3 Award level 3 if the person is able to review the last few days and give examples of things they have
learned, things they thought about afterwards and things they should have done to improve.
2 Award level 2 if the person can give examples of what they have learned and categorise them into most to
least important OR most to least improvement etc.
1 Award level 1 if the person can give examples of things they have learned while doing the activity.

S E C R E T
Reflective Learning
4
Award level 4 if the person gets the balance right by being truthful about others work but in ways that are
both helpful and positive. They ask for feedback from other people themselves and whatever they are told
they respect the opinion and thank them without arguing with them or taking offence.
3 Award level 3 if the person is able to give helpful and useful comments to other people explaining how
they could improve their work as well as seeking helpful comments from others.
2 Award level 2 if the person acts on comments from others and improves a piece of their work.
1 Award level 1 if the person asks for opinions about their work and listens to them.

S E C R E T
Enquiry Skills
4 Award level 4 if the person’s project focusses on questions that nobody else in the class are exploring. They
ask lots of questions such as ‘how’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ and write explanations in their own words.
3 Award level 3 if the person does a project based on a question they chose themselves. For example a
project to explore why penguins can’t fly.
2 Award level 2 if the person chooses a question to explore or find out about and then shares, writes up or
records what they found out.
1 Award level 1 if the person decides to find something out by themselves and then does.

S E C R E T
Enquiry Skills
4
Award level 4 if the person selects evidence that helps them to answer their central question. They stay
focussed on this question. They give good reasons why they included some pieces of evidence and rejected
others
3 Award level 3 if the person can do some research for a project and then, after they have lots of pieces of
information, just choose the pieces that are relevant and useful rejecting the rest.
2 Award level 2 if the person can win a game of 20 questions (a game in which one person thinks of a random
object and the other person asks them up to 20 questions that can only be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ .
1 Award level 1 if the person can consider a question and give good reasons why they think it is true or
false.

S E C R E T
Enquiry Skills
4
Award level 4 if when exploring a question in a project where there are at least two different opinions they
spend the same time on each one. For example some people think we should eat meat and other people
think we should not. At this level the person would be able to explore both views equally.
3 Award level 3 if the person can write or record two different views about the same issue. For example,
play both parts in a pretend argument.
2 Award level 2 if the person can use their own ideas and other people’s ideas when they answer a question,
solve a problem or a puzzle.
1 Award level 1 if the person can give examples of different people’s ideas and opinions about the same
problem or question.

S E C R E T
Enquiry Skills
4 Award level 4 if the person finishes a project based on a question and has give clear answers to this
question. If others read their project they would probably agree because the evidence is clearly set out.
3 Award level 3 if the person can summarise their project by pulling out the most important things they
found out first as well as including some of the less important things.
2 Award level 2 if the person can hear or read different opinions and then at the end of the project /day make
a decision on their own views by putting together good reasons.
1 Award level 1 if the person hears or reads about what different people believe and then decide what they
believe themselves.

S E C R E T
Team Work
4
Award level 4 if the person leads by example. They lead a team through a lengthy project that may last for
more than 3 hours broken up into smaller sessions. They remember to do their part and they are willing to
do different roles to help. They take responsibility for how the team works together and checking all the
roles are covered
3 Award level 3 if the person pulls the team together and makes sure everyone has clear roles that are
agreed. They would be described as ‘fair’ by the rest of the team.
2 Award level 2 if the person is able to lead the team without being dominant. For example they may share
the different jobs that need doing or work out rules to a game.
1 Award level 1 if the person volunteers for jobs

S E C R E T
Team Work
4
Award level 4 if the person is not only clear about what every member of the team should be doing but is
also aware of the target they are all trying to achieve. They break this up so that each member of the team
has their own targets for what they need to get done. They may have an action plan or lists with deadlines.
3 Award level 3 if the person is really clear about what every member of the team should be doing at any
one time and helps people keep up and keep the whole team on track.
2 Award level 2 if the person checks on how well the team is doing and then positively helps those that are in
danger of slowing the team down.
1 Award level 1 if the person is quick to help others in their team who need help

S E C R E T
Team Work
4
Award level 4 if the person is able to create a report explaining what the team did well and what
improvements could be made. They are most humble about their own contribution. If someone in the
team does complain about them they listen, stay calm and positive, make lots of eye contact and see if they
can agree with anything. People feel safe sharing their concerns with this person.
3
Award level 3 if the person can praise each person by name for what they did to help the team but can
also invite others to suggest improvements not by asking them but by setting an example by first being
honest about how they could have improved.
2 Award level 2 if the person praises people when they have done something that helped the team. They
praise things that most people would agree have been done well (not just praising anything randomly!).
1 Award level 1 if the person often lets the other people in the team know what they have done well.

S E C R E T
Team Work
4
Award level 4 if the person is able to defuse arguments in the team and between other teams. They stay
calm and positive and try to explain two sides of any argument. If there are rules then they will work to
make sure that people understand them and have the skills they need to follow them
3 Award level 3 if the person supports others in the team. They make sure that everyone’s voice is heard,
make sure jobs are given out fairly and check people feel confident in what they are doing.
2 Award level 2 if the person cares about everyone in their team. They may be checking people are OK,
cheering people up or checking people are happy and coping with their jobs.
1 Award level 1 if the person shows respect to everyone in their team

Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
Level 1 
ManageRisk
BeOrganised
Goforit.Finishit
ManageEmotions
PersuadeOthers
FindSolutions
IdentifyIssues
GetInvolved
Imagine
MakeLinks
TakeCreativeRisks
QuestionAssumptions
SetYourselfChallenges
Plan-Do-Review
InviteFeedback
ShareLearning
ExploreaQuestion
EvaluateEvidence
StayObjective
ReachConclusions
TakeResponsibility
Managetheteam
Buildteamstrengths
Evaluatetheteam
Student name____________________________

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4
Self
Manager
Manage Risk
Be Organised
Go for it. Finish it
Manage Emotions
Engaged
Persuade Others
Find Solutions
Identify Issues
Get Involved
Creative
Imagine
Make Links
Take Creative Risks
Question Assumptions
Reflective
Set Yourself Challenges
Plan-Do-Review
Invite Feedback
Share Learning
Enquirer
Explore a Question
Evaluate Evidence
Stay Objective
Reach Conclusions
Team
Worker
Take Responsibility
Manage the team
Build team strengths
Evaluate the team
A recording sheet for each
student for the first four levels
of the SECRET skill ladders

John H
Dan B
Sarah S
Esme D
Ftiu F
Noah S
Jen Y
Mark G
ManageRisk
BeOrganised
Goforit.Finishit
ManageEmotions
PersuadeOthers
FindSolutions
IdentifyIssues
GetInvolved
Imagine
MakeLinks
TakeCreativeRisks
QuestionAssumptions
SetYourselfChallenges
Plan-Do-Review
InviteFeedback
ShareLearning
ExploreaQuestion
EvaluateEvidence
StayObjective
ReachConclusions
TakeResponsibility
Managetheteam
Buildteamstrengths
Evaluatetheteam
Used to show level 1 Used to show level 2 Used to show level 3 Used to show level 4

How to plan, teach and assess essential skills

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