Schools should teach children resilience to help them in the workplace, new Education Secretary says

Damian Hinds, the new Education Secretary
Damian Hinds, the new Education Secretary Credit: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS 

Schools should teach children resilience through public speaking and sport to help them in the workplace, the new Education Secretary has said.

In his first speech since his appointment earlier this month, Damian Hinds spoke of the importance of instilling children with “soft skills” from a young age.

He told the delegates at the Education World Forum in London that in his previous role as employment minister, he was used to hearing from businesses about the importance of workplace or employability skills.

He said that these abilities – which can include, for example, teamwork and communication - are sometimes referred to as “soft” skills.

“But I would suggest to you that there is nothing soft about these skills,” he said. The “hard reality” is that teaching children how to build “character resilience” and workplace skills is crucial for a thriving economy, he added.

“Now I don’t suggest that they can just be taught, but clearly what happens in school – the ethos of a school, the expectations that are set for students and the support that’s given, alongside what happens in extracurricular activity, in sport in public speaking in voluntary work and so on – all of these things will have an effect on character resilience and on the workplace skills that our young people will take with them,” Mr Hinds told delegates.

There is now a generation of children who are "digital natives", Damian Hinds said 
There is now a generation of children who are "digital natives", Damian Hinds said 

He went on to say that around nine in 10 new jobs created will require digital skills to some extent, and there is now a generation of children who are "digital natives" that are growing up with technology such as the internet and smartphones.

He spoke of the importance of school embracing digital techniques in the classroom, adding that children should be taught how to create apps.

Mr Hinds said that he aware of the “trepidation” felt by the teaching profession towards technology.

He said that technology would not be used to assist, rather than replace teachers, adding that it could help ease teacher workload.

“With our new computing curriculum we have moved beyond ability to use apps to ability to write apps,” he said, adding that millions of pounds is being pumped into improving the teaching of computer science.

Mr Hinds said that schools should concentrate on the core subjects – such as maths, English, sciences and languages 
Mr Hinds said that schools should concentrate on the core subjects – such as maths, English, sciences and languages  Credit:  Tomasz Trojanowski / Alamy

In the November budget, the Chancellor announced that the number of computer science teachers is to be trebled, with a National Centre for Computing established.

Philip Hammond pledged £84 million to train up another 8,000 GCSE teachers for computer science, a relatively new subject that only became part of the national curriculum three years ago.

Mr Hinds said that schools should concentrate on the core subjects – such as maths, English, sciences and languages – rather than waste time on alternative qualifications.

He said that before 2010 there was too much focus on alternative qualifications, which was well-meaning but did little to recommend pupils to employers.

“It turned out that those qualifications were not as highly regarded, did not have the same worth in the jobs market and in society as the traditional qualifications,” he said.

“So that could unfortunately limit the possibilities that those young people would have.”

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