It is time for a national skills audit

In recent weeks, education secretary Nicky Morgan has said on more than one occasion that she wants to see schools instil character, grit and resilience in young people alongside a knowledge-based curriculum.

For too long, successive education secretaries and politicians have at best ignored and at worst denigrated what they describe as “soft skills” as worthless and lacking rigour. 

What is far more likely, however, is that these qualities and basic human traits have been set to one side because they are too difficult to assess, measure and attach a currency to for use in performance tables.

Yet, educationalists know better than anyone the importance of developing personal and interpersonal skills. We see it in our day-to-day work with children and young people – how they interact and work with others, how they form and retain their friendships, the manner in which they meet the challenges of learning in the classroom, how easily they get up again after being knocked down in life.