A company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland SC277102 Scottish Charity No.SC036976
Bridges to Independence
Contents
WHAT IS BRIDGES TO INDEPENDENCE? _______________________ 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS____________________________________ 4
HOW THE TOOL WORKS __________________________________ 5
Section 1: Guidance Document ____________________________ 6
Section 2: Toolkit _______________________________________ 7
2.1: Listings of the Skills, Attributes and Knowledge Required for
Independence 7
2.2: Sample Checklists of Skills Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3: Practice Forms Error! Bookmark not defined.
Annexe 1________________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Curriculum for Excellence Framework Error! Bookmark not defined.
Annexe 2 _______________________ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Worked Case Studies Error! Bookmark not defined.
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© Bridges Project SC277102, 2007
Bridges to Independence
What is Bridges to Independence?
Bridges to Independence is a soft measurement system which:
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starts at each young person’s starting point in an area where they need to learn a
skill, attribute or piece of knowledge; the focus is upon those skills, attributes or
types of knowledge which are required most by the young person at that point of time
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takes the young person’s personal circumstances into account when tracking
progression
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provides comprehensive listings of skills for young people with wide-ranging needs to
work towards in different settings
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has been developed to offer adequate choice to cover staff working with vulnerable
young people in widely differing work contexts
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has an operational expectation that agencies will only need to use the sections or
skills which are relevant to their own practice and that these will be ‘cut and pasted’
from the templates, to create a customised checklist for their staff to use
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offers ready-made checklists as samples, for use or adaptation, to cover a number of
common practice settings
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reflects standard work practice for working with vulnerable young people (see worked
case studies)
All the forms and the scoring system are optional.
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Bridges to Independence
Acknowledgements
Bridges Project owes much to the many individuals we work with in other agencies who
have spared time to offer their expertise in the shaping of this tool. We should,
therefore, like to express our warm appreciation for all the many generous contributions
towards both the development and the laborious checking of Bridges to Independence.
In particular, our special thanks go to Viv Boyle from Fife Council’s Throughcare and
Aftercare Team; also to Louise Small and Greg Mackenzie from East Lothian Council’s
Housing Prevention and Throughcare and Aftercare Teams respectively; and to Penny
Robertson from Haddington CAB’s Financial Education Project who prepared sample
checklists from the main listings of skills. The Educational Psychologists, Ruth Walker
from Midlothian Council and Anita Harrison from East Lothian Council, all checked the tool
and offered really helpful advice. We acknowledge the work done by the Scottish
Government on developing the Curriculum for Excellence which has proved to be a useful
framework on which to base this tool.
In addition, all the staff at Bridges Project have in different ways been unstinting in the
time and thought they have given to ensuring: firstly, that the tool will assist the work
with vulnerable young people; and secondly, in developing the electronic model and the
design.
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© Bridges Project SC277102, 2007
Bridges to Independence
How the Tool Works
Bridges to Independence has been broken down into sections to make navigation easier.
Where you see a yellow Bridges Project logo it indicates that there is a word document
embedded; double click on the icon and the document will be opened.
Section 1 is Guidance on How the Tool Works. This is accessed through double clicking
on the yellow icon on the next page. This document describes the tool in detail, tells you
how to use it, with whom to use it and how to integrate it into your standard practice.
Section 2 is the Toolkit which provides comprehensive listings which classify the skills in a
coherent and organised fashion. The four categories, from the Curriculum for Excellence
we have used to manage the extensive lists of skills are:

Confident Individual

Responsible Adult and Citizen

Successful Learner

Effective Contributor
The toolkit includes sample working forms and sample checklists which workers may wish
to use or adapt to suit their own recording requirements.
Bridges to Independence has been designed to be flexible and can be adapted by
organisations and individuals who use it. If you wish to change or add to any of the
documents it is recommended that you SAVE AS and create a copy as this will leave the
original documentation unchanged. If you wish to embed your own word documents into
the tool please double click on the following icon which gives basic instructions.
If you wish to print out the full Bridges to Independence tool, including the skills listings
and forms, you will need to print out the main document and then open and print each
embedded word document separately.
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© Bridges Project SC277102, 2007
Bridges to Independence
Section 1 : Guidance Document
Guidance Document
Double click on the yellow Bridges Project logo on the left to open
up guidance on using Bridges to Independence.
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© Bridges Project SC277102, 2007
Bridges to Independence
Section 2: Toolkit
The Toolkit contains all the listings of skills, sample checklists and practice forms required
to use the system.
Double clicking on one of the boxes containing a Bridges Project logo will open a word
document containing the full skill template. If you wish to make any changes once you
have opened one of the templates, you can save a copy of the document to another
location (ie onto your computer) by using SAVE AS this will mean that the original in the
Word document will remain unchanged.
2.1 Listings of the skills, attributes and knowledge
required for independence
Below are the four categories of skills, attributes and knowledge required for
independence.
Double click one of the boxes containing a Bridges Project logo below to view the full
listings of skills:
Confident Individual
The general attributes for self-confidence which have been
identified by the Scottish Executive are:
 self-respect
 a sense of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing
 secure values and beliefs
 ambition
The general skills which have been identified are that the young
person is able to:
 relate to others and manage themselves
 be self-aware
 assess risk and make informed decisions
 live as independently as they can
 pursue a healthy and active lifestyle
 develop and communicate their own beliefs and view of
the world
 achieve success in different areas of activity
Responsible Adult and Citizen
The general attributes are listed as follows:
 respect for others
 commitment to participate responsibly in political, social
and cultural life
The general skills are that the young person is able to:
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Bridges to Independence





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make informed choices and decisions
live as independently as they can
become responsible householders and members of the
community
pursue a healthy and active lifestyle
develop and communicate their own beliefs and view of
the world
achieve success in different areas of activity
Successful Learner
The general attributes for becoming a successful learner are:
 enthusiasm and motivation for learning
 determination to reach high standards of
achievement
 openness to new thinking and ideas
The general skills required are the ability to:
 use literacy, communication and numeracy skills
 use technology for learning
 think creatively and independently
 learn independently and as part of a group
 make reasoned evaluations
 link and apply different kinds of learning in new
situations
Effective Contributor
The general attributes for an effective contributor are:
 an enterprising attitude
 resilience
 self-reliance
The general skills required are the ability to:
 communicate in different ways and in different
settings
 work in partnership and in teams
 take the initiative and lead
 apply critical thinking in new contexts
 create and develop
 solve problems
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© Bridges Project SC277102, 2007