Setting goals

Age range: 11-14, 14-16, 16-19

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Contents
Page Content and activities

03 Key learning outcomes

03 Resources

Time

04 Activity steps

07 Student Sheet 1.1: Simple steps for setting goals 30-40 mins

Student Sheet 1.2: How the right attitude can help you
08
achieve your goals

Remember that you can refer to the guiding principles for establishing a safe learning environment in the Appendix
section of the LifeSkills content guide. This includes suggestions for signposting students to further support. The
content guide can be downloaded at: barclayslifeskills.com/educators

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Time needed: 30-40 minutes

Key learning outcomes

By the end of the activity students will be able to:
• Identify the smaller steps and strategies they need to take to work towards a larger goal
• Explain what the SMART acronym stands for and how this strategy can be used to make
goals attainable
• Describe how developing the right attitude can help reach goals

Resources
The resources needed for this lesson are:
• Student Sheet 1.1: Simple steps for setting goals
• Student Sheet 1.2: How the right attitude can help you achieve your goals
• Setting goals PDF Presentation Slides

Optional: The Skills Builder Framework provides measurable steps for eight essential
skills and can be used in combination with this lesson to support your students’ progress.

Skills Builder also offer a student Self-Assessment Tool, which helps learners to reflect
on their own skill strengths and areas for development. This and other resources can
be accessed on the Skills Builder Hub (skillsbuilder.org/hub).

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Activity steps
1. The difference between goals and targets
Note that the icons in
these margins are not • Show PDF Presentation Slide 1.1 and discuss how setting goals and planning how to
click-able. achieve them helps us to aim high at school, at home and at work. A goal, aim, or end
result is something that can be brought about with a combination of motivation, effort
and effective planning, also known as strategies
PDF PDF • Ask students to identify aspirations for things they would like to have or achieve in the
future. Break this down into what they would like to achieve this year, by the time they leave
Slide 1.1 Slide 1.2
school and in 5 years’ time. Keep the discussion broad for now, but explain that some goals
might be achievable soon, like taking exams, and others maybe further away, like starting
a career, but there are strategies that can be used to make all goals more achievable
Sheet 1.1 • Using the suggested aspirations, invite students to identify what they need to do in order
to achieve any goal they may have set themselves in terms of their school/future work
aspirations or their hobbies and interests. This can be in the form of a mind map if being
done on an individual basis or as a graffiti wall if being done as a group activity. This
activity provides an opportunity to discuss the difference between a final goal and the
targets or strategies needed to reach it and also establishes what the students’ starting
point is in terms of their understanding
• Explore in more detail the definition of a target: a smaller step or objective on which you
can focus to help you achieve your goal. Setting targets helps by breaking down the
actions required into achievable steps. There may be several targets to achieve at different
stages on the way
• Some goals may be vague or broad to start with, so asking questions can help make it
clearer and identify the smaller steps needed along the way. In pairs invite one student
to share a goal that they are comfortable sharing with a peer partner. Remind the class
that you are not asking them to share goals connected to their personal life, only to their
school/future work aspirations or their hobbies and interests. Read through the below
example so that students understand the kinds of questions to pose in order to help their
partner identify the steps they need to take towards achieving their goal, e.g.
Goal: ‘I want to be a chef one day.’
Questions: ‘What sort of restaurant do you want work in? What skills would you need to
achieve this goal? Who or what could help you get there? What could get in the way?
How could you overcome any challenges?
• Talk through PDF Presentation Slide 1.2 which uses the example above to demonstrate
how the journey to achieve it could be mapped out using the flowchart. Hand out Student
Sheet 1.1 and in their pairs, students should plot the smaller steps needed to achieve their
main goal and come up with at least three smaller targets. For example,
Goal: ‘I want to be a chef one day.’
Skills, strategies and targets: practise cooking and food technology skills, work towards
related qualifications, get relevant work experience, seek advice from someone who works
in a restaurant, build financial confidence, research the market
For more inspiration, ask students to look at ‘5 motivational techniques to help you
achieve your goals’ (barclayslifeskills.com/motivation)
After a few minutes, discuss with students why goal setting and planning is important.
What has it helped them realise about their goal? How can breaking a goal down into
smaller targets help them? Is it enough to just set the goals and targets?

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PDF
2. Introducing SMART targets
Slide 1.3 Sheet 1.1 • Explain to students that the more specific and challenging a goal is, the more likely it is
that people will work to achieve it. This is why SMART targets can be very powerful
• Talk the students through what SMART stands for:
– Specific
– Measurable
– Achievable
– Result-focused
– Time-bound
• Use PDF Presentation Slide 1.3 to demonstrate an example of how SMART targets can be
set to help achieve the goal of improving the distance someone can run
Specific – I want to be able to run 5km without stopping in under 30 minutes
Measureable – I will run on a measured running track or record the distance with
an app to ensure it is 5km
Achievable – I can already run short distances of about 3km at a moderate pace,
so 5km isn’t too much more
Result-focused – I will gradually build up my distance by 500m per week
Time-bound – I will achieve this within one month
• Ask students to look back at Student Sheet 1.1 with a partner, and adjust their targets so
that they reflect the SMART approach

PDF
3. The mindset to achieve goals
Slide 1.4 Sheet 1.2 • Make sure students recognise that the SMART process can help them turn their
aspirations into achievable goals. But, they will also need the right attitude. Even the best
planned journey can face challenges and they’ll need to be resilient, think positively and be
able to solve problems along the way
• Revisit the mind map or graffiti wall they started at the beginning of the lesson. Ask them
to now add in what they feel they need to include in order to achieve their goal now that
they have learned about SMART targets and positive mindsets. Invite them to share their
learning with a peer working partner. PDF Presentation Slide 1.4 shows an example of how
they can complete this if needed. You may wish to suggest some additional scenarios to
any students who can’t think of their own goals
• These attributes are all features of a growth mindset. Use Student Sheet 1.2 to
demonstrate to students how they can apply this mindset to setting goals. Ask them to
use the template to create an action plan which applies this mindset to a goal of their own.
PDF Presentation Slide 1.4 shows an example of how they can complete this if needed

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Taking this activity further

• Encourage students to consider additional goals related to their school work or
career ambitions using the SMART process. If students are keen to do this you could
consider introducing a regular check in point for them at the beginning of some of the
other LifeSkills lessons to help them reflect on their progress and to celebrate their
achievements where appropriate with their peers
• Goal setting is an important step when making the transition from education
to employment and succeeding in the world of work. If your students are ready
to explore this further, why not try the ‘Journey to your career’ lesson (11-14, 14-
16) (barclayslifeskills.com/careerjourney) or ‘Exploring personal strengths for
employment’ lesson (11-14, 14-16) (barclayslifeskills.com/exploringstrengths)
• Educators can also take a look at the ‘Growth mindset toolkit’ (11-19)
(barclayslifeskills.com/growthmindset) and more lessons, activities and inspiration to
help students develop the attitudes and the core transferable skills they need adapt to
the changing world of work (barclayslifeskills.com/transferableskills)

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Simple steps for setting goals Student Sheet 1.1

My goal

Target Target

Action Action Action Action

Skills Skills Skills Skills

Power up your targets by making them SMART

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Result-focused

Time-bound

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How the right attitude can help you achieve your goals Student Sheet 1.2

Achieving goals isn’t just about having the right skills or experience. You also need the right attitude, so you can be resilient,
think positively and be able to solve problems along the way.

Use the table to set some targets that will help you develop the attitude to achieve your goal.

What is your goal?

Developing a What will this help

How can I do it? Who can help me?
growth mindset me achieve?

1. Ask for and act upon

feedback about my
performance

2. Push myself to be the

best I can be

3. Welcome mistakes as
learning experiences,
and be resilient when
things don’t go my way

4. Practice my skills and

knowledge and always
look for ways to improve

5. Reward myself for my

hard work and effort,
looking back at how I
have improved instead of
comparing performance
with other people

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