Please see below a letter sent out today about an update on summer grades.

Friday 26th March 2021

Parents will have seen some correspondence from me this week regarding our Teachers Assessed Grades (TAGs) along with a presentation, and also a letter from Rebecca Anderson, regarding Drug Awareness.  If you require a further copy of either of these letters or the presentation, please do contact my PA, Hanna Boddy on hboddy@salisbury6cac.uk 

With the Easter Holidays fast approaching, we are as busy as ever at S6C and here are some exciting news stories this week. 

Best wishes,

Louise

Vice Principal

Careers Update – Rosie Roberts, Student Liaison Officer and Careers Lead

UCAS Fair 

Last week students had a Life Skills session with their tutors on researching university in order to prepare for the virtual UCAS Fair which all Year 12s had the opportunity to attend this week.

The virtual UCAS Fair gave students the opportunity to speak live to universities and employers from across the country. This is a great starting point for students to begin their research into higher education options and we would now encourage students to book Open Days for the universities they’re interested in.

The day also had a series of live webinars covering topics such as “How to start researching what’s right for you”, “Student finance explained”, “How to land your dream apprenticeship” and “Simple steps of applying to uni”. 

Work Experience

Next week Year 12 students will be exploring Virtual Work Experience opportunities with their tutors in Life Skills. They will register with Speakers for School, an online platform for virtual work experience placements and hear from a local employer, Jaime Williamson from DSTL, on tips for successfully applying for virtual work experience placements and what activities a virtual work placement could involve.

All students are tasked with sourcing and participating in the equivalent of three day’s meaningful employer engagement (MEE, otherwise known as work experience) before the end of the Autumn term in the second year. This will allow students to undertake and evidence experience of work in an area relevant to their career aspirations or, if students are undecided on their career goal, a placement that will support them in exploring their progression options.

We will support students to source virtual work experience placements this year by sharing opportunities students can apply for in the Google Information Classroom.

Speakers for Schools does require parental permission for the College to submit information on behalf of the student so please do respond to emails requesting your permission to confirm your young person’s virtual work experience application.

Career Pilot 

After Easter, students will have an introduction to using Career Pilot to research all careers options and will complete the Pathway Planner which is an online programme to review how confident students feel about researching their next steps following College.

Although our students are young adults and making important decisions for themselves about their future, we appreciate the support and guidance you as parents give your young people. You may find it helpful to look at the information and links we have on the careers page on our website https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/students/careers/ when discussing careers options with your young person. Here you will find information on labour market information and links to information on university, apprenticeships and employment options. Students can access all of the materials used in the careers education programme through the Google Information Classroom and they may wish to log in to the Classroom with you to enable you to view these resources too.

Life Skills Update –  Rebecca Anderson, Pastoral Lead

S6C teachers and tutors are committed to constantly improving our pastoral care and our ability to equip students with all they need to move forward as well informed, confident, empowered citizens and young adults. Our Pastoral Meetings for Tutors have previously covered training on careers and next steps signposting, and how we can best support our LGBTQ+ student community, with a focus on supporting non-binary/gender queer/trans students.

Thursday’s collaborative training was on cultural capital, making connections, and closing the gaps – it was inspiring to hear the tutor team excitedly sharing ideas on how we can ensure that every single student (whatever their background, prior knowledge or prior performance) can access the information, skills, wider knowledge, resilience, resources, habits and conduct to be able to grow as individuals.

For this to be successful, life skills are integrated beyond tutor time and into lessons, clubs, and daily interactions – and we need to find creative ways of getting students to see the relevance of these skills, choosing to incorporate them into what they already know about the world and themselves.

We are always keen to hear from parents and community members who feel they may have something to add to our Life Skills programme across tutor time, subjects, and our speaker programme. Please contact Rebecca Anderson, pastoral lead, with your ideas, suggestions, or offers of input. 

Creative Faculty Update – Richard Eno, Faculty Lead for Creative 

Media

This week Media students have been working on a Sound for Film unit and student Sam Harrison has been making the sound components to a scene from Jurassic Park! This has included re-recording all the dialogue from the film with actors from S6C as well as rerecording the famous theme tune using Logic Pro. Here’s a screenshot from the scene

Art

Year 12 Art are currently making individual pieces of mix media /textile in response to ‘Connecting again’. All pieces will contain a message about how they felt covid and lockdown affected their identity. The pieces will come together as one hanging/ exhibition in the art room during our session this Friday. 

Year 12 photographers are now working on organising a possible exhibition of works produced to date. They are exploring ideas and spaces whether online or on site, out of site… Etc. They are also researching what a curator ‘s role is. A live q & a with a curator is being organised (dates to be confirmed) 

Humanities Faculty Update – Sally Tye, Faculty Lead for Humanities

Making the classroom real, our BTEC Business students have the opportunity to work with Chris Woodgate CEO of Goodwood.

Chris Woodgate, the Goodwood CEO  joined the Year 12 BTEC Business class to give an overview of the Goodwood Estate, the Group that runs the internationally renowned Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival and has a number of other hospitality businesses including a hotel, and a private member’s club alongside traditional Estate activities such as Goodwood Home Farm – one of the UK’s largest downland organic farms.

Providing two workshops, he initially focussed on the core values of the business, the organisational structure of the business, its unique ownership model, the importance of developing your staff and using customer perception to refocus the business.

In the second week Chris considered the impact of the pandemic on the Goodwood Estate , providing a real life commentary on how the estate has met the significant financial challenges they have faced, developed a strategy to stabilize the business  financially and provided a pathway forward for it to grow again.

For our business students to experience working with a CEO of one of the top hospitality and events organisations in the UK was a huge opportunity for them to develop their skills and knowledge beyond what is taught in the classroom. Chris will be joining us again in the new college year to work with our students on developing their leadership potential.

STEM Faculty Update – Kirsty White, Faculty Lead for STEM 

Six of our students recently completed a virtual work experience opportunity with Great Western Hospitals. The process was extremely competitive and students enjoyed the opportunity to explore various aspects of the NHS through a series of online lectures, as well as interactive activities such as quizzes and writing personal statements. They have provided their individual reflections on their experiences. As a college, we are very proud of how they conducted themselves throughout the experience and are grateful to GWH for awarding so many places to our students.

Hannah Coleman (Y13): “The whole programme gave me a brilliant insight into what a career might look like with the NHS, as webinars were hosted for each of the occupations covered, with professionals talking about their job role, and answering a wide variety of questions during Q&A sessions. The work experience really allowed me to gain an understanding of what it means to have a career in the NHS, with inspirational words from professionals, tasks labelling parts of an ultrasound and much more. The experience as a whole was brilliant, and I enjoyed every part of it! I really feel more confident now regarding how to work towards a career with the NHS, and and truly excited for what the future may hold! So a big thank you to Springpod, the NHS and Great Western Hospitals for this brilliant experience, which I would certainly recommend to anyone else interested in a career with the NHS.”

Isabelle Richardson (Y13): “The work experience gave me the opportunity to gain much needed experience for my Health and Social Care coursework while still remaining flexible to work around college and a job, which I think is something unique to the GWH virtual work experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the two weeks spent enriching my knowledge of what it means to work for the NHS, not just job roles available but the core values at the heart of the work. This helped me specifically as I could use this not just in my future work, but when going off to university and in the interviewing process as it links perfectly with the values instilled in my course which they ask a lot about in interviews. The GWH work experience enabled me to talk well on the subject. In my opinion, the most interesting part of the experience was learning about clinical psychology as it is fascinating to hear from the psychologists firsthand how they work, what other professionals they work alongside, how they gained their qualifications and what they find challenging about their work.”

Francesca Lloyd (Y13): “The great western work experience has allowed me to gain an insight into the daily roles of many different healthcare careers. Due to current situations being able to access virtual experience has been really useful for university applications and interviews. It has also given me the confidence that I know I have chosen the right career path to pursue.”

Ella McGrail(Y12): “I think that taking part in GWH’s work experience has allowed me to gain more of an insight into healthcare and different professions in it. I gained awareness of the many roles within the NHS and how they differ from each other. I particularly enjoyed the midwifery and clinical psychology talks as I thought they were really interesting. I liked that we were able to talk to healthcare professionals to gain a valuable look into what their day-to-day working life’s are like. I have also gained knowledge on what qualifications and values I may need to undertake a career in healthcare. I think it was useful that even though the work experience was online, it was extremely interactive, and we were able to ask questions and gain feedback on any activity we completed.  I think partaking in this work experience will be beneficial for me in the future as I want to go into healthcare- it has helped me understand more about working within the industry and how to stand out from others.”

Megan Cowdrey(Y12): “I really enjoyed the virtual work experience. I really enjoyed learning about a range of different healthcare professions and how their job can make a difference to people’s lives. It was also really interesting to hear from various people in healthcare who were passionate about their job.  From hearing what their job is like day to day to what led them to a career in healthcare. In particular, I loved learning about careers in psychology and also listening to psychologists about their career and what it entails. This also confirmed for me that I want to study psychology further and gave suggestions how to get into this field. The work experience also gave me greater knowledge that will be useful for University, as I now have a better understanding of the skills required to be a psychologist, such as communication, empathy and problem solving.  As well as knowledge of most of the healthcare professions that work alongside psychologists.”

Imogen Primmer (Y12): “The work experience helped me gain a lot more knowledge in the different roles within the NHS. I enjoyed how you could complete the activities in your own time, so it can work around your college timetable. The webinars were also recorded so if you were unable to attend, you can watch it afterwards. I  found the webinars really interesting and useful as there was one for each subtitle listed as part of the work experience. This meant that you were able to learn from people who actually work for the NHS what their job is about and we had opportunities to ask them questions at the end of the webinar. It has benefited me as I now know what I would like to do in the future and how to get there by either applying to university or doing a degree apprenticeship.”

Enrichment – Dr Sally Tye, Lead for Baking Club

Baking club took on the challenge of an enriched dough with a double prove this week, making hot cross buns – great efforts from everyone.

Maddy Sheely’s (left) and Rebecca and Megan Cowdrey’s (right)

Friday 19th March 2021

College is feeling rather normal again, despite seeing all staff and students wearing face coverings in communal areas and classrooms.  It is not inhibiting communications between friends or discussions in classrooms,  and  students  are showing a really strong sense of responsibility and duty to themselves and each other. There is a general feeling that the whole community is  more settled and we hope that many students and staff that were anxious about returning are feeling much more comfortable.  Tutors along with Rebecca are still here to actively listen and support any of our young people that need a listening ear.  

I have visited many classes this week and it is wonderful to see and hear  learning in action.  Nicola Bull, our Director of Education in the Trust has also been in college visiting classes and welcoming the students back. Many students  are showing a high level of independence and are using time wisely and effectively in their self directed study periods to improve their learning.  It is not uncommon to see students busy working on tasks in groups around the college, or working in one  of the IT suites or art room completing media , photography or art tasks expressing their creativity. 

Most students should now have received their home lateral flow tests and are completing these successfully. It is important that once they register their result with the NHS then they also inform the college in this form.  If you have any concerns about this then please contact office@salisbury6c.ac.uk

Next week a number of detailed communications will be sent home to explain the processes the college will be taking for the summer Teacher Assessed Grades.  I will be writing to you to provide clarity on our overall approach of what assessment evidence will be included and how we will be taking a very positive and supportive approach to ensure well being is at the heart of our approach in making sure students can fulfill their potential. 

Best wishes,

Louise

Vice Principal

Careers Update – Rosie Roberts, Student Liaison Officer and Careers Lead

This week Year 12s had a live online lesson and were asked to register for the main UCAS fair next week as we launch the next section of careers planning for university, apprenticeships and employment.  All Year 12 students will be attending the UCAS Fair on either, Tuesday 23rd March or Wednesday 24th March next week from 10am-6pm. Students  will be informed next week which day is planned for them. 

The UCAS Fair is a chance for students to;

• explore over 100 UK universities
• get inspiration and explore different career opportunities
• understand if an apprenticeship is right for them
• take part in live sessions and get their questions answered by the experts
• get practical help on personal statements, accommodation, student loans, and more

Students will then use their Careers Passport to record their findings from the fair and help make an informed decision about their futures. 

All students also need to register for Career Pilot so they can complete their pathway planner after Easter. We will also be helping students  arrange work experience. It is early days and they don’t need to worry if they don’t know what they want to do – the programme is designed to offer lots of support as they plan their next steps and find a path that suits their interests, skills, talents and ambitions.

Creative Faculty Update – Richard Eno, Faculty Lead for Creative 

The S6C Art Department presented at the Roche Court ARTiculation Prize regional heat last week with student Freya King presenting an exceptional  piece on silent film director, Georges Melies. Whilst Freya did not get selected to the national heat we are incredibly proud of the work she put in for this. It’s been a very successful experience for all involved so we are keen to repeat it next year. 

Humanities Faculty Update – Sally Tye, Faculty Lead for Humanities

BTEC Business Achieve Top Grades, despite the challenge of a Pandemic!

The BTEC Business Level 3 National Extended Diploma received an outstanding set of results for the external examination series in early January. Everyone taking the examination achieved a Merit, with over half receiving a Distinction grade.

The first week of January was probably the most difficult and challenging of the whole pandemic. With the government closing colleges  and providing no clear message about the sitting of external examinations in January, the BTEC Business students carried on learning and preparing.  Typical of an S6C student, they were resilient and focussed, and coped with all the restrictions in place to keep them safe, including social distancing, rapid testing, as well as the pressure of their first external examination.

As our first cohort of BTEC Business Extended Diploma students, we are very proud of the journey they have taken, their hugely positive approach to college life, the character they have shown over the last 18 months and determination to be the very best they can be. 

Our BTEC Business has established itself as a successful pathway to study vocational degrees at University, with 13 of our 14 students having been offered a University place, including Durham, Exeter, Cardiff and Royal Holloway. They are pursuing a variety of courses, including Law, Festival Management, Banking and Finance, Financial Services, International Business as well as Business Management. Well done to all the students and Steve Price and Catherine Pennington for the outstanding support they have provided! 

History 

Four History students attended the first stage of the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz project’ this week, with an introduction seminar. Angus Archer noted that although he thought he ‘knew’ about the holocaust he learnt so much; ‘like that the extermination and concentration camps are different and that people were in ghettos before the camps‘. Sophie Marshall said how interesting it was ‘to see how other people viewed the Holocaust with the words they associated with it’. On Sunday they will be participating in a virtual tour of Auschwitz 1 and 2.

Catherine Pennington A Level Business Teacher S6C

cpennington@salisbury6c.ac.uk

Catherine Pennington, A Level Business Teacher at S6C tried out Generative Learning after seeing Tom Sherington’s talk for The Magna Learning Partnership on 17th March 2021.  She is a big fan of Immersion Learning and Experiential Learning herself and often asks her Business learners  “How do you Learn?”  Many of them reply “Not sure” “No idea” or simply “I’ve never been asked that before” Through experimentation and feedback she has discovered most of her students learn from real Business owners telling their stories with responses to questions based on the A Level syllabus.  Furthermore, if generative learning is a learning theory that involves actively integrating new ideas with what the learner already knows then generative teaching is how she intends to fulfill her students requirements to learn. 

In a nutshell, her students have existing knowledge of social media, online shopping, advertising reach through online views, digital networking and communication; apply that to real businesses that are looking to increase their bottom line, expand and trade on a  glocalised platform then surely there is a recipe for Success, Aspiration and Excellence for Business students at S6C as they meet People in Business this week in Google meetings.

Megan BromleyBusiness Owner Beauty Full Time Marlborough – Thank you for our college discount code that goes to followers of Megan in the S6C community. https://beautyfulltime.co.uk/

Catherine and S6C Business students would like to thank Megan Bromley and husband Pat from Beauty Full Time in Marlborough and Elizabeth Jones MC Pod.DPodM of Total Foot Health of Salisbury for giving us some of their time to talk to students about their businesses in exchange for ideas on how to explore a greater digital presence and engage a younger audience with ideas relevant to them. 

We thoroughly enjoyed having you and we hope you spread the word to young people who would like to learn about business at S6C via a combination of the Real Deal and scope for limitless Generative Learning.  

Elizabeth Jones Clinical Director Total Foot Health Salisbury – https://totalfoothealth.co.uk/meet-the-team/

Comments from the students :-

“Megan’s talk was personal and easy to understand – Thank you”

“Megan, It was interesting to hear about how you got started and about the qualifications you got to get there”

“Elizabeth – I liked how you explained about Podiatry, your speciality”

“Elizabeth – I learnt about word of mouth Marketing and training staff”

“Megan does giveaways on Instagram” Yay.

STEM Faculty Update – Kirsty White, Faculty Lead for STEM 

Last week, we celebrated British Science Week within college. The theme this year was ‘innovation’ and the celebrations ran from the 5th-14th March. The theme certainly fits the narrative over the last year and the innovation behind the vaccine roll-out! In Psychology, Year 13 students were asked to look at how video games can be used to benefit mental health (we are currently studying addiction). Students looked at how video games have been used to create positive mental health in people. Some students also took my challenge of other innovative methods in Psychology, such as: Botox being used in depression; the psychological benefits of social media and the innovative use of psychological methods such as brain scans in Sport Psychology. In Biology, Nicky’s students looked at innovative uses of stem cell research as part of their self-directed study. Some groups focused on the potential use of stem cells to repair nervous system damage and to restore function that might have been lost due to this damage. Other groups focused on how stem cells can be used to treat cartilage injuries and as part of research and treatment for diabetes. We hope that everyone is able to see how science has contributed to the world around them and we encourage our students to take an active role in seeking this information out (and potentially contributing to it in the future!).”

The Department for Education has asked S6C to keep our own records of test results for staff and students.  A google form will be shared on the google classroom for students to record the result, it is designed to be simple and quick . All results need to be reported to the college so that we can determine what steps may need to be taken . A copy of the form can be found here. Student Home LFT Results Form

Please see below a letter that was sent out to all parents today with an update on the summer grades.

MLP Qualifications Update

Friday 12th March 2021

Dear Parents and Carers

Lateral Flow Device Testing 

I am writing to provide you with the information about the next steps and processes required to be able to successfully complete the LFD tests at home.  This is so important to maintain safety in our community and students are gaining confidence in the swabbing process.  

Testing at S6C and at home

Despite some anticipated nerves about taking a lateral flow test, students in both year groups have taken it in their stride and have dealt with the process calmly and with maturity. The process has been led by support staff and volunteers from Wiltshire Council, and more details are explained in the weekly college update. 

By Tuesday 16th March, the majority of students will have completed their 3 lateral  flow tests, which is the recommended expectation before students are issued with test kits to complete at home. They are only licensed  for students that have had adequate trained supervision, so it is important that all students inform us if they have missed a test opportunity so that we can reschedule this promptly and issue their tests. Year 13 students will receive them on Monday after their third test and Year 12 students will receive them on Tuesday.

Students will be provided with an information guide with their test kit, but an electronic copy of this information is attached here: 

Self Testing Instructions

Students and staff are asked to complete 2 tests each week thereafter, 3 to 5 days apart.  We would recommend that the first test is taken 3 – 5 days after their third test in college. For many students a test in the evening may be more manageable and less time pressured than early morning before college.   We have not yet received a timescale of how many weeks we are asked to undertake the tests, so we will update you when we know. 

When to have a confirmatory PCR test

The Department for Education  has confirmed to  schools and colleges that when secondary aged students receive a positive LFD test at an Asymptomatic Test Site set up such as at S6C, then the student and other members of their household must self-isolate. A confirmatory PCR test is not advised.

When secondary-aged students begin to test themselves from home, a positive LFD result should then be followed by a confirmatory PCR test. If the student then tests negative on the PCR test, this will override the test they took at home, and they will be able to return to college.

The DfE state that this is because LFD tests taken on test sites have extremely low rates of false positives, because these tests are done in a controlled environment and trained staff read the results.

Recording results

It is important that all students record their results in the final step of the process on the NHS site either using their phone or computer. This is explained in the booklet and is a quick and straightforward process.  Not only does this allow large data sets to be analysed by the scientific community to review rates in the local area, but it also  provides an accurate usage count  for the next distribution of test kits arriving on site for staff and students. 

The Department for Education  has also  asked S6C to keep our own records of test results for staff and students.  A google form will be shared on the google classroom for students to record the result, it is designed to be simple and quick . All results need to be reported to the college so that we can determine what steps we may need to be taken . A copy of the form can be found here. Student Home LFT Results Form

Yours faithfully, 

Louise Henderson 

Vice Principal

Friday 12th March 2021

It has been a delight  to have students back on site, great to hear their laughter and chatter, and seeing  students exchange birthday gifts after missing key celebrations with their friends including 18th birthdays. Students are feeding back that they are appreciating the time to take masks off in extended breaks and they seem genuinely pleased to be learning again and interacting with everyone.  The college community feels safe but vibrant and we couldn’t feel prouder. 

Further communication will be sent to students and parents today to update about our Lateral Flow Device Test process and the preparations for home testing. A letter will also be communicated to provide our guiding principles of the Teacher Assessed Grades and how as an academy of Magna Learning Partnership we are planning for a unified approach across the Trust. The finer detail will be shared with students and parents later next week in a follow up letter.   

Best wishes, 

Louise

Vice Principal

Lateral Flow Device Testing – Kathryn Clarkson, Business Manager

This week saw the return of the students to the college and with it,  the task of testing all the students 3 times,  3 – 5 days apart began.   The S6C team have set up testing in the Theatre and Dance studio and,  so far,  the testing has gone extremely smoothly.  This Herculean task could not have been completed without the support of the wider Salisbury Community;  thanks must go to Winterslow Parish Council for loaning us the polling booths so swabbing can be done in privacy, the MLP Central Finance and Estates Team for pitching in with Volunteers, Wiltshire Council Staff and Volunteers for helping with swabbing and processing and the S6C Support Staff for running the whole thing so efficiently.  Finally,  however,  the biggest  thank you needs to go to the students who have been just brilliant and patient during the testing.  It has been so lovely to get feedback from volunteers who have never been to the college before; ‘ everything ran smoothly and the students were fantastic’ and  ‘ Thank you to everyone for having me today, it was actually a really enjoyable morning and the staff and students were all very kind and helpful. ‘    Testing continues into next week and,  on completion of the third test,  students will be issued with home kits for further twice weekly testing. 

National Careers Week – Rosie Roberts, Careers Lead

S6C marked National Careers Week 1-6 March 2021 by looking at how students’ current study relates to the world of work. Teachers were able to share information on careers that relate to their subject, enabling students to look at what the jobs involve and different routes into that career.  Students were provided with links to virtual work experience opportunities, as well as other valuable career resources. 

Year 12 student Ella said, “Careers Week has given me an insight into clinical psychology and allowed me to gain an understanding of what values and qualifications I might need to undertake that role. I have had the opportunity to look further into the next steps I may need to take if I were interested in a path in clinical psychology. I also found it useful that careers week linked to our current topic in psychology as we were looking into the explanation and treatment of depression.”

Year 12 student Jess said, “During careers week in psychology, we focused on the role of a Clinical Psychologist. The application of the work we are currently doing to major job roles really provided me with more of an incentive to continue with my hard work in Psychology, and all of my A-Levels, due to the fact I can become successful and gain a high status job. I was not aware of the amount of successful jobs that can come from further studies of Psychology, the college is extremely helpful when it comes to considering our future, not just throughout careers week! They help to give the work we do, more of a purpose. Making us aware that we can do so much with the courses we are currently doing.”

International Women’s Day – Rosie Roberts

On Monday 8 March, S6C welcomed Vicky Burvill, Senior Climate Officer at Wiltshire Council to speak to our students through Google Meet. 

Vicky shared with us her career journey including her background in environmental science and sustainable planning. She also informed students about what she’s doing to support environmental issues in our local area and how our students can get involved – she shared a link to a public consultation for interested students to respond to.

Students were then able to ask Vicky questions about her career journey as a female working in environmental organisations and also about environmental issues – particularly issues that affect Salisbury and the local area. Vicky answered questions such as, “what do you hope to achieve in the future and are there any projects you would like to work on?” and, “The council are planning on mitigating against climate change. What actions are in place for a temperature rise?”

Business teacher, Catherine Pennington said, “I thought it was great because so much of the sustainability overlaps with the Business and A Level syllabus. It was also informative for careers advice for the students.”

Baking Club Update – Sally Tye, Faculty Lead for Humanities

We are currently still running a weekly online enrichment schedule for the remainder of term 4  and one of those is Baking Club – this week Sally Tye taught the students to cook a giant cookie in a slow cooker.  Here is a photo of the wonderful result from Maggie Shelley in year 12:

Creative Faculty Update – Rich Eno, Faculty Lead for Creative

Our internal heat for the ARTiculation Prize happened last week and we are proud to announce that Freya King won with her talk and presentation on the silent films of Georges Méliès! Richard Eno, Head of Creative, said that, “Freya gave an impassioned talk about the work of the famed director and artist Méliès but more than that, it was poetic, full of empathy and inspiring.” Freya will now to go the next heat, which is held at Roche Court. The link is here:  https://www.articulation.org.uk/

Friday 5th March 2021

Our planning has been finalised for the return of our students next week and staff are  very excited to see our wonderful students in class. Our risk assessment has been updated and a new version is available on the website under our Statutory  Information.

All staff have been working on site for the last few days and predominantly teaching again from their classrooms.  Staff have completed their lateral flow tests this week and  we have welcomed some students back today to have their tests.  Most students should have received their allocated appointment time to arrive in college on Monday or Tuesday. If this is not the case, please do email office@salisbury6c.ac.uk and we will address this quickly. 

We know that most students are really looking forward to returning and establishing good routines again in both their learning and  social interactions in the community. For others it may feel quite an anxious time, but I want to reassure all students that we are here to support their return and help with concerns they have. 

I think parents/carers will agree that our staff have been exceptional in their care and support through lockdown and I would like to publicly thank them for not only working to keep college routines as normal as possible,  but also the time they have selflessly given to our young people that have needed extra support and care. I’m incredibly proud of our team.  

If your family routine is similar to mine, it will be refreshing to discuss on the weekend what the plans are for the week ahead, and for us to have exciting news to share. 

Best regards,

Louise

Vice Principal

Life Skills Programme – Rebecca Anderson, Pastoral Lead

This week, tutors met online with all students for a live session to prepare them for return to college – including information on testing, lessons next week, and wellbeing.

We have updated the Covid-19 section on Information Classroom with various representations of the roadmap so that everyone knows exactly what they can do when, and the rationale behind this.

With the easing of lockdown on the horizon (a timely reminder to all of us that most restrictions are still firmly in place, and must remain so until safe) we felt it timely to share details for the excellent Frank website. Our message to students is that drug use is not safe, and therefore, risks can never be fully managed. However, rather than closing the topic down, we would like students to be well informed and actively engaged in educating themselves. This website includes very level headed, fact based information on drug use. They also offer a free 24/7 anonymous helpline for young people, friends, parents/carers and can answer questions and concerns. https://www.talktofrank.com/

Pastoral Update

We have shared a link to a free online guided self help programme to help manage anxiety – it is open access and so may be of use for parents/carers – it is not only young people who sometimes find anxiety overwhelming. If students would like help working through the self help material, then they can contact the Pastoral Lead or their tutor. https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/mental-health/mental-health-self-help-guides/anxiety-self-help-guide

Anxiety self-help guide

www.nhsinform.scot

Humanities Faculty Update – Sally Tye, Faculty Lead for Humanities

Over the past 6 years we have participated in an incredible project which is hugely important to the development of our young people- The ‘lessons from Auschwitz’ project. Over the years it has provided an opportunity for a number of our staff and students to not only hear direct testimony from a holocaust survivor but also visit the camps in Poland. This year unfortunately students will not be able to travel to Poland but 4 students will be taking part in the project through a series of seminars. This will be the last generation to hear about the holocaust from those who lived through it – an incredible experience for our young people. As part of the project they will have a responsibility to educate others about what they have learnt in the hope that such tragic events will never be repeated. Look out for their ‘next steps’ project in the coming weeks!

STEM Faculty Update – Kirsty White, Faculty Lead for STEM 

Congratulations to our students who have been awarded a place with Great Western Hospitals for online work experience. They will mainly be focusing on Clinical Psychology, healthcare, nursing and midwifery. The placements were extremely competitive so a huge well done to these students for achieving a place! The students are: Hannah Coleman, Isabelle Richardson, Francesca Lloyd, Megan Cowdrey, Ella McGrail and Imogen Primmer. We look forward to hearing about their experiences and what they have gained from it. As part of National Careers Week, we are encouraging all of our students to start considering work experience – speak to your subject teachers if you need more guidance!

Creative Faculty Update – Rich Eno, Faculty Lead for Creative

Students in our Software Design and Development course are designing an application that S6C can use for future students to look up courses, then champion the best designs to take forward to the senior team and Student Union. In doing this, they are learning how to work in a team and utilise best practices and techniques for online collaboration, design and development that are used in large corporations such as Google, Apple and Microsoft.
Esports continues to attract new students to start their exciting new course in September 2021.  Staff are busy planning for students to learn many different skills to work in this expanding industry, such as marketing, coaching, nutrition, event management and starting a business. Students will also get the opportunity to take part in the British Esports Association UK wide tournaments.

Wednesday 3rd  March 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Lateral Flow Testing in College

To maintain social distancing on return to college, we have had to organise a staggered entry to college on both days. Students are required to complete their voluntary lateral flow tests before attending classes and the planning of schedules is currently being finalised. 

Appointments will be sent out to students using Google Chat messaging this week.  Year 13 students due to return on Monday 8th March, should receive their allocated appointment time for Monday by Wednesday afternoon. Year 12 students should receive their individual appointment times by Thursday afternoon for testing that will take place on their return on Tuesday 9th March. 

The consequence of this staggered start for Year 13 on Monday and Year 12 students on Tuesday, is that teaching and learning is going to be disrupted, with some students not invited on site until early afternoon.  The Faculty leaders are planning project based work  set in Google classroom to accommodate learning activities that can  be accessed by students either waiting at home or once in college.  Once a student has completed their LFT and has a negative result, they will be able to continue attending lessons for the remainder of the day.  The teacher will be present in lessons, to welcome students back, but the lesson will not be formally delivered on these days so that students do not feel disadvantaged if they arrive later in the day. 

Part of the delivery in the Life skills tutorial this Wednesday afternoon will be focused on  ensuring all students have registered on the NHS app and watching a walkthrough video of how the testing occurs at college, to make students aware of the process and to allow the opportunity to ask questions. 

If any student is showing symptoms of COVID 19 on the day of the test next week, they should not attend and you should book a PCR test and the household should self isolate. Please let us know as soon as possible if this is the case, as we will continue to track student absences from COVID.

If a student has tested positive for COVID 19 in the last 90 days, it is possible they could produce a positive result on the LFT test. The advice is that any student who is within 90 days of a positive result should not carry out a LFT test until 90 days have expired. We are happy to accommodate tests for students in this position but please note: if the result is positive then isolation guidelines must be followed. 

Nicky Miller or Rebecca Anderson will be making contact with a small group of students to offer a lateral flow test on Friday.  Parents / Carers and  students will be contacted individually if this is the case. 

The second and third lateral flow tests will be scheduled in college lesson time up until the 16th March. It is anticipated there will be less disruption to lessons and students will be able to complete their tests more efficiently.  We are planning to test Year 13 again on Thursday 11th and  Monday 15th March. Year 12 will have their additional tests on Friday 12th and Tuesday 16th March.  On these days,  students will come to college for their normal timetabled lessons.

Details about home testing kits will be shared with parents/ carers and students next week.  

Finally, if there are any changes to contact details, please can you inform the office immediately. It is really important that we can get hold of parents if we need to contact you urgently if a student has a positive test or they become unwell on site. 

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Yours faithfully.

Louise Henderson

Vice Principal

Friday 26th February 2021

Dear Parents and Carers,

Returning to College March 2021

We are delighted to be planning the safe return of all students and staff to college from the 8th March. Staff have been briefed and are excited to welcome students back and to begin a really important process of socialisation again for everyone, placing wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. The learning will come naturally after that. I would like to reiterate the messages sent by Sarah Busby in our MLP Newsletter earlier this week. We are not going to worry about gaps in learning. There will be some gaps and misconceptions and not all students will have coped with the demands of the work during lockdown but these things can be overcome in time. S6C staff are passionate about supporting every student to  build strong relationships and connections again, and find a positive working rhythm that all young people will feel is manageable and effective. 

Year 13 students will return to college on Monday 8th March.

Year 12 students will return to college on Tuesday 9th March. 

Students will be contacted individually next week to confirm when they are scheduled for their first  voluntary lateral flow test, but students should expect to arrive at college for their normal timetabled lessons on either the Monday or Tuesday. 

Personal Safety 

Students became very accustomed to the safety procedures we have in the building and these will continue on our return.   Our processes continue to be:

• On arrival to the building, including on the forecourt,  students will be required to  wear a face mask. They should use hand sanitiser  on entry.
• The one way system around the building is to be respected and used at all times by all members of the community. Signage has been refreshed for clarity.
• Hand sanitisers are on each floor of the building to be used and sani wipes are in classrooms for students to clean their hands. Hands should be washed before entering a classroom. Students are reminded of the combined importance of hands, face and space. 
• The lift is only to be used by members of the S6C community that have a medical reason. A lift pass can be agreed by Nicky Miller with confirmation from parents/carers where appropriate.
• Year group bubbles still apply and the allocated zones for Year 12 and 13 are still signposted for breakout spaces and the cafe area. For this term,  we have swapped the lower ground floor cafe area to be year 13 break out space and the ground floor for year 12.  All other spaces remain the same. 

Our important message that we will be reinforcing is that we expect all of our community to be  ‘socially distanced at all times where possible’. 

The government has made an exception to the ongoing strict lockdown so that young people can access the very clear benefits of onsite education as we enter phase 1 of moving out of lockdown. Students need to be vigilant and cautious even when they may have a negative lateral flow test – it is an indicator that you are unlikely to have COVID, but the risk is not removed.  

Wearing of face masks

As a Trust we have made the collective decision that we are following Government guidelines that schools and colleges are strongly recommended to wear face masks as at all times on site. 

This recommendation will remain in place at S6C until further notice and we are anticipating that we will review this at the end of Term 4 at Easter. 

This means that students will be expected to wear a mask at all times in the building. The only exceptions are :

• physical exercise during sports lessons or actively exercising in the MUGA at break or lunchtimes
• when students are eating or drinking 
• If a student is able to work in the study centre where desks are 2 metres apart, a small office space for individual study,, or doing self directed study in an empty classroom where there is no other student within 2 metres of them. Study space lists are posted around the building.
• Nicky Miller can agree to a personal exemption based on an individual’s medical needs with confirmation from parents/carers where appropriate.

It is important that all students have a spare mask in their bags in case their mask becomes soiled or damp during the day.  They should have individual, sealable plastic bags for safe storage of masks when not in use.

Staff will continue to wear face masks in all  communal areas and where they cannot maintain physical distancing of 2 metres from students or colleagues in offices or classrooms. Where staff can maintain a 2 metre distance in a classroom to teach, they will be able to teach with their mask removed.  Any movement in the classroom will require the teacher to keep a mask on and they are reminded to socially distance.  

Adjustments to the college day 

The wearing of masks for a prolonged period of time is not going to be easy for any member of our community. We all know the discomfort it can create, but we also know that this is a short term expectation that increases our safety. With that in mind, for the remainder of the term until the Easter break, the college day will be adjusted to allow for more opportunities for students and staff to go outside, get fresh air and remove their masks.  We will be actively encouraging students and staff to do so for their wellbeing. 

The college day therefore for Term 4 will be scheduled as:

Morning and afternoon break times have been extended to 30 minutes, allowing sufficient time to leave the building and be punctual again for the next lesson. Lunchtime has been extended to an hour and we will be actively encouraging our community to take fresh air and exercise.   Staff may set Spring wellbeing activities on some days for students to participate in if they wish. 

Students are reminded that once they have left  the  college premises – strict national lockdown rules apply, which, at the moment, mean that they can meet with one other person for exercise and recreation outdoors.

Exemptions 

Please can you contact nmiller@salisbury6c.ac.uk if your child has a medical exemption or may have difficulties with wearing a mask all day.  If you feel that your child might have difficulty learning if the teacher is wearing a mask please also let us know.

Safe Travel to and from College 

Masks continue to be mandatory when using public transport unless you have an exemption.  Students using public transport to get to college will need to follow the guidance detailed at; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers#public-transport

Students should be rigorous about hands, face and space when travelling, in order to protect themselves and others.

Registration for lateral flow testing

The Government is actively encouraging all students to participate in the voluntary lateral flow tests, which can help identify cases of asymptomatic covid. Students that have attended the Hub weekly have completed these with ease and no discomfort.   Students will be required to undertake three lateral flow Covid tests on their return to college, 3 – 5 days apart. After these tests have been completed, students will then be provided with test kits to complete at home.   In order for us to process these, we need to ensure that students are registered on the testing system. 

It would be really helpful for ALL students to register for their lateral flow testing before arriving on site for their first day back.  

Below is a step by step process in registering:

1. Go to https://www.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/report-result/login-choice
2. Click on ‘Sign In or Create An Account’
3. Add in email address (students need to be able to access this to confirm their email address by responding to an email sent immediately)
4. Create a password and confirm
5. Enter their mobile number (students will need to submit the authentication code sent to them)
6. You should then see ‘Welcome to Your Test and Trace Account’
7. Make sure you know the password you have set up,  you will need it to register your first test.
8. Do not go any further until you attend your first test.
9. If you experience any problems with registration, don’t worry, Staff will be assigned to help with any issues with registering when you attend your first test.

As I am sure you will appreciate,  the required testing is a massive undertaking for the college,  so we would appreciate it if students could make every effort to attend their designated slot.  These slots will be communicated to students in the next week.

We really look forward to all students returning back on site and getting back to more normal patterns of working and interacting again. 

Yours faithfully.

Louise Henderson

Vice Principal