Friday 26th November 2021
We have had an amazingly busy week here at College. On Tuesday we held our second Open Evening of 2021, where we saw many families attending. It was lovely meeting parents and their young people, with many students leaving with much greater certainty about what subjects they wanted to study with us. Many thanks to our passionate staff and our amazing student ambassadors who helped to make the evening run smoothly for our visiting families. Once again parents commented on how articulate our students are, talking with confidence and passion about their learning.
On Monday, Mr Burley the Head of School at Wyvern St Edmunds accompanied me on a learning walk around the college, dropping into lessons. He spoke to a number of former students and was taken aback at how much some of our young people have grown both academically and personally. He was delighted that some students who had not always had success at WSE were flourishing at S6C and had clear progression plans for their next pathways.
On Thursday, S6C and WSE held its first ever TeachMeet here at the college. Teaching staff from the local community – and further afield, joined for an evening of short presentations as well as a Keynote Speech from Adam Boxall, Head of Science at TTA and co-founder of Carousel Learning, as well as a wonderful presentation from education adviser and writer Mary Myatt. The presentations were inspiring and thoughtful and we are very proud of all the staff including 3 of our own that shared their personal stories of innovation in their practice. A special thank you and recognition needs to be given to Rich Eno, our Faculty lead for Creative subjects. It was Rich’s desire to run the event, promote and organise all aspects of the presentations, sponsorship and raffle prizes. The event was a huge success, bringing together staff from over 15 different schools or colleges in the local area.
You will remember that the closing date for Parental Surveys was last week. I would like to thank you for taking the time to respond to the survey. It is really important for us to gauge the views of our parents particularly as unlike school contact on a daily basis tends to be with the student rather than the parents, as we try to build their confidence, resilience and independence as young adults. We have now analysed the feedback of the survey and overall the results are overwhelmingly positive, which is what we would want as the experience for all our young people. We are in the process of contacting a few parents where something has been flagged so that we can improve the communication or access to information you may require. One of the questions specifically asked about access to online safety information. A few responses highlighted they were unsure about Online Safety for their young person. Below is an update from Rebecca Anderson, Pastoral Lead on the most recent focus with students on Online Safety which was covered again as part of this week’s Life Skills sessions with tutors.
A reminder that Mock Exams start next week for year 13 and we wish students luck for these.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best Wishes
Louise.
Safeguarding
Nicky Miller – Designated Safeguarding Lead and SEND
Recently we have reviewed a number of our College policies to ensure they reflect the updated Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 Guidance. The policies have now been ratified by Governors and are available on our website to view: https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/statutory-information/policies/
Online Safety
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
In an ever changing world, advice regarding online safety is regularly reviewed by the authorities and by S6C. We want students to be able to make safe and well informed choices about online content, online contacts, online conduct and online commerce. Both year groups have had a chance to consider points across all these important areas – including current scams, reporting online abuse, setting up secure passwords, being wary of online contacts that may have links to criminal or sexual exploitation, and the laws around the sharing of sexual images. They also had a chance to explore practical websites offering advice and support to keep us all safe , including the Citizens Advice Bureau, a helpline for those who have been scammed, the Which? guide to current scams, and a reminder that the college safeguarding team can be contacted with any concerns about the safety or wellbeing of an S6C student.
Progression planning -UCAS Apprenticeships
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
We have sent a message this week to our Year 13 students interested in apprenticeships and suggesting it is a good idea for them to attend this event next Tuesday (details are in the link below) – there are talks and sessions ALL DAY so students can work it round their mock timetable if feasible. Registration is free.
https://www.ucas.com/events/ucasdiscovery-apprenticeships-fair-404796
Progression planning UCAS Applications
Rebecca Anderson – Pastoral Lead
The tutoring team are offering full support for students applying to university – the fast approaching internal deadline is 10th December, to allow us to write references ready for the final UCAS closing date on January 26th. Tutors are the first port of call and are seeing students for individual guidance as requested. Rebecca has also been running drop-in sessions for anyone wanting additional support, and has been circulating round college offering help with university and course choices, apprenticeships, and personal statements, for anyone too shy to come and ask. There is an abundance of guidance on every step of the process on the Information Classroom, Careers Classroom and the UCAS website. Rebecca has also recently posted a very quick headline guide to writing personal statements. We have sent off our first six applications and want to congratulate the students who already have offers and interviews. There is plenty of time, and no need for stress, but we are very keen for students to engage with the support or encouragement they may need in order to take this next step towards independence.
Creative Media Practice
Rich Eno – Faculty Lead for Creative
Creative Media Practice Year 12 students are busy in pre-production for their music video project. Each group has been given a song by the band Sparks to help promote their upcoming UK tour.
Here are a few photos of the students testing make-up and costumes. Faculty Lead Richard Eno says, “The reason I chose Sparks is because they are outrageously creative and innovative in their music and visual style so I thought it would match the approach we take in lessons”.
Vacancies
Kathryn Clarkson Business Manager
- We have a S6C vacancy for a Data Manager – please see the link for more information https://www.salisbury6c.ac.uk/about-s6c/vacancies/
- Also within our MLP Trust Sarum Academy have some vacancies for a Caretaker role, please see below.
https://www.sarumacademy.org/staff-vacancies/part-time-community-caretaker
Clubs and Societies
Baking Club – Dr Sally Tye, Faculty Lead for Humanities
This week’s bake was a double red velvet cake with buttermilk icing and raspberries, the final cake baked by Sally Tye was sold off as part of the raffle for the TeachMeet.
