Welcome to the Autumn edition of 6News, the exclusive staff magazine.
2016 Results Report Once again Blackpool Sixth students have reached new heights, achieving outstanding results in 2016. Blackpool Sixth is proud of its history of building bright futures and this year’s leavers will have even better opportunities than their predecessors after the college achieved the best results we have ever seen. When this is combined with the enrichment, guest speakers, visits, work related experiences and support on offer this provides the young people of Blackpool with fantastic opportunities to shine and grow. Successes have been seen on all our study programmes. Students who completed their BTEC qualifications this year continued to enjoy high pass rates of 99.7% in diploma (Dip) and 98.3% in extended diploma (ED) whilst pass rates in both certificate (99%) and sub diploma (sub dip) (98.2%) increased again, a 3 year trend of improvement; this is in spite of this being the first cohort of students to complete their qualifications under the new BTEC assessment rules. High grades (HG) and upper high grades (UHG) on BTEC have remained high with increases seen in the certificate, sub dip and Dip and whilst the HG in the ED have declined fractionally (by 1.7 percentage points (pp) to 91.8%) UHG have increased to 61.4%. Students studying BTEC qualifications make excellent progress and an ALPs score of 2 has been maintained. The best BTEC course performers in terms of HG and UHG were art & design with 100% HG, business with 97.1% HG and 96.4% UHG, finance with 97.9% HG and 95.8% UHG, health & social care with 100% HG and 98.2% UHG and IT with 100% HG and 91.9% UHG. Of these, 3 courses, art & design, IT and health & social care have improved on last year. Impressively, 100% HG have been achieved in 8 Dip courses, art & design, business, performing arts, engineering, health & social care, IT, music and travel & tourism, and 3 ED courses, music (a 3-year trend of 100%), engineering (+11.8pp) and health & social care for the second year. Strong UHG have also been seen in 4 Dip courses, business (97.1%), health & social care (91.1%), IT (93.2%) and travel & tourism (100%) and 3 ED courses, engineering (86.7%), health & social care (82.4%) and music (70%) with significant increases in having been seen in ED art & design (+11.5pp to 50%), engineering (+22pp to 86.7%) and public services (+18.5pp to 62.5%). Students studying A level qualifications have also enjoyed success with the pass rate in A2 improving by 0.7pp to 99.3%. Both high grades and upper high grades have also improved and both are above the national average, whilst the ALPs score has increased from 4 to 3, putting the college in the top 25% nationally.
The subjects that have the best high grades were maths for further maths (100%), graphic design (92.1%), further maths (90%), art combined (87.5%) and textiles (85.7%) with the most significant improvements (over 10pp) were in maths with mechanics (+20.9pp), textiles (+27.8pp), French (+10pp), business studies (+12.7pp), computing (+41pp), PE (+31.2pp), maths with decision (+22.3pp), music (+46.4pp), art (combined studies) (+20.8pp) and psychology (+20.1pp). The subjects that achieved the best upper high grades were maths for further maths (100%), further maths (65%), graphic design (52.6%), law (48.5%) and maths with mechanics (40.0%) with significant improvements in (+10pp or above) maths for further maths (+16.7pp), further maths (+15.0pp), law (+17.5pp), textiles (+30.4pp), film studies (+20.0pp), electronics (+15.9pp), and psychology (+16.0pp). GCSE English and maths are the cornerstone to success for all students so it is particularly pleasing that the college has achieved grades significantly above the national benchmark for post-16 in both these areas. 78% of English students improved by at least one grade with 17% of students improving by 2 grades or more and 77% of maths students improved by at least one grade, with 10% of students improving by 2 grades or more; maths is 25.9pp above the national average for post-16 providers. Students who join us on our 3-year programme, 2Plus, have also built secure futures through successes in their qualifications. The pass rate in personal finance was strong at 97.9% and particularly pleasing in enterprise and employability which increased to 100% from 96.9% in 2015, this being 9.9pp above the national average. Workskills also saw a 100% pass rate, which has been maintained for the second year and is 3.4pp above the national average. With these on-going improvements and a clear commitment to continuous improvement and with ever improving opportunities to undertake work experience and volunteering, take part in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities and engage with the excellence programme, we are looking forward to supporting even more of students into prestigious universities and outstanding careers. A huge ‘congratulations’ obviously goes to all our students and it is only right to recognise that the hard work and commitment of the team at Blackpool Sixth has generated these outstanding results and has made a huge difference to the lives of so many young people in Blackpool. The strength, commitment and ambition of the team means we are in an incredibly strong position to achieve these on-going improvements to provide positive outcomes and successful futures for many more young people in the future. To all the staff at the college, many thanks for all your hard work and dedication and for the real difference you make every day.
Tina Cooper
Did you know?
Christmas Craft Fair
Preparations are well underway for Blackpool Sixth’s fourth Christmas Craft Fair. This exciting festive event will take place at the college on Saturday 3rd December 10:00am – 3:00pm and will feature over 70 different stalls offering the best in locally made art and craft. Stallholders include renowned local craftspeople and artists, students, schools and community groups. In addition to these stalls there will be a series of workshops available for visitors to make bespoke samples and crafts to take away, these sessions will take place approximately every 30 minutes. There will also be a children’s area for face painting, hook a duck and several other fair ground games. Starbucks is opening on the day selling Christmas themed drinks and we also have Stonebakers selling homemade wood fired pizzas! Visitors of all ages will be able to choose some great Christmas gifts for friends and loved ones from the wide range of art and craft on display. A raffle with some fantastic prizes donated by local companies will also be held during the event. The event will raise funds for both Macmillan Cancer Support and Sands, the national charity, which supports those affected by stillbirth and neonatal death. The event will take place in and around the ‘Frame’, Blackpool Sixth’s large open-plan art facility. More information about the event is available by contacting Emma Lund or Lindsay Dickinson on 01253 394911 or by emailing Craftfair@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk.
New starters We would like to wish all of our new starters a very warm welcome to Blackpool Sixth. We hope that you are enjoying your first term with us and are settling in well. Danny Topping - Business and IT Manny Rifai - Business and IT Andrew Rosbottom - Business and IT Jason Leslie - Science Iwona Bogucka - Estates Jayne Mills - SLT & PAs Fay Logan - Admissions, Marketing and Liaison Kyle Wilson - Admissions, Marketing and Liaison
Did you know? When leaves change colour in Autumn, they are actually becoming their true colour. In the summer, the chlorophyll takes over and causes them to turn green and hide their colour.
Innovation Awards
Did you know?
Are you doing something different? Are you doing something new? Are you taking a risk? If so, we want to know. As college faces up to the future we are looking to find the brightest, most creative, efficient and downright brilliant ways of doing things. It might be a new system in a department which cuts the time to do a routine task, it could be a new method of assessment or a particularly inventive task you set a class. It could be a new approach to customer service, something you do that improves communication within or beyond college or anything else you can think of. There will be an Innovation award given every half term. The prizes will be great* and we want you to shout about yourself or other people who are doing new creative things. The award is open to all staff and will be judged by a panel of people from across different areas of college. Think about: Is it efficient? Have you hit on a way to save time or money? Is it effective? Does doing something a different way get a better result? Is it exciting? Does it showcase Blackpool Sixth as a future-facing place to work work and learn? *any prize is greater than no prize. Nominations should be made to HR by Friday 2nd December.
Special Birthdays The following members of staff recently celebrated, or are due to celebrate a special birthday soon: Clair Statham Danny Topping Katie Grace Stephen Gibson Happy Birthday to you all!
Nepal Trip 2016 - Jill Smith It is my intention throughout this article to spread an important message to encourage an increase in international trips within the British Education System. You may ask, why? The answer is a simple one. We must continue to expand the knowledge and minds of the next generation beyond the boundaries of the curriculum. We live in a globalised world; it is our responsibility to encourage our children to see what the world is like, not just from a western perspective. Myself and Abby Heyes did this by taking a group of students to Nepal for twelve days at the beginning of the summer break. Unbeknown to me as a 28 year old teacher, the trip was going to help me just as much as it was going to help my students. Deciding to run a trip during the summer holidays may be contested by some but it was a decision we ran with and upon reflection it was a perfect finish to a great academic year. On 7th July, two teachers and thirteen sixth form students boarded a flight to Khatmandu, Nepal. After 16 hours of travelling we were met by a very warm welcome from our tour guide who greeted the team with fresh flower garlands. The immediate warmth we received from the Nepalese was contagious from the outset and set a real precedent to the students throughout the trip. We visited a variety of key sights in the vicinity of Khatmandu with a variety of lessons to learn. Here are a few highlights listed: Swayambanath hindu temple: The centre for hindu cremations by the Bagmati river and an opportunity to be blessed by a sadhu, the holy men. Bodanapth Buddhist temple. The hustle and bustle of Durbar square. Daishkin Khali: The temple of sacrifice. Each of the places referenced above provided their own educational value although for me the highlight was observing how the students responded to the cultural differences and embraced the positivity of the Nepalese culture. For example, the students received blessings from hindu holy men, they listened to the stories of shop keepers discussing the effects of the earthquake and interacted with locals about their differing life experiences.
On one particular day we visited Bodanapth Temple a Buddhist Stupa that was hit by the earthquake. Work was being done on the main temple as the locals continued to engage in their day to day practices. The temple like most Buddhist temples in Nepal is surrounded by a circumference of prayer wheels. The ritual being to spin each prayer wheel as you walk around the temple. Surrounding Bodanapth are smaller temples each with their own prayer wheels. I decided to go inside one, which I later researched to be called Thrangu Tashi Choling. The atmosphere in here was one I will certainly never forget throughout my lifetime. A large group of Tibetan monks were in the middle of a group prayer. The younger generation placed towards the back of the temple and the older generation closer to the religious monuments at the front, all engaged in a meditative practice. As meditation is often a private affair I felt privileged to be a part of something moving and empowering. Words cannot describe the peace that it provided and the emotions it sparked from experiencing the dedication and humility of this religion. The patience and calmness it provided felt like a welcoming saviour from the normality of western culture. The eyes of those students who went on the trip glowed with enthusiasm and thankfulness for their experience. After organising a trip to Nepal with 13 sixth form students I was left contemplating about my own existence on this planet. Unbeknown to me I didn’t realise the extent to which this educational visit would change the lives of my students and also my life as a teacher.
Weddings The college send it’s warmest congratulations and best wishes for the future to our new married couples!
Laura Bentley, was McGuirk, and Sam Bentley. Rebecca Welch, was Lawn, and her husband Andrew.
Abby Heyes, was Jones, and her husband Michael. Ellen Hoodless, was Green, and her husband James.
Engagements Congratulations to David Pimblett and his fiance Tegan, who got engaged over the summer in Koh Samui in Thailand. We look forward to news of an upcoming wedding!
Open Day 2016 On Saturday 1st October we held our first open event of 2016-17. The open day which ran from 10.30 am to 2.30 pm attracted a record number of prospective students. We registered 515 prospective students which was 12% more than the previous year. Together with parents and other family members, that means that well over 1000 people attended the event. The weather was reasonably kind to us and our visitors had the opportunity to view our campus looking at its very best. In addition to having the full range of subjects to find out about, there were many interactive activities taking place around the site to help make our visitors’ experience all the more memorable. Examples of these included ‘Raspberry Pi programming’, ‘international food tasting’, a ‘rowing challenge’ and ‘The Great Humanities Bake Off: Roman v Medieval.’ In Science there was the chance to make bath bombs and celebrate our very own Echo the Gecko’s first birthday. Visual Arts brought in local artist, Adrian Pritchard, with his fascinating fusion of art and science/technology pieces. Visitors also enjoyed music and dance performances from performing arts students. The engineering team made enterprising use of a student in a beaver costume to ferry people from reception to their workshops. We were joined by the Radio Wave Street team (current or former students) who toured the college taking photos for the radio station’s webpages and promoted the idea of joining the Street Team.
A particular innovation this year was adding an extra series of talks which followed the Principal’s presentations. Tina and Estelle gave talks on “Getting into university with BTECs” and “Understanding the new A levels.” We also had a very prominent position (within reception) for the Excellence Programme and an array of posters celebrated our key success messages. Our student ambassadors and event-makers were especially prominent at the event and visitors greatly appreciated their brilliant efforts to make everyone feel welcome. Thanks to some very proactive work by several of the student ambassadors we gathered a large number of feedback forms from the day. Almost every single one was incredibly positive about the college, the staff, our students and the experience as a whole. 94% said that they were either ‘extremely impressed’ or ‘very impressed’ with the college and, encouragingly, 86% of prospective students said that their visit had made them even more likely to join us as a student. There was a lot of praise for the friendliness of staff and students, the high quality of the information given, the ‘first-class facilities’, the food and the general organisation of the event. One parent commented, “I feel excited for the opportunities that my children will have whilst in your inspiring care.” The open day has certainly got our recruitment of our 2017 intake off to a great start. We are hopeful that the open evenings will be similarly well attended. Many thanks to all staff and students who made the event such a success!
Jon McLeod
Did you know?
Macmillan Coffee Morning
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event for people facing cancer. People from all over the UK host their own Coffee Mornings and donations on the day are made to Macmillan. Last year alone Macmillan raised £25 million and this year they are aiming to raise even more. Blackpool Sixth’s Equality and Diversity Operations group organised their very own Macmillan coffee and cake morning on Friday 30th September, 2016. The treats that staff and students baked for the event were delicious! A big thank you to all that helped with the bake sale, whether it was selling cakes, baking cakes or eating cakes! Overall we were able to raise £176 for a wonderful charity. An extra big thank you to the staff that gave up their time, to help run the stall.
Zumba! On Saturday 17th September, the college was host to a Zumba event to raise money for Blackpool Carers Centre. Blackpool Carers Centre is an independent, local charity and network partner of Carers Trust. They provide a range of services to support and enhance the lives of unpaid carers of all ages across Blackpool and the Fylde coast. The centre provides an extensive range of age specific services and support for carers from the age of 5 to 105 and their families, in order to fulfill their purpose which is to make ‘A Better Life for Carers’. The Zumba sessions on the day were provided by Dancing on Ice Star, Dan Whiston, and proved very popular raising a big £400.85 for the charity. A big thank you to all those who attended and donated to such a worthy cause!
Learning Champions
Did you know?
Rob Fisher - Maths
Fiona Ricchiuti - Business and IT
Charlie Moore - Performing Arts, Music and Media Rebecca Welch - English and MFL
Michelle Townsend - Social Sciences
Lorraine Linnett - Science
Helen Crowther - Learning Resource Centre
Zarqa Batool - Visual Arts
Matt Speight - Humanities
Paul Moran - Sport, Tourism and Public Services
In 2015/16 this group of staff were instrumental in driving forward the college theme of “Excellence with High Aspirations”. Together they took responsibility for embedding the “Growth Mindset” strategy; ensuring that students understood the importance of effort and application in achieving success. Their contribution to the Teaching and Learning Marketplace in November ensured that departments were able to learn more about this and take away practical strategies to use with their students. The collective members have decided that Blackpool Sixth now needs to build upon these foundations to ensure that once students believe that they can be successful, they have the practical learning skills to ensure that they can be. The focus for 16/17 will be upon student centred and independent learning and has resulted in a re-branding of the group as Learning Champions. Using the students learning experience as the focus for their work this year they are undertaking a project to find out more about learning habits and will be looking at ways in which we can improve student study skills and ultimately take more personal responsibility for their learning. We really hope that we can all work together on this strategy and know that collaborating with all groups within the college is essential if we want to help ALL of our students. Please feel free to offer any support, observations and intelligence that will help with this worthy cause. Take-away discussion task…. What do you think are the 3 most important study skills for your subject?
Did you know? In Greek mythology, Autumn began when Persephone was abducted by Hades to be the Queen of the Underworld. In distress Persephone’s mother, Demeter (the goddess of the harvest), caused all the crops on Earth to die until her daughter was allowed to return, marking Spring.
Staying safe online - Matt Jones It’s a sad fact that we need to consider our own safety in our interactions with students. The same is true online as it is in the real world. Whilst incidents are few and far between, they do happen and staff can do a lot to protect themselves. Here are a range of tips to help you stay out of harm’s way online. Be ‘invisible’ - make your Facebook account unsearchable and your Twitter account private. Turn off ‘photo tagging’ (something I discovered after friends unearthed a picture of me from my youth). Especially if you like a night out from time to time! Instagram is particularly sensitive and be aware that if your account isn’t private it’s very easy to steal images and re-appropriate them in ways that might be upsetting. Never link any personal accounts to your work email. Many services will use emails as the basis to recommend potential friendships and you might find your profile being advertised to the students you teach!
If using social media for work, then ensure that your line manager or other apt person is aware of your online presence. When using Facebook create a department page to interact with learners, not personal accounts. Similarly a shared login for Twitter is far safer and more accountable than a single login. Turn off ‘Direct Messaging’ to ensure all interactions with students are public (the same concept as leaving the door open when doing a 1:1)
Managers should consider carefully their relationship with staff they line manage online. As a manager, your interactions with staff on social media need to be carefully judged, just as they do in life. Whilst clearly it is a duty of managers to consider the wellbeing of their staff it is not your role to police the personal lives of your staff or acceptable to issue work instructions and reminders via social media. Staff have a right to ‘switch off’ at home time and choose when they access their email. We should all think twice before interrupting people’s lives online as time to refresh and step away from work is vital to help us stay positive. Many staff choose to use an anonymous picture as their social network profile. Remember, even if people can’t see the actual contents of the post, they may still be able to see your profile picture. I once had a picture of me outside my house as my profile picture and a student terrified me by describing my house in intricate detail. He was only joking but it taught me a lesson about using images online.
Do not accept students as friends. That is very important! You should wait at least a year (a rule which is enshrined in code of conduct) and even then you must remember that students may be friends with people you currently teach.
It’s tempting to use social media to vent frustrations with work, but remember that your opinion will stay online. Never discuss students online! Be careful with the way you talk about students and present college in shared forums (e.g. TES online, subject Facebook groups) as you never know exactly who will see the post. Use your work email to register for all work related services. Many tools can be ‘signed in’ with a single click using your college email address. Keep your own personal email well out of view as not only does it give students access to your email but also potentially helps them search for you online. The following link is a useful guide to ‘locking down’ your accounts online. Pop into PAMM and see me or drop me an email at matt. jones@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk if you want some help.
However tempting it may be to use a service like Snapchat to engage students I strongly advise against it as the self deleting nature is a child protection minefield. http://www.webwise.ie/teachers/facebook-for-teachers/
Babies The college send their warmest wishes and congratulations to Carly Scott and her husband Mark, and Emma Robinson and her husband Ryan. Both couples welcomed their new babies over the summer within 6 days of each other! Emma and Ryan’s son, Theo James (left), was born on the 27th July at 16.11pm, weighing 8lb 2oz. Carly and Mark’s daughter, Sienna Grace (right) was born on the 22nd July at 9.47am, weighing 8lb 9oz. Also, congratulations to Jo Novoa Bradley, and her husband Joseph on the birth of their daughter Penelope Elizabeth Novoa (centre). Penelope was born on 25th September at 5:39pm weighing 6lb 13oz.
17/18 Term Dates
LGPS Pensions Your Annual Benefit Statements are now available online via the My Pension Online facility. In the coming months Your Pension Service will hold a series of pension surgeries across Lancashire. These sessions will focus on your annual benefit statements, LGPS pension queries or provide information about joining the scheme. Please bring along your annual benefit statement and your pay or tax details if you would like to speak to our AVC provider from Prudential. You can see available dates on the below poster. Don’t forget to book your place early! www.yourpensionservice.org.uk
Did you know? A study in the Journal of Aging Research found that babies born during the Autumn months are more likely to live to 100 than those born during the rest of the year.
Autumn Recipe Ingredients 225g digestive biscuits 60g butter juice and zest 1 lemon 340g cooked pumpkin (steamed or roasted) 225g caster sugar 450g cream cheese 1 tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 4 eggs 90ml double cream
Pumpkin Cheesecake
1. Heat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3. 2. Bash the digestive biscuits into crumbs. Melt the butter over a low heat and mix in the biscuit crumbs and lemon zest. Lightly grease a 25cm/10in loose-bottomed cake tin and press the crumbs into the base and up the sides slightly. 3. Mix together the cream cheese, pumpkin flesh, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. Beat the eggs and fold into the pumpkin mixture. Turn into the tin and bake in the oven for 90 minutes until the surface is set but the underneath still slightly squidgy. 4. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it cool in the tin. When cool, turn it on to a serving plate, cover with foodwrap and chill overnight. 5. Whip the double cream until thick and fold in the yoghurt and the lemon juice. Spread over the top of the cheesecake and serve at room temperature.
August CPD Quiz The college team building event, during August CPD this year was a quiz. On the 2nd September, approximately 30 teams of mixed departments battled it out through rounds such as; local knowledge, pictures, album and book covers, general knowledge and film tag lines. There were winners of each round, however the overall winners were: Fiona Ricchuiti, Simon Thornhill, Matt Morris, Debbi Hodson and Stephanie Chunger.
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The quiz on the last day got people in different departments talking and brought us all together as a team.
Forthcoming events College Development Day and Open Evening Wednesday 16th November This will include a market place, well-being activities and time for departments to consider best practice. Christmas Showcase Tuesday 29th November - 7pm The Christmas Showcase is one of the highlights of the Autumn term. This toe-tapping show is a fusion of dance, drama, music and singing forming the perfect opportunity for students to celebrate their achievements across the Performing Arts, Music and Media department. The showcase forms the first assessment for some students in front of a live audience and is their chance to show what they have learnt in the first term of college We try and include a variety of styles and genres which will include musical theatre, contemporary dance, jazz dance and many more! Come along for a fun packed celebration of dance, drama and music. Please contact Emma Lund for information and tickets on events@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk. Christmas Party Friday 2nd December We are arranging a staff college Christmas party on Friday 2nd December at 7pm at The Cube in Poulton. We have hired a 2 floors of The Cube and there will be a meal and DJ. College is subsidising the event therefore the tickets will be free. Please can you let Alix Butterfield know if you would like to attend. There are limited places so please sign up soon! Festival of Carols and Readings Thursday 15th December - 7.30pm St Chad’s Church, Poulton Our gifted performers will cast a Christmas spell with traditional and contemporary pieces to start the season with a magical mix of music and readings. We are proud of the Blackpool Sixth Choir and musicians who continually perform to an impressive standard and always rise the to the challenge of learning demanding new material. This year, as always, we offer a hand picked selection of poems and readings to make us think about the true message of Christmas. This is a non-ticketed event but please arrive early as seating is limited.
blackpoolsixth.ac.uk
01253 394911
enquiries@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk
Blackpool Sixth, Blackpool Old Road, Blackpool, FY3 7LR
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