Learning for Life
James Rennie Sixth Form is all about the next step beyond school.
During our students’ time in Sixth Form, they continue to progress and prepare for the challenges and adventures they will face in life beyond James Rennie.
In our Sixth Form, each student prepares for their next big step into life beyond school. This means we focus on developing independence living, health and wellbeing, community access and employability.
We want each student to make the skills they have learned as functional in the community as they can be. Students also learn about the places and organisations that they will work with, post 19.
Throughout our curriculum you will see we focus on important areas such as keeping safe in the community and in the virtual world, relationship and sex educations and mental wellbeing working closely with partners such as Barnardo’s.
Exploring Life Skills
Pupils have the chance to try out college and experience post 19 providers for the first time with partnerships including Beamont Collage, Carlisle College and Prism Arts. We can help pupils do vocational work, extended work experience, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, functional numeracy and literacy, life skills, and the chance to extend qualifications and leisure studies.
We make use of our community links so that our pupils can take the skills and knowledge they learn within the classroom into the world around them.
Our sixth form student engage in a wide range of cultural events to support them in understanding the traditions, beliefs, values and history of people from many different cultures. We have visits to cultural spaces such as museums, galleries, theatres as well as to religious places of worship. We also hold events for different occasions such as Fairtrade where we often have visitors who help broaden our understanding of the world.
Steps Beyond School
The key pieces of information are:
- Progress
- Attainment (the end result of their learning)
- Retention (how many pupils start and finish their courses with us)
- Destination (where do pupils go once they have moved on from James Rennie School).
Progress
Students in Post 16 follow individual study programmes bespoke to their needs and abilities. All students do Functional English, ICT and Maths as part of their qualification and/ or accreditation.
SULP (Social Use of Language Programme) is continued on from Key Stage 4, however the emphasis of this is using SULP skills in the community.
Students also have access to a range of accreditations and qualifications which are only used if appropriate and relevant to the individual student. Within individual programmes of study, students are involved in some form of work experience/work related learning.
This may be a progressive experience, where they come from Key Stage 4 (having done a supported group work experience) to then do an unsupported placement in Post 16 and if appropriate, an unsupported placement with independent travel.
It may also be ‘sensory careers’ where students are involved in more appropriate work-related activities within school like cooking or horticulture. Some students are involved in internal work placements working with younger children, the premises managers, the office or kitchen.
Attainment
Student attainment varies at Post 16 depending on the needs and abilities of individual students. Students have access to a wide range of accreditations and qualifications which include
- ASDAN Personal Progress Entry 1
- ASDAN Towards Independence
- ASDAN Entry Level PSD
- ASDAN Employability
- ASDAN My Independence
- AQA Entry Level/ Level 1 Functional Skills
- AQA Unit Awards.
These qualifications and accreditations are used either individually or as a selection if appropriate to suit individual needs.
Where appropriate, students access courses at Carlisle College and Prism Arts. This gives inclusive experiences and allows access to specialist teachers, as well as helping towards Post 19 transition.
Retention
Our Post-16 course is normally 3 years, but if pupils are ready to leave before they are 19 then we would consider it positive and appropriate as long as they were entering education at another institution, participating in vocational training or employment.
Students come into Sixth Form with either a range of
- Entry Level 1 Personal Progress qualifications for our semi-formal learners
- Personal Progress “Engaging with the world around you” for our pre-formal learners
- Entry Level English, Maths, Drama and ICT qualifications for our formal learners.
Some of our pupils will do a combination of accreditations and qualifications across the range, tailored to their individual interests and strengths.
We use the skills that students have and extend them into broader settings and progress their practicality with a key emphasis on what they need for leaving school.
Our students follow the ASDAN ‘My Independence’ accreditations; supporting aspirations for our pre-formal learners, Realising Aspirations for our semi-formal learners and a number of our formal learners will work towards an ASDAN Employability qualification.
