Nightingale Community Academy Sixth Form Offer
The Sixth Form offer has been designed to prepare students for the next stage of their lives. The aim is to ensure that gaps in their core accreditation are filled and that they have opportunities to complete professional qualifications in advance of entry into the workplace or, where appropriate, higher education.
At Key Stage 5 students who have not achieved Level 2 qualifications in English Language or Mathematics are provided with bespoke interventions to enable them to successfully complete these qualifications. Exam scripts are analysed to identify gaps in understanding and lessons are tailored to individual need ahead of resit opportunities. In cases where special educational need makes GCSE success unlikely we offer alternative qualifications ranging from Entry Level to Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills which can be taken online or traditional form. These qualifications offer more flexibility and increased resit opportunities to ensure ‘just in time’ accreditation is available for students with greater need.
The core curriculum is supplemented by a personal development programme that focusses in on interpersonal skills, financial literacy, physical and mental wellbeing, media literacy and digital resilience. To deliver this programme, PHSE and PE lessons are supplemented by work related experiences where, for example, students can complete the Construction Skills Accreditation Scheme (CSCS card) to allow them to work on active construction sites. Students are also able to access driving lessons when they turn seventeen and we provide the support necessary to secure a provisional licence. Work experiences are planned for the long-term to build students’ confidence in the workplace and to help manage the transition to adulthood. Where students have more specific personal development needs, we offer bespoke interventions including a range of talking therapies and a smoking cessation programme.
At the centre of every student experience is a vocational offer that provides them with the following range of industry-recognised, professional qualifications:
– Level 2 City and Guilds Award, Certificate and Diploma in Animal Care
– Level 1 & 2 ABC Award, Certificate and Diploma in Motor Vehicle Studies
– Level 1 City and Guilds Award, Certificate and Diploma in Construction
Bricklaying, Painting and Decorating
– BTEC Level 1 & 2 Award, Certificate and Diploma Hairdressing and Barbering
– BTEC Level 1 & 2 Award and Certificate in Hospitality
– NCFE Level 1 and 2 Award in Music Technology
For a small number of our most vulnerable students we provide apprenticeship opportunities in Hospitality and Animal Care, delivered alongside our highly skilled Chef Educator and our nationally recognised Farm manager. This provides a more secure pathway to work alongside the aforementioned functional literacy and numeracy opportunities. The apprenticeship
journey provides students with access to periodic, experiential learning in local industry and allows them to apply the skills they have learned in a real-world context.
