Cornwall Sixth Forms Together
Cornwall Sixth Forms Together (CSFT) comprises 12 state schools and 2 independent schools who share best practice and run workshops for the benefit of all.
Schools take it in turn to host and lead workshop events in A level subjects. Schools also share ideas and the Heads and the Heads of Sixth From meet in their respective forums termly to discuss curricular issues.
Aims
To collaborate between schools with sixth forms in order to raise educational achievement. Share good teaching practice and pastoral support in order to all have the best Sixth Form provision.
All of the Sixth Forms in Cornwall face similar challenges of Sixth Form retention, issues with the day to day running of a Sixth Form and how to put in place the best possible Sixth Form provision to be as competitive as possible with the various Sixth Form Colleges. A need to therefore work collaboratively and share what works and what doesn't work has been extremely beneficial to all within the group.
Critical Factors for success are Headteacher commitment to attend meetings, engage proactively, share generously and endorse and encourage involvement at a departmental level.
Students, Sixth Form teaching staff and Heads of Sixth Form have benefited from this partnership.
Background
When the Truro School Headmaster took up post he reached out to the CSFT committee which had recently been established and was invited to join.
A core element of the Truro School strategy is to be celebrated as a socially and environmentally responsible member of the Cornish community. Engaging with our state school counterparts is an important element of our outreach.
The Head has been a member since 2014.
Resources
Truro School shares its resources free of charge when it hosts events for CSFT schools.
The partnership involves teaching and non teaching staff. As Heads of Sixth Form we meet 3 times a year. The Head Teachers also meet 3 times a year. We also have subject specific workshops held at various schools who feel they have expertise in that particular subject and can share good teaching practice. These departmental meetings take place after the summer exam results so that learning can be shared in a timeous fashion. Often Heads of Sixth Form raise a weakness in a particular area of their Sixth Form provision, and other Heads of Sixth Form, that feel they have a strength in that area, offer the support of the relevant Head of Department. For one out of the three yearly meetings Sixth Forms non-teaching staff come along as well to share best practice and support each other in the day to day admin running of a Sixth Form.
Our Heads of Sixth form and Heads of academic department are all involved.
Impact
There is evidence that the A level results of CSFT schools have improved over time.
Impact is assessed annually.
Pupil Involvement
Pupils (16-18 years old) are invited to any talks or relevant sessions that are held at the various Sixth Forms that are deemed to be possibly beneficial. These opportunities are shared within the group and then advertised within each Sixth Form. Uptake of these events has been limited mainly due to the geographical nature of Cornwall, poor transport links and the impact on cover.
Recent events put on by Truro School include EPQ and Economics workshop for teachers sharing good teaching practice. We also hosted a representative from AQA exam board who is responsible for the EPQ and shared good practice from an exam board perspective. (Earth and Life Sciences Lectures)
Frequency
This is an ongoing partnership, it is now a permanent initiative.