The Blackpool Sixth Form College

Overview

The Blackpool Sixth Form College is rated as ‘Good’ for overall effectiveness, with ‘Outstanding’ judgements for behaviour, attitudes, and personal development. Students benefit from a ‘calm and well-structured environment’ where they display an ‘exceptionally positive attitude towards their studies’ and achieve strong outcomes in vocational courses and high-needs provision.

Strengths

• Students arrive ‘prepared for lessons and eager to learn’, spending time ‘productively’ and completing tasks ‘without distraction’.
• Teachers are ‘experts in the subjects they teach’ and use ‘carefully consider[ed] sequencing’ to help students develop secure understanding of key concepts.
• The college provides ‘exceptionally well’ support for students with high needs, helping them develop ‘independence and confidence’ through tailored resources and manageable assignment steps.
• Leaders offer an ‘ambitious ‘excellence programme’’ for university applicants and ensure students receive ‘impartial careers advice’ from well-qualified advisers.
• Students engage in ‘very high-quality extracurricular activities’, including employability projects and community volunteering, fostering active citizenship.

Areas to improve

• Ensure teachers provide a ‘consistently high standard of assessment and feedback’ so students know precisely how to improve their work, as this is currently lacking on a few courses.
• Increase the number of students who stay on their A-level courses and make the progress of which they are capable, as too many currently leave early or underachieve.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.