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St. Francis Xavier Sixth Form College (SFX) is based in Balham, South London and is made up of around 1250 students. Approximately 40% of students are solely taking three A levels, with 60% taking combined applied general and A level or full applied general qualifications. We serve post-16 students who reside, and attend schools, predominantly in the London boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth and Croydon, but also draw students from across London and beyond. 70% of students live in postcodes that attract a financial disadvantage premium, with 35% entitled to 16-19 bursary awards. 85% of students are of black minority heritage. These factors are amongst the highest in the sector. Around 85% of students progress onto university each year and the majority of students are the first generation of their family to go to university. SFX's decision to work with Skills Builder represents our response to the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022 that aims to help transform the skills and training landscape and level up opportunities across the country. This legislation has given rise to initiatives such as the Local Skills Improvement Plan for London and the latest Ofsted inspection framework that emphasises the need for a curriculum that 'should support learners to develop their knowledge and skills beyond the purely academic, technical or vocational.' Wider feedback from our partner universities and employers has also highlighted the need for higher levels of transferable skills amongst young people in modern Britain. St. Francis Xavier Sixth Form College is an inclusive educational community. Our aim is to provide a broad curriculum which emphasises the pursuit of excellence and focuses on career preparation, leadership and service to others. We are committed to preparing the whole person to lead a life of purpose and success in a just and sustainable world.
Overall impact
In our recent Ofsted report (Published January 2024), Personal Development at SFX was judged as 'outstanding'. We seek to provide learners with the opportunity to develop their whole selves - academically, emotionally, socially, spiritually and physically. The opportunities provided for students are designed to further support their positive progression after they leave SFX College. SFX Essential 8 and our partnership with Skills Builder represents our commitment to upskilling every student. Adopting the Universal Framework has given teachers and students a simple language to make the teaching of these vital skills explicit. I have been encouraged by the way both staff and students have bought into the need to develop transferable skills. These are the skills that will help our students with social mobility and benefit their futures. The colourful icons have proved popular with both staff and students who are proud to be recognised for their abilities in these skills. Particular highlights this year have included our House Day, which focused on Leadership and Teamwork, with sports activites and guest speakers discussing these skills. We have also enjoyed embedding the skills into our work experience provision this year.
Keep it simple
We have created a buzz around essential skills by getting displays up in all classrooms, running skills award ceremonies, and embedding skills into our medium-term plans and rewards policy. Each term we focus on two of the essential skills, and we run regular staff trainings to build staff confidence using the language of essential skills. All staff hand out certificates for skills and discuss skills-related targets at parents evening.
Start early, keep going
We have worked to build skills with the whole college, both through focused skills sessions in the tutorial programe, and by embedding essential skills into the curriculum.
Measure it
In order to help students understand their strengths and areas for development in essential skills, we have asked all teachers to give students a skills-based target for each subject. These targets are discussed during progress reviews and students come up with plans to achieve these. Level 1 and Level 2 students have also been completing self-assessments using Skills Builder Benchmark, which helps them understand their strengths and areas for development. We use this data to inform our teaching of essential skills.
Focus tightly
Every student in the college receives a weekly 45-minute essential skills session, delivered through the tutor programme. These resources have been created using activities from Skills Builder Hub, and focus on specific steps of the focus skill. The PowerPoints are shared with staff for ease of access. We have received really positive feedback from staff on these resources.
Keep practising
This year we have really focused on embedding essential skills into our curriculum. The essential skills are embedded into many schemes of learning and essential skills feature on all lesson observation proformas, reinforcing the expectation that staff should refer to these in all lessons. We have also circulated a list of activities for each of the skills. Staff have enjoyed embedding these activities - for example starters and plenaries - into their lessons. Staff for all subjects give a skills-based target during progress reviews, which is an effective way of making essential skills a priority in all curriculum areas. We have also linked all our enrichment activities to essential skills, and the skills feature on all posters for our clubs. We also run an Aiming High club for our high-achieving students, allowing them to apply this skill to make plans for their future.
Bring it to life
All students have had the opportunity to build their Speaking and Listening Skills on House Day, when we ran workshops on each skill. We are also planning a Summer House Day which will focus on Teamwork. Essential skills were a key focus of our Careers Fair, and we have also created a skills-based work experience diary, which encourages our T-Level students to reflect on how they have used these skills in their placements.
What's next
Next year we are keen to consolidate this year's successes. We would also like to continue to develop college-wide initiatives to help students develop their Essential 8 skills outside of the classroom. Finally, we would like to work with our Community Engagement Officer to promote essential skills outside of college.
