Saltash Community School

Saltash Community School
Address
Wearde Road Saltash , Cornwall , PL12 4AY United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°24′08″N 4°13′13″W
Information
Type	Academy
Motto	Achieving more together
Department for Education URN	136575 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Headteacher	Ms K Littledyke
Gender	Coeducational
Age	11 to 18
Enrolment	c. 1,300
Website	http://www.saltash.net

The front entrance of Saltash Community School

Saltash Community School is a mixed 11 to 18 academy school established in its present form in 1965, in Saltash, Cornwall, England. The school was previously maintained by the Cornwall Education Authority before 1 April 2011, when the school became an academy. In 2013 it formed Saltash Multi Academy Regional Trust (SMART), together with Landulph Primary School. The school is situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and it occupies a 13-acre (5.3 ha) site overlooking Plymouth Sound and the Tamar and Lynher rivers.

Curriculum

Key Stage 3

During Year 7, the first year at the school, students follow an Integrated Learning curriculum which teaches students to focus on their GRIT skills for the majority of their lesson time at school. Each half term is dedicated to a 'Know Zone', and is designed to prepare students for the remainder of their education and further lives. No lesson time is dedicated to the Integrated Learning curriculum from Year 8 onwards. Throughout KS3, students follow a broad curriculum, with the academic subjects and the arts. There is also significant Personal Development provision, with PSHEE, Citizenship and Careers being integrated into this time.

Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4 follows a curriculum aiming to get students GCSE qualifications. Students are required to take Maths, English Language and Literature, Combined or Separate Sciences, Religious Education and up to four GCSE, BTEC or vocational 'options'. Personal Development and Games are also taken by all students, although these subjects are not examined. All GCSE subjects follow Ofqual approved courses and most are linear 9-1 qualifications. At the end of Key Stage 4, students can decide to continue onto the school's Sixth Form or go into another form of education. GCSE results for the 2016 cohort were under both the LEA and National Average.

Key Stage 5 / Sixth Form

In the Sixth Form, students were previously required to choose up to five AS/BTEC subjects, although the majority of students chose four. However, the school no longer runs AS level qualifications and instead requires students to choose four A Level subjects, dropping one subject within the first month of Sixth Form education. Each subject has nine hours timetabled per fortnight and all students are also required to have Careers and General Studies lessons, although these are not examined. To progress to Year 13, students must pass a number of "progression tests", as well as keep a good record of attendance and behaviour. In Year 13, students remain with three A Level subjects, and Careers time is focused on applications to University, Apprenticeships or employment for after students leave the school.

Controversy

Over the past couple of years, the school has been met with a number of controversies by both media outlets, students and parents alike. These include a large decrease in Ofsted ranking, allegations of bullying, and anti-social behaviour. Many students (and parents of students) at the school have anonymously backed up these claims to sources such as Plymouth Live, with only a handful rebutting the claims. One example of the defence of the school was an anonymous ex-student coming out to say the school didn't have a bullying problem after a scathing OFSTED report suggested otherwise. However it has been rumoured that this student may have been coached by the school to make these statements due to e-mails recovered from a data breech in the schools network in early 2019.

The school is ranked 2 stars out of 5 on SchoolParrot.co.uk, with most complaints being about the schools poor handling of mental health, general disrepair, and ignorance to issues within their faculty.

Multi Academy Trust

The school is currently part of Saltash Multi Academy Regional Trust, shortened to SMART, along with Landulph Primary School. In 2016, SMART indicated that it is currently in the process of adding more schools to the academy trust and plans to become the South East Cornwall Multi Academy Trust whilst retaining the SMART acronym. The plans currently name Dobwalls Primary School, Trewidland Primary School, Bodmin College, Looe Community Academy and Liskeard School and Community College.

Catchment area

Although catchment areas no longer exist, due to changes in schools admissions policies, the "nominal" catchment area includes Burraton Community Primary School, Brunel Community Primary School, Bishop Cornish School, St. Stephens School, Landulph School, Sir Robert Geoffrey’s School, Landrake and St Germans School. Many pupils join the school from outside the immediate catchment area in both Year 7 and Year 12.

External links

• Map sources for Saltash Community School