Equality & Diversity 2014-15

Equality and Diversity 2014 - - 2015

www.blackpoolsixth.ac.uk

Blackpool Sixth is committed to ensuring the promotion of equality of opportunity for all members of the college community. It is seeking to create a climate where all forms of discriminatory behaviour are challenged, differences between individuals celebrated and generate a culture where all staff and students are encouraged to achieve their full potential. The college is keen to ensure that equality of opportunity underpins all policies, valuing all members of the college community equally.

Equality policy and core values Promoting, celebrating and valuing diversity is at the heart of the college’s core values, and will benefit the college in all aspects of its members’ performance.

01

Respect - College will undertake to ensure all individuals and groups are treated fairly,

02

Excellence and High Aspirations - College will ensure that all members of the community

03

Support - All members of the college community will be given equal access to support in

04

Inclusion - Diversity is not only valued by the college, but also celebrated and promoted.

05

Global Citizenship - The college celebrates and promotes understanding of international

06

Enthusiasm - Blackpool Sixth is a passionate place to work and learn, and will seek

07

Integrity - All inappropriate behaviour and actions against the spirit of the Equality Policy

2

courteously and with respect. Beliefs, values and religious views will be respected and tolerance encouraged where individuals or groups may have differences.

are encouraged, supported and have equal opportunity to achieve their full potential. Pride will be taken in all achievements, and celebrated where appropriate.

their work or studies. College will make all reasonable adjustments to ensure individuals are given assistance and help where appropriate.

The college will seek to ensure that individuals understand differences in others and that activities and opportunities are adjusted where appropriate to ensure equality of access for all groups.

differences, encouraging all members of the college community to develop a better appreciation, tolerance and respect for global issues.

to nurture a positive attitude amongst all of the college community towards diversity, celebrating and exploring differences and valuing all individuals.

will be challenged and not tolerated. Members of the college community are expected to act with integrity at all times in recognising and respecting individuals’ differences.

Afro Vibes Festival BTEC Dance students had two workshops as part of the Afro Vibes festival at Lancaster - Learning Gum Boot dances from African American inspired historical dance moves. Visual arts students designed interiors and furnishings for the Dukes Theatre Bar and their work was displayed throughout the festival. Building on their communication, problem solving, collaboration and resilience skills all greatly benefited the students, especially improving their sense of pride and self belief.

BTEC Dance Bollywood dancing performance unit Students study Bollywood dancing as part of the choreography unit in BTEC Dance

Show Your Pride Show Your Pride day is an annual event organised and held by the student LBGT+ council to raise awareness of the issues the LBGT+ community face.

The event raised funds for the Stonewall charity and throughout the day there was information available for students, a cake sale and a photo booth. PC Ian Ashton, spoke in the theatre to students about his role as Blackpool’s Equality and Diversity Officer.

International Evening The evening was a fun-filled night with student presentations, music and food tasting. The evening began with a musical welcome from Laura Lagzda who sang a Latvian folk-song. There were presentations from students from Spain and Germany about their countries and their experiences of living in the UK. Students from the department of English and Modern Foreign Languages talked about the many benefits of learning other languages.

The Rotarians and other guests enjoyed sampling a wide range of delicious dishes from the home countries of some of the international students studying at Blackpool Sixth. This was then followed by a moving presentation by Rotarian, Dr Vasudev, about the continuing threat posed by polio around the world.

John Ormston, the Chairman of the Palatine Rotary club commented, “Blackpool Sixth hosted an excellent night for the members and guests and they never fail to be entertained.” He added, “It’s fantastic to see the college supporting international students and raise money for the Rotary club’s chosen charity, End Polio Now.” Lukas Oberbeck, a student from Germany who is studying at Blackpool Sixth said, “The International Evening was a fantastic chance to get involved with a variety of people with different nationalities and it has been great to learn about different cultures and societies.” He summed up the experience, “The night was thoroughly enjoyable and one I’ll never forget.”

The Rotary club made a donation of £100.00 to the End Polio Now campaign at the end of the evening.

Upper sixth media students looked at texts such as racism, social inequality and ethnic diversity and economic diversity in local and international settings

3

Evening of classical Indian dance.

Blackpool Sixth hosted a scintillating evening of classical Indian dance. Twelve year old, Rithika Ravishankar from Preston danced nine extended pieces to a packed audience in the college’s theatre. This evening was the talented youngster’s ‘rangapravesam’, a form of graduation, marking her attainment of an extremely high standard of mastery of the dance form known as ‘Kuchipudi’.

The dance form is often described as a blend of graceful body language and elegant footwork.

This description was particularly apt for Rithika’s performance which captivated the audience with its energy, precision and nuanced expression.

The event was organised by Rithika’s teacher, Mrs Abhinandana Kodana, herself an extremely accomplished Kuchipudi dancer who has performed at cultural events all around the world.

She has been teaching Rithika for six years.

School and dignitaries from the Hindu community in the North West including leading members from the Fylde Coast Hindu Society. The musicians accompanying Rithika were all leading classical Indian musical performers based in London.

The organisers noted that an event of this scale and quality is really something very special for the North West and is on a national level of prominence.

This is one of a number of recent collaborations Blackpool Sixth has had recently with the Hindu community from the Fylde Coast, Preston and Lancaster, including the Diwali celebrations in November. In June last year, the sixth form hosted a similar ‘rangapravesam’ for Kuchipudi dancer, Professor John Whittle from Lancaster University.

Family and friends of Rithika were in attendance, including her grandfather who had flown from southern India especially for the event. Other notable guests included the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Bolton University, Deputy Mayor of Blackpool, the Headteacher of Lancaster Girls Grammar

Dyslexia Awareness Day - This was part of the college’s successful work to obtain the British Dyslexia Society’s Quality Mark. The day also promoted a greater understanding of dyslexia.

Mia –The Pat Dog Mia, the PAT (Pets As Therapy) dog has visited the Focus Centre on several occasions. Mia has been a great support to students who suffer stress and anxiety, especially around exam time. Mia’s owner, Sue Parkin knows just how stressful exams can be, as she is one of our team of invigilators.

‘Wear it red’ for Nepal A group of students upon hearing about the earthquake disasters in Nepal, took it upon themselves to be proctive and help raise money for the cause. The students collected money for shelterbox who provide emergency shelter and tools for families robbed of their homes by disaster, transforming despair into hope.

4

Upper sixth English literature students raised issues of multiculturalism and sexuality through the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy, postcolonial critical viewpoints and slavery in “The Tempest” and racism in Hare’s “Murmuring Judges”

The Peace Pole The President of Rotary International in Britain and Ireland, Mr Peter King, was present for a ceremony to unveil a new “peace pole” at the sixth form.

Peace poles have the words “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in numerous languages and were first introduced in Japan after the devastation of World War II. They are now present in over 180 countries around the world and represent a pledge to work towards peace on a personal, local, national and international level.

The peace pole which has been installed in the college’s International Garden will be a constant reminder for students and staff of the importance of maintaining peace not only in the world but also in their daily lives. At the ceremony, the text from the pole was read out in twelve different languages and signed in British Sign Language.

The college organised a “poems for peace” competition and the winning entries were read at the ceremony.

The overall winner was Charlotte Crichton, aged 18 from Preston and the runner up was Chrissie KraemerLange, aged 16, who is from Germany.

The peace pole ceremony was followed by a talk to students by a Rotary International Peace Scholar, Claudia Maffettone. Claudia described how she became passionate about peace and conflict resolution.

She talked about conflict, its roots and patterns, and discussed how we can deal best with disagreement and difficult conversations. Through examples and simple activities, she stimulated insight and a better understanding of the causes of conflict and how to resolve it. Claudia is from from Italy and is studying for a Masters degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution at the Rotary Peace Centre based at Bradford University. Mr King, the President of Rotary International in Britain and Ireland, said that it was a “joy and a privilege to be here to mark this occasion.”

Justine Moore Visits Paralympian, Justine Moore, who left Blackpool Sixth in 2011 returned in March 2015 to speak inspire students and tell them about her experiences at the London 2012 Olympics Games.

After her visit Justine took part in a competition in Villemomble (outside of Paris) in April and then competed in the IWAS (International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports) Wheelchair Fencing World Cup event in Montreal, Canada at the start of May. She is also training with the GB team every two weeks in Milton Keynes.

Moving Forward Event - College was represented at the ‘Moving Forward’ event hosted by Blackpool Council’s SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) team at Blackpool Football Club in October 2014. At this event, various services and voluntary organisations provided information as part of the council’s local offer to children and young people with SEND and their families.

5

Fashion students Fashion students worked together in a STEM activity with engineering. Students transferred key drawing/pattern design to three-dimensions using engineering equipment.

This raised further awareness of the connection between the creative industries and design aspects, normally considered as a male industry.

Christmas Craft Fair The visual arts department held a fantastic and well attended Christmas Craft Fair on Saturday 22nd November 2014 to raise money for Sands Charity and Cancer Research. There was a huge turn out of guests and the college was packed with shoppers eager to spend their cash at the 63 stalls selling a range of Christmas crafts and treats. Stall-holders ranged from external artists and crafts people selling goods as well as Blackpool Sixth staff, students and several local schools including Baines High School and Highfield. The sales from stalls and donations raised a total of £600.00, which was all donated to Blackpool & Preston Sands Charity. Blackpool Sixth music students kindly played a range of amazing Christmas tunes and acoustics sets in the reception area, which set the mood and atmosphere for the day. There were prizes donated for the raffle with the total raised £253.00. The day was fantastic with positive feedback from stall holders, staff, students and shoppers saying how much they really enjoyed the day.

‘Hair today gone tomorrow’ In April 2015 a group of maths students had their heads shaved to raise money for Highfurlong School

The humanities department had a ‘ghost walk’ in aid of MIND raising £758.04.

6

Sociology and REP teamed up and invited a group of Buddhist monks to the college, students participated in a meditation session and had a discussion about their faith.

Money for Something An event organised by visually impaired student, Aidan McCabe raised funds for the RNIB.

Wear it Pink Blackpool Sixth embraced “Wear It Pink” day on 24th October in aid of the Breast Cancer Campaign.

Hundreds of students and staff participated by wearing pink, whilst others bought cakes and bracelets from a successful sale or donated to fundraisers throughout the day. Blackpool Sixth raised £538.28 in total.

The campaign was steered by a group of students from the Level 2 Enterprise and Employability course, all of whom chose charitable causes to support through fundraising. Jack Lucas, a member of the group fundraising for The Breast Cancer Campaign, said that he already volunteers for Cancer Research, “I wanted to raise more for cancer charities, as it is such a good cause.”

Fellow student, Matthew Knapp, explained that all the students assigned themselves different roles within the group in order to raise as much as they could.

Upper sixth travel & tourism students explored foods of the world during their planning and managing hospitality event, serving a wide range of food with all donations going towards a selection of charities.

Chinese New Year Taylor Shaw staff helped students and staff to celebrate Chinese New Year by providing a Chinese themed menu with a variety of dishes available to sample.

Christmas Quingo Lower sixth and upper sixth public services students raised money for the Empowerment charity.

Upper sixth public services students worked with police and empowerment charity regarding domestic abuse.

Diwali Celebrations Diwali Celebration (November 2014) was organised jointly with the Fylde Coast Hindu Society. The event involved a ceremony, presentations, Classical Indian and Bollywood dancing. Over 300 guests, Hindus and non-Hindus. Mayor of Blackpool and Paul Maynard MP in attendance. A representative of the Student Council was also in attendance and several students who study here were here with their families.

Upper sixth travel & tourism students visited the World Travel Market in London. They experienced dance, food and traditions from all around the world.

7

www.blackpoolsixth.ac.uk

01253 394911

/blackpoolsixth

/blackpoolsixth