About Us

FACTS ABOUT LONG ROAD
SIXTH FORM COLLEGE

• Part of the Newly formed Sixth Form Colleges Trust as of September 2024
• Established in 1974 on the site of the former Cambridgeshire High School for Girls. Approx. 2,500 students, almost all 16-19.
• Turnover will be £15 million next year.
• A member of the Cambridge Area Partnership of secondary schools, Colleges and special schools. Please see the link to Cambridge Area Partnership: https://www.cap14-19.org.uk/
• Almost all courses are at levels 2 and 3, with 84% of enrolments being for level 3 courses. Over 25 A level subjects are available at the College, while Applied courses are offered in a range of vocational areas using OCR Cambridge Technicals, WJEC and BTEC qualifications.
• Approx. 180 staff, including full and part-time teachers and managers and full and part-time support staff.
• The site is situated on the Addenbrookes Biomedical Campus, 23 acres of land on the southern boundary of Cambridge City. It has 3,000 trees with some areas of dense woodland, there is a planted arboretum with some quite rare trees including an Indian Bean Tree and a Giant Redwood.
• Ecological studies have shown up to 20 bird species frequent the site along with a wide variety of mammals including dear, badgers and foxes and of course the ubiquitous rabbit of which there are hundreds.

VISION AND VALUES

Long Road is an open, accepting and diverse community

• Always Learning. We are a collaborative teaching and learning community that encourages each other to innovate, persevere and grow.
• Diversity in people and ideas. We are at our best when we can be ourselves in a safe, supportive environment where everyone is valued, and different perspectives are welcome.
• Empathy. We treat each other with kindness and respect, taking responsibility for our actions.
• Integrity. We keep our commitments and are honest, fair and trustworthy.
• Sustainability. We act to reduce our direct environmental impact and to create a sustainable future for everyone.

We want everyone to be able to be themselves and be free from discrimination including bullying, harassment and victimisation. We will create an environment where everyone can achieve their potential, and no one will be disadvantaged because of their identity, disability or personal circumstances. We will achieve our vision through collaborative, effective teamwork, both in college and with our community.

In addition to the College values, we also promote Democracy by encouraging students to accept responsibility for their behaviour, show initiative, understand how they can contribute positively to the lives of those living and working in the locality and to society more widely, and enable students to acquire a general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services. We encourage respect for democracy and support for participation in the democratic processes.

EQUALITY & DIVERSITY

The College aims to promote and maintain equality of opportunity and freedom from discrimination and harassment on grounds of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, gender reassignment, religion or age. We actively encourage applications from students from all ethnic backgrounds, ensuring that students with any physical disabilities have equal access to resources and encourage students to follow courses of their choice for which they are qualified.

We are committed to raising awareness of Equal Opportunities issues among both staff and students through specific educational initiatives. We hope you will never face any form of discrimination or harassment, or feel that you are prevented from participating in the full range of college activities, but should it occur, we will provide the support necessary to resolve any difficulties.

DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE

Long Road Sixth Form College has a duty to provide a secure and safe environment in which learners and staff can obtain the best possible benefit from studying or working at the College.  Part of the College’s duty is to ensure that it does not employ or make use of the services of a person who has a criminal conviction or record of behaviour that could pose a threat to the safety and well being of learners and staff.  This procedure will ensure that appropriate checks are made on College employees and those carrying out services for the College. 

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is a facility whereby an employer can request that a check is carried out on an employee/ prospective employee to confirm his/her suitability for certain types of work, particularly work involving contact with children (under 18) or other vulnerable members of society.  The disclosure service provides access to records held by:

• the police, for checks relating to cautions and convictions;
• the Department of Health, for records relating to suitability to work with children;
• the Department of Education and Skills, to ascertain if a person has been judged to be unsuitable to work with children;

The College will require a DBS enhanced disclosure for all new academic staff and support staff, due to the nature of the College’s business.  The enhanced disclosure will indicate that there is no record of the person being unsuitable to work with children under the age of 18 or with vulnerable adults.

All prospective employees will be asked to provide original proof of identification documents to the College’s counter-signatory or a nominated member of the HR Department and complete an online DBS Application. 

Any offer made will be subject to a satisfactory DBS disclosure including satisfactory Barred List clearance.

The DBS check may take several weeks to complete.  When completed, the DBS sends the certificate, detailing any disclosure to the individual who has applied and notification to the registered body/employer.  The disclosure will give details of criminal record or other related matter which has been recorded.  The employee must present their certificate to the HR department as soon as it is received, for verification.

Once the certificate has been obtained from the DBS, the HR Manager will consider if the certificate and any disclosure is satisfactory to enable the prospective employee to commence their employment with the College.  

In determining if the employment should commence the following factors will be taken into account:

• whether the conviction or other matter revealed is relevant to the post offered;
• the seriousness of any offence or other matter revealed;
• the length of time since the offence or other matter occurred;
• whether the individual has a pattern of offending behaviour or record that relates to another relevant matter;
• whether the individual’s circumstances have changed since the offending behavior;
• the circumstances surrounding the offence or other matter and the explanation offered by the individual.

If it is determined that the employment should not commence,  the individual will be given written reasons for this. The HR Manager will write to him/her withdrawing the offer and explaining the reasons.

EMPLOYER ACCESS PORTAL CHECKS

A person who is prohibited from teaching must not work as a teacher, or work in such an environment.  The College will run a check on the Employer Access Online (to which the HR team has secure access via the Department’s Secure Access portal) and this will identify any existing prohibitions and sanctions made by the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) before its abolition, and provide information about any teacher qualifications held and whether induction has been passed.