Careers

As part of the academy’s commitment to providing outstanding and impartial careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) to all students, we have a careers leader at the academy, Zoe Harris. You can contact her using the following email: [email protected] or by telephone on:  01922685777.

Throughout their school life, each student is entitled to:

  • Careers education, information and guidance that meets professional standards of practice. 
  • A careers programme that will raise aspiration, challenge stereotypes, and promote equality and diversity. 
  • Support in making well informed and realistic decisions. 
  • Access to impartial and independent information and guidance about the range of education and training options that are most likely to help students achieve their ambitions. 
  • The careers advisor is available every Tuesday and Thursday: 3.00pm – 4.00pm for students and parents to make appointments for advice and guidance.

The Eight Benchmarks Of Careers Education

Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers.

Careers education and guidance is part of our curriculum, students in Years 7-13 have access to an embedded programme of careers education and guidance which has explicit backing from SLT. The programme is published on our academy website so that parents, students, teachers and governors can access it. This is regularly evaluated through the Gatsby Compass tool. 

We provide opportunities for other educational establishments and apprenticeship providers to speak to students about technical qualifications and apprenticeships and have a provider access document published on our website for other educational establishments and training providers to view. 

We have made connections with local businesses and organisations such as ‘speakers for schools’ to provide opportunities for students to hear from a range of inspirational speakers from varied industries during their school life. The CEIAG programme we have in place includes access to:

  • One to one careers advice and guidance with the onsite school’s careers adviser.
  • PSHE careers education units for Years 7-13 through the PSHE education.
  • The opportunity for all students to visit the annual on-site careers fair.
  • Careers stereotypes workshop in Year 7.
  • Guided choices workshop in Year 8.
  • Careers education and guidance day in Year 9.
  • A work place/employer visit in Year 10.
  • A personalised face to face careers guidance meeting in Year 11.
  • Awork experience placement with a local employer in Year 12.

Every student, and their parents should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities.  They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.

Through personalised careers guidance meetings an action plan summary is completed with a student, this includes sources of information regarding LMI and career choices.  Students from any year group can request a careers guidance meeting with the Careers Adviser and there are drop-in times available for them to get advice. 

Each year group follows a tailored careers education programme.  This includes information on exploring different careers, information on entry routes and requirements, applications, interviews and skills needed in the work place.  In addition, we use the ‘National Careers Service’ and ‘Start’ which students and parents can access both in school and at home.  The National Careers service website provides information and advice on a range of job profiles, careers and qualifications.  Start is a careers exploration tool website which also has live apprenticeships on the site which students can apply for.  Students spend time working on Start in Year 11 during PSHE Careers lessons.

Students have different career guidance needs at different stages.  Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each student.  A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.

The career advisor in school works closely with other pastoral care and support staff members to identify needs of students and assessing students’ current strengths and areas for development, to enable them to acquire the skills valued by employers.

Our careers programme is tailored to different year groups to ensure it is age appropriate. Students are surveyed about their career interests in Years 9-11, they take part in a careers education and guidance day in Year 9, they then have the opportunity to choose a workplace visit of their choice in Year 10. In Year 11 they have a face-to-face careers advice meeting and follow up support with our in-house careers advisor.

All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths and to prevent all forms of stereotyping to ensure boys and girls consider the widest possible range of careers.

During national careers week, subjects deliver lessons based around careers in their specific area, e.g., careers in science.  This gives students an insight into the different careers they could go into using each of their qualifications.

Through our partnership with the University of Wolverhampton, Aspire to HE Programme, a number of STEM interventions take place where students are introduced to interactive lectures exploring different job roles within scientific fields.

In Year 7 we hold a career stereotypes session as an introduction to careers and the workplace. The purpose of the workshop is to dispel myths around careers being for particular groups of people and is about challenging stereotypes within the workplace.

During national careers week we hold a whole school careers fair event and we invite a range of employers including STEM employers to talk to students about the career opportunities they offer within their organisation.  We have had employee representatives attend from the Royal Society of Chemistry, Jaguar Land Rover, The STEM ambassador network, Lloyds Banking Group, Crowe Clark Whitehill, BT and Amazon to name a few.

Every student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities we provide throughout a student’s school life including visiting speakers, careers/enterprise days and careers events.

During careers events and careers/employability skills days, students work with a range of employers and employees to give them an insight into the workplace.  One example includes the completion of careers carousel workshops with employees from Lloyds banking group.  During the workshops students learnt about career orientation, personal branding, working in a team and cyber awareness.  They also speak to the Lloyds representatives about their roles and the range of careers available.

Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities.

In Year 10, students have the opportunity to choose a workplace visit of their choice from a range of industries. These industries are reflective of the student’s career surveys which are completed in Year 9. As part of the workplace visit, students have the chance to go to an employer for the day for an introduction to the world of work, a talk on careers and a taster session where possible.

In Year 12, students go out to a local employer for a week of work experience in an area of interest to them, whilst on placement students complete a Barclays LifeSkills work experience log book to log their experiences and gain feedback from their employer regarding their performance.

All students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them, this includes both academic and vocational routes.

Whole school careers fair are held to assist with options and careers choices, we invite a variety of FE, HE and training providers to the event to be on hand to advise students on the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them.

In Year 10 students visit the skills show, the UK’s largest skills and careers event held at the NEC in Birmingham.  The Skills Show hosts a range of employers, training providers, colleges and universities who are all on hand to talk to students about future opportunities and career options.  There is also an opportunity to take part in ‘have a go’ skills experiences and the chance to gain information, advice and guidance from a range of career industry experts.

Careers advice is also made available from the national careers service, who have IAG advisers offering independent and impartial careers advice to young people visiting the show.

Every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career adviser, who could be internal or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made.  They should be expected for all students but should be timed to meet their individual needs.

Students are interviewed by the school careers advisor.  All year 11 students receive a one-to-one interview with the advisor and are able to seek further information, advice and guidance when needed.

This information is reviewed annually in September.

Last reviewed: September 2023

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