Our career related programme has at its heart the eight benchmarks which have been established as a framework for good career guidance. The benchmarks were established as part of Sir John Holman’s research into what pragmatic actions could improve career guidance in England and now form part of the government’s careers strategy, launched in December 2017.
>>Careers Strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents
Key objectives for delivering our career related learning programme this year are as follows.
1. A stable careers programme
We will continue to embed a programme of career education and guidance that is well known and understood by all of our students, parents, teachers and governors. We will use the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Compass Plus tool to self-assess performance against the Gatsby Benchmarks.
2. Learning from career and labour market information
A key focus for our Careers Lead this year is to ensure that programme leads are encouraging students to use apps and online LMI tools, and that parents are encouraged to access and use information about labour markets and future study options to inform their support to their children.
3. Addressing the needs of each student
Where our students have EHC plans, their annual reviews will include a focus on adulthood, including employment. We ensure these reviews are informed by good careers guidance. This year, a focus on SEND will actively seek to challenge stereotypical thinking and raise aspirations. We are working with external partners to ensure that opportunities are tailored to the needs of individual students.
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
PSHE drop down days for careers and the Brannel Challenge ensure that career dialogue is embedded in all subject areas with identified links between other areas such as work-related learning and wider activities.
5. Encounters with employers and employees
Our Fantastic Futures programme is delivered as part of the Brannel Challenge. It is about raising aspirations, raising achievement and nurturing enterprise capability in every student. It is about providing ‘real life’ opportunities for students to see the relevance of the curriculum in order to motivate them to excel in their education. We connect our students with future employers from business and industry and create meaningful links between learning in school and the world of work. Activities take many forms such as enterprise related projects, work simulations, careers insight talks, career days, subject talks and activities, workplace visits and Challenge Week.
6. Experiences of workplaces
Every student has the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the workplace through a number of work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks. This is the focus of the Brannel Challenge for our Year 10 students.
7. Encounters with further and higher education
From Year 7, all students are informed about a range of learning opportunities including both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace. Further and Higher education visits are organised to help students make informed choices.
8. Personal guidance
It is a statutory requirement for schools to ensure that students are provided with independent careers guidance from year 8. Our teachers, tutors and careers sector leads take every opportunity to help students with careers advice and guidance. In addition, by the age of 16, every student is offered a guidance interview with an independent, qualified careers adviser from Careers 4U. This helps us to ensure that our careers guidance:
- is presented in an impartial manner, showing no bias or favouritism towards a particular institution, education or work option;
- includes information on the range of education or training options, including apprenticeships and technical education routes;
- is guidance that the person giving it considers will promote the best interests of the students to whom it is given.
