Careers
Careers Lead – Mrs J Rogers – jennifer.rogers@weareauthentic.education
Wey Valley Academy aims to promote a progressive career provision that is linked to WVA’s core values of Ready, Respect and Safe and is an essential part of the school ethos. Our effective and impartial career programme, together with a rich curriculum, places our students’ best interests at the centre of everything we do. We aim to support the aspirations of all our learners and ensure they gain the skills, competencies and experiences they require to progress in their learning and the world of work. By aligning our careers provision to the Gatsby and CDI frameworks, we can give our students the knowledge and the cultural capital they need to flourish and succeed as individuals, so they can reach their full potential. Our ambitious, progressing programme, contains age-appropriate content and delivers a breadth of opportunities and experiences. It encourages our students to understand the wide range of future pathways available including technical, vocational and academic routes. We continually measure and assess the Intent, Implementation and Impact of our careers programme.
This allows us to continually evolve and improve our career provision to meet the needs of our students, the world of work, and the rapidly changing landscape. By ‘making careers everyone’s business, our aim is for our students to become more independent, confident and resilient learners, who can look beyond the obvious career options, challenge stereotypes, and understand the link between learning and the world of work, with an appreciate for the value of lifelong learning, so they can make a positive contribution to society. Our careers provision adheres to the eight Gatsby Benchmarks and the new CDI (Careers & Development Institute) Framework. The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of eight guidelines that define the best careers provision in secondary schools. Our planned programme support students and ensure they receive the relevant careers information, advice and guidance that is suitable for their age and ability by implementation of the 8 Gatsby Career Benchmarks, written by Sir John Holman, a former Head teacher and founder of the National STEM Learning Centre. The CDI’s Career Development Framework describes the six career development benchmarks which supports ‘positive careers. This can mean different things to different people but typically it will include a good work-life balance, being happy, being able to make a contribution to your community and being able to have a decent standard of living.
Intent/Implementation/Impact/Accountability
Intent
1. Students have access to an impartial ambitious, careers programme from Year 7 to Year 11, with explicit content, delivered in logical progression.
2. Unbiased careers advice and support from a range of different career activities such as individualised 1:1 career meetings, small group sessions, STEM activities, PSHE, employer encounters, career fairs, career conversations, HE/FE visits, Apprenticeship workshops, NCW, virtual and work experience/work shadowing activities, Career Term, careers within the curriculum etc.
3. Calendar of events and activities are published on our website, to ensure wider information, access and transparency and newsletters sent out each term providing a roundup of the events
4. Student develop an analytical approach to career data such as Labour Market Information, which encourages exploration and supports them in making well informed decisions.
5. Challenging perceptions and raising aspirations, so that subject and career choices challenge stereotypes, and students know how to look beyond their immediate environment to new and exciting possibilities.
6. Students with special educational needs and disabilities, or those from disadvantaged groups, develop their skills in a safe and aspirational environment, to enable them to reach their full potential and prepare them for their next transition point.
7. Supporting all students as they learn about the world of work, their adaptability, resilience, transferrable skills, qualifications and their own life goals such as happiness and wellbeing.
8. Providing advice, information, guidance and support which will encourage further engagement with all stakeholders such as parents/carers, families, staff and employers.
9. To futureproof students so they can understand the options available to them now and in the future.
Implementation
1. Delivering a clear, progressive and impartial programme to Year 7 – Year 11, which is backed by SLT and all stakeholders, with explicit content taught in logical progression, routinely monitored, audited and evaluated to ensure it is fit for purpose.
2. Individualised programmes, age and ability appropriate, with clear and accurate career information, advice, and guidance, which meets the needs and supports pupils with the development of their own personalised careers journey and results in sustainable transitions and destinations
3. A range of up-to-date resources which supports the ever changing and evolving world of work landscape and includes a strong STEM agenda, PSHE, meaningful FE/HE and employer encounters, WEX/VWEX, NCW, NAW, and WRL opportunities including bespoke support to identified cohorts ensuring they understand their options and are able to reach their full potential.
4. Planned, facilitated access from external providers who can fully inform students about LMI and the range of Post 16 options, Post 18 options, alternative qualifications and pathways.
5. Teachers confidently embed careers within their own subjects (SOW) and are able to link their own expert subject knowledge to the world of work and can explain the range of pathways available, giving unbiased options.
6. Regular communication, advice, information, guidance to support all stakeholders and encourage further engagement through a range of communication channels such as Newsletters, Social media, Email, Website etc.
7. Individualised support with career aspirations, as students develop personal strengths such as career management skills, improving attainment, adaptability, resilience, enterprise and engagement. Helping them to recognise the link between school and work, and the value of lifelong learning.
8. An evolving Alumni programme to inform and inspire.
9. Close working relationships with all stakeholders including community and local business networks, Enterprise Adviser, Enterprise Co-ordinator, SEMLEP, etc.
Impact
1. Students are well prepared and feel empowered to make reasonable decisions about their future, and NEET figures which reflect the success of school programme and interventions.
2. Students are able to make clear informed decisions about their future career choices due to a wide range of experiences and opportunities.
3. Data such as destination, shows a range of positive outcomes, as students move successfully, at all transition points, onto sustainable pathways.
4. Teacher CPD. Subject teachers are expert in their delivery and confident in how their subject links to the world of work, and the variety of pathways and options.
5. Students are more engaged in the curriculum, and connected with their teachers as they are able to see the relevance of subjects and how they relate to the wider range of career options and pathways.
6. Students develop competencies and employability skills. They become motivated, understanding they can make a contribution to school, the community and society and have a positive attitude towards lifelong learning.
7. Increased and positive engagement with all stakeholders, via a range of communication methods. *(Baker Clause) Summary: Regularly monitoring, evaluating, reviewing and reflecting allows us to proactively plan future programmes. We achieve this by collecting quantitative and qualitative data and information from a range of sources including: - Student/Parent surveys and questionnaires,
Teacher and Staff evaluation forms Employer/Employee questionnaires Transitional destination data Progressive data Attendance and attainment figures Sustainable, progressive and ambitious pathways Compass + audit tool Gatsby Benchmark CDI Framework STEM XELLO – on line platform SEMLEP – Local Enterprise Partnership C&EC – Careers and Enterprise Company NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) figures Contribution and engagement with society/Alumni KSA Impact Statement 1/3/22
Accountability
· The Link Governor & Governing Body are responsible for overseeing the quality and content, and monitoring the impact that the careers provision, ensuring independent careers guidance is provided in an impartial manner.
· The Senior Leadership Team is responsible for supporting and embedding a stable and structured, strategic careers programme in school. They annually review and evaluate the programme, from data, technology and feedback, to ensure its overall effectiveness and drive improvements.
· The Link SLT Careers Line Manager is responsible for the management and is accountable for quality assuring the strategic careers programme, its implementation and improvement, ensuring it aligns with the CDI and Gatsby Frameworks.
· The Careers Leader is responsible for the development and implementation of the effective careers plan to help prepare young people for the choices and transitions in Education, Training and Employment. Providing independent personal advice and guidance in 1:1 and/or group sessions and coordinating other specific activities such as arranging career talks and assemblies, organising college applications and references, organising external speakers and the Year 10 World of Work (WOW, Insights into Industry), providing employers for mock interview events, careers trips, career fairs, STEM event, Employer/Further/Higher Education visits and engagements, tracking and reporting destination data, as well as the documenting and tracking of all career activities.
· The Head of Year/Head of Department is responsible for facilitating and/or delivering career information at key transitional points and incorporating career learning within their curriculum linked to real-world career paths.
· The Subject Teachers are responsible for linking and embedding careers within curriculum learning using their own expert knowledge to explain a range of pathways and options.
· The Vocational Coordinator supports our careers provision by growing business relationships and networks. They provide a source of local expertise and Labour Market Information which aligns with the area development plan.
· The Careers and Enterprise Company supports us with audit tools and access to a wide range of resources and advice, creating collaborative working between schools, which enables us to share best practice.
· The Enterprise Adviser is a professional from business who works in a voluntary capacity with the Careers Leaders and Senior Leadership Team to provide industry specific connections and employer engagement opportunities, to help drive improvements in the school’s provision.
· The Enterprise Coordinator provides a local source of expertise, support externally and is responsible for providing collaboration opportunities, CPD, cluster hubs and networks which enables us to share best practice.