Our Careers Curriculum
Careers Programme
Here at All Saints Catholic School we strive to provide our pupils with the best possible advice and resources possible in order to put them in a strong position from which to work towards their future. We recognise both the importance of young people having goals towards which to work, as well as the need of some for advice about where to go. It is our goal that each individual student is able to actively engage in setting their careers goals, having been provided with relevant and current careers information and guidance. We pride ourselves in recognising that a personalised and tailored approach is needed to ensure that each individual can realise their career goals.
It is essential that the careers, education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is part of the ethos and fabric of all aspects of students journey at All Saints and is embedded into all aspects of the curriculum. Our CEIAG guidance equips our students with the tools they need to make informed choices about their future. All Aspects of the Baker Clause and Gatsby Benchmarks are integrated into the curriculum we provide
The Gatsby Benchmarks are:
1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance
As such, we run a comprehensive careers curriculum throughout the school, starting with an introduction to Unifrog careers website during dedicated PSHE lessons in Years 7, 8, and 9, 10 and 11.
Topics covered in our careers program include:
- Career pathways
- Particular sectors and self-employment
- Employability and Enterprise skills
- Developing skills of independent learning/research
- Job hunting, CVs and interview skills
- Further and higher education options, including Russell Group universities
- Alternatives to university such as apprenticeships and other school leaver programmes
- Next Steps guide for Year 11
Pupils in the lower school are given the chance to develop their entrepreneurial skills during enterprise and STEM events, which are run at various points during the school year along with hosting guest speakers from universities and employers in assembly time relating to career opportunities via University and Apprenticeship routes. Students in Year 9 are provided with additional career guidance support assisting them with their GCSE subject choices via Unifrog and our careers guidance counsellor. At KS4 we provide support in the form of sessions on work skills, as well as further lessons on alternative routes into employment. Pupils are introduced to apprenticeships via National apprenticeship week and ASK webinars and assemblies in Year 10 and Year 11. This is supplemented in Year 11 by individual interviews with an external advisor, which are provided for all pupils, as well as an excellent apprenticeship workshop, which highlights alternative possibilities to those who might not wish to go on to higher education. Work experience placements take place after their exams in the summer term of Year 10. Year 11 pupils also have the chance to take part in the Young Enterprise competition and the National Citizenship Service as a means to gain further insights into the world of business and employment.
The Sixth Form is, of course, the time when students have careers most on their minds, and we seek to help them in several ways. First, there is a careers fair each year, open to students in Years 11 and 12, during which practitioners from a range of professions come in to give students an insight into their world of work. Second, we offer each student in Year 13 a mock interview, whether that be for university, or for employment. Each pupil has access to a UCAS/careers mentor to supplement guidance given on university and careers applications. We augment this provision with PSHE lessons focused on job applications and building a CV. We also consider it important for pupils to consider routes other than university, and for that reason we run an assembly on apprenticeships for Year 12. Oxbridge and Russell Group support sessions via webinars and visits to universities take place where students meet current students and admissions team to give students an insight into university life.
Pupils from across the whole school are also welcome to attend regular careers talks at lunchtime given by external providers, and covering a full range of employment options - from theatre management to chemistry. We seek to engage with employers and people in work in order to offer our pupils as many opportunities as possible to learn about careers and employment.
The school regularly reviews careers provision, taking feedback from both students and providers. It is also considered by the Careers Coordinator, and governors. Further, destinations after leaving school are used as an important metric to assess success. In doing this we aim to continually improve the provision that we offer.
The Careers Advice section on the website, as well as careers provision in general, is reviewed on a yearly basis.
Monitoring and Evaluation of Careers Programme Impact
At All Saints Catholic School, we measure the effectiveness of our careers programme in three main ways:
- Pupil engagement with activities via Unifrog website
- Pupil voice surveys
- Pupil uptake of career events
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Useful Links
- https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
- https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/
- https://www.barclayslifeskills.com/
- https://www.ucas.com/
- https://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/
- https://www.milkround.com/
- https://targetcareers.co.uk/
- https://www.prospects.ac.uk/
- https://investment2020.org.uk/
- https://www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk/
- https://barclayslifeskills.com/educators/
- startprofile.com
- icould.com
- https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/advice/gcse-choices-university/how-important-are-gcse-choices-when-it-comes-to-university
- https://successatschool.org/advice/all/desc/all/all/Why%20Study
For further information about our careers curriculum, please contact our IAG lead Mrs. Ursula Mullarkey umullarkey@allsaintsschool.co.uk
