Careers Implementation

Careers Implementation

Careers education here at Kepier is delivered through a careers education programme in school from years 7-11 and includes careers information, advice and guidance which is offered to students individually from years 7-11, both internally by the Careers Advisor and externally by the local authority careers service for specialist and impartial guidance. The CEIAG curriculum is taught by staff in the Culture and Wellbeing Department.

Careers education is statutory from year 8 but we begin from year 7 in order to raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes and encourage ALL pupils to consider a wide range of careers. A copy of the statutory guidance October 2018 can be found here: Careers Guidance Schools Guidance

In each Key Stage all students follow a carefully planned CEIAG programme:

Key Stage 3 – most of the careers education takes place during Curriculum for Life (CfL) lessons and is delivered by the staff within this department.
Key Stage 4 – careers education forms a separate module within the Curriculum for Life programme for years 10 and 11.

Staff in school also link curriculum learning to Careers.

Year 7

• Learners are encouraged to identify personal traits, strengths and skills and develop confidence. They will become more aware of key employability skills.
• Learners focus is on their future places and aspirations and how the choices they make now can affect their future. They gain understanding from this of what their personal pathways are.
• Learners are also introduced to the idea of writing CVs; exploring what a CV is and how to write one. They begin to explore the options that are available to them at 14 and post 16 in order to prepare for the decision they are expected to make at these key points.
• Learners are introduced to careers resources and informed how to use them. From this they gain an understanding of Labour Market Information – how to use it and what it tells them about their potential future.
• Learners have optional access to independent and impartial advice via drop-in sessions. By beginning careers education early, learners can make better informed decisions at transition stages and are more motivated in school in order to follow a particular pathway.
• Opportunities are given with local college providers and employers to allow learners access to these pathways at an early stage. This develops understanding of key qualifications post 16 and the difference between academic (A-Level routes) and vocational routes.

Year 8

• Learners build on personal strengths and begin to link skills to specific careers enabling realistic and informed decisions. Learners are introduced to the world of work and how it is constantly changing. They gain an enhanced understanding of how potential pathways can affect their longer-term future.
• Learners will focus on looking at employment, unemployment and labour market information to gain a greater understanding of the area in which they live and what is available to them locally and nationally. This builds on knowledge of LMI in a wider context and develops understanding of workplace and economic pressures. The key focus is around what a career is and what careers journeys look like.
• Learners are encouraged to reflect upon their achievements and progress, as well as how to use their time productively to contribute and enhance their CVs. This enhances understanding of success in the workplace and develops key knowledge of how to apply and successfully gain employment and further study.
• Learners are encouraged to think about what they might like to achieve after they finish school.
• Learners have optional access to independent and impartial advisers via drop-in sessions. They are also encouraged to use careers resources available and informed where to find out more about specific courses/careers.
• Opportunities are given with local college providers and employers to allow learners access to these pathways at an early stage. This develops understanding of key qualifications post 16 and the difference between academic (A Level routes) and vocational routes.

Year 9

• Learners are encouraged to reassess personal strengths with a focus on transferable skills.
• Learners begin to think about GCSE options in terms of career pathways and plan their future within the school. They will be made aware of places of study from the ages of 14, 16 & 18 as well as other qualification routes. This enhances the early knowledge of different pathways but ensures they are fitted into the context of decisions around options and courses of study.
• Learners focus on self-assessment, career paths and options post 14. They have an options evening followed by classwork designed specifically to aid them in the selection of their options at KS4. Knowledge of local providers is enhanced through this.
• PSHCE lessons and tutor Periods focus on option choices at 14 and link these choices to possible future progression and employment post-16. This develops decision making skills and learners link to their future progression.
• Assemblies are held so learners are aware of who to go to for help and advice. Our PSHCE teachers continue the work on choices during the weekly lesson and tutors also carry on this work, if necessary, thus developing the understanding of post 16 progression and the difference between different levels of qualifications.
• Learners are encouraged to use their knowledge of post-16 pathways to inform their choices for Key Stage 4 study.
• The School’s Careers Advisor is on hand to support with Year 9 Option choices and can offer Impartial advice and guidance to learners.
• Learners have access to independent and impartial advisers via drop-in sessions. They are also encouraged to use careers resources available and informed where to find out more about specific courses/careers.

Year 10

• Learners explore Post 16 options and interview techniques. The focus is on what learners have achieved so far, further career exploration and also what they are thinking about doing post 16.
• Learners commence CV and cover letter writing to put understanding of application process into action and understand the full experience of the application process.
• Our Mock Interview process allows the curriculum learning in PSHCE to be put into action in front of local employers and providers. Learners complete their mock interview and are given honest and bespoke feedback on their performance. This allows learners to be self reflective and carry the experience into the real world of employment.
• Learners have access to independent and impartial advisers via appointments and drop in sessions. They are also encouraged to use careers resources available and informed where to find out more about specific courses/careers. Learners start to put prior learning of pathways into their next decision making process and formulate understanding of how Post 16 decisions impact on future decisions and pathways.
• Learners visit different local colleges and participate in ‘taster’ sessions to prepare them for making decisions regarding what and where they would like to study. This cements the learning that is already undertaken in Key Stage 3 and allows for informed decisions around next steps.
• Year 10 parents and learners attend an Information Evening where all providers discuss Post 16 options.
• Assemblies are taken by providers to cover a wide range of routes that are available to learners.

Year 11

• Learners are supported with post 16 choices and encouraged to consider all their options including further study in 6th form, technical education and apprenticeships as well as complete their Intended Destination Form. Interview techniques further developed.
• In Year 11 the focus is based on post-16 options and the Application Process. We look at work and pay, and how both are connected. This enhances and brings together work on jobs and the impact on economic pressures and understanding of the world at work.
• Learners have access to independent and impartial advisers through one-to-one meetings and drop-in sessions. They are also encouraged to use careers resources available and informed where to find out more about specific courses/careers. Learners use Careers Interviews to help understand different career pathways and entry requirements and are encouraged to make contingency plans should results be better/worse than expected and set personal targets for development.
• Year 11 parents and learners attend an Information Evening where all providers are invited in to continue discussions with learners regarding Post 16 options.
• All Year 11 learners attend the annual Careers Fayre and continue engagements with providers regarding post 16 options. They apply for courses and apprenticeships.
• Learners are encouraged to think about the kind of behaviour potential employers look for and thus build on and enhance employability skills already covered.
• Learners are encouraged to attend careers talks, fairs, college open days and taster days with employers.
• Assemblies are taken by providers to cover a wide range of routes that are available to learners post 16.

Careers interviews

All Year 11 learners get a careers interview with our careers advisor. Parents are encouraged to get involved by reading action plans on Grofar with their child.

Visits to / from local colleges

During the summer term of Year 10, learners have the opportunity to visit a local college of their choice to help enable to make an informed choice as to where they may like to attend post 16. In the autumn term of Year 11 representatives from the local further education colleges, training providers and Universities are invited into school to speak to the students during the weekly Curriculum for life lesson or during drop down days as a careers fair. At various events where parents will be present, education and training providers are invited when it is relevant.
As a school we also offer visits for learners to experience universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and Sunderland.

Other Visitors

We do have other visitors come to the academy to speak to the students whenever there is opportunity or demand. Such visitors included the army, the RAF and the navy.

Partner/Employer Contribution to the Careers programme

Parents and Carers

Parental involvement is encouraged at all stages. Parents / Carers are kept up to date with careers related information through letters, newsletters and at open evenings. Parents are also welcome to attend careers interviews and discuss action plans with their child.

A number of opportunities are provided for parents to engage with decisions their child makes with regards to their future, for example, open evenings, consultation evenings and apprentice pop up shops.

Links with the Community, Outside Agencies and Businesses.

Kepier school has a vast bank of links with businesses in the local area and beyond, for example; TRW , Carillion, JTL, BL Hairdressing, Nissan, Sunderland Software City, Army, Navy, RAF, Upstream Communications, Gentoo, Fusion Contact Centre, Sale Cycle and Orange Bus.
We also work closely with all the colleges in the local area including: East College Durham, Durham Sixth Form, City of Sunderland,
Links are created by attending Work Discovery Week including; Nissan, Gentoo, Arriva, Liebherr, TRW, Accenture, Northumbrian Water, Grundfos, SAFC and Sunderland City Council.
Where appropriate, speakers are invited into the school to enhance and enrich the experiences of our learners, and we also have an ongoing partnership agreement with Careerwise and Together for Children.

College and Apprenticeship Applications

Prospectuses and application forms for the most popular local colleges are made available to the learners through the school library, Guidance Officer and the colleges themselves at a careers fair as early as October. The careers adviser is available to help learners complete their forms although many students prefer to complete their applications at home with their parents. There is the opportunity for providers to hold application clinics on a break time where learners can ask questions about existing applications or make new ones.
Learners wishing to apply for apprenticeships or training are notified about how to go about this during their careers interview, but sessions are also available with the careers adviser to help with registering onto the best websites and their applications.

Careers Champions Project

The DfE Statutory Guidance for schools (March 2015) recommended that schools should achieve a CEIAG Quality Award.

This is an extract from the Guidance which says:

67. In developing careers provision for pupils, there are currently three aspects of quality assurance that schools should take into consideration:

• The quality of the school careers programme. The Government recommends that all schools should work towards a Quality Award for careers education, information, advice and guidance as an effective means of carrying out a self-review and evaluation of the school’s programme. The national validation, the Quality in Careers Standard, will assist schools to determine an appropriate Quality Award to pursue.
• The quality of independent careers providers. The recognised national quality standard for information, advice and guidance (IAG) services is the matrix Standard. To achieve the Standard, organisations will need to demonstrate that they provide a high quality and impartial service. Schools can access an online register of organisations accredited to the matrix Standard.
• The quality of careers professionals working with the school. The Career Development Institute has developed a set of professional standards for careers advisers, a register of advisers holding postgraduate qualifications and Guidelines on how advisers can develop their own skills and gain higher qualifications. The main qualifications for careers professionals are the Qualification in Career Guidance (QCG) (which replaced the earlier Diploma in Careers Guidance) and the Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development. Schools can view a register of careers professionals or search for a career development professional who can deliver a particular service or activity.

Kepier achieved the Gold Award from Inspiring IAG in 2018, and this was reviewed in 2021.

You can read more about the CDI Framwork, the framework that the IAG award is based on, here http://www.thecdi.net/write/CWRE_User_Guide.pdf

For information on our curriculum planning, please see document in CEIAG Useful Docmuents.