Careers Advice
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Wrenn School: Careers Programme
Careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is a vital part of every students’ time at Wrenn. We are committed to raising the aspirations of all our students. We encourage students to consider their skills and qualities and explore all their options to help prepare and support them for the choices, changes and transitions affecting their future education, training, career and life.
CEIAG is overseen by , Melanie Newmanthe Careers Co-ordinator (melanie.newman@wrennschool.org.uk)
The SLT link for CEIAG is Laura Raynor (laura.raynor@wrennschool.org.uk)
And the link governor for CEIAG is James Aldridge (james.aldridge@wrennschool.org.uk)
This statement sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to pupils at the school for the purposes of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer.
KEY STAGE 3
Timetabled PSHE sessions dedicated to careers
Careers research
Skills, qualities and interests
Careers software & research skills – www.u-explore.com
Options at Year 8 and transition
Options evening
Career planning
Enterprise days/events – Dragons Den/World of Work day/Young Enterprise Developer day
Labour Market Information – Start/SACU-student
Assemblies linked to careers and related to career specific displays around school
Assembly presentations by local colleges and training providers
Post-16 options and beyond
Higher Education taster day visits (University of Northampton, Leicester university, Oxford university)
Trips to local and national events – Big Bang Northants, National Skills show
Links with our Alumni community
Links with the University of Northampton Aspire/schools engagement team and the events/opportunities they provide
Links with the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) and the events/opportunities they provide
KEY STAGE 4
Timetabled PSHE sessions dedicated to careers
Careers research
Employability skills and preparation for the workplace
CV writing
Interview skills
Post-16 options and beyond
One to one careers appointments
Follow-up one to one appointments
Careers software & research skills –
Higher Education taster day visits
Assemblies linked to careers and related to career specific displays around school
Assembly presentations by local colleges and training providers
Trips to local and national events –National Skills show, National Apprenticeship show
Links with our Alumni community
Links with the University of Northampton Aspire/schools engagement team and the events/opportunities they provide
Links with the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) and the events/opportunities they provide
Sixth Form awareness assemblies and induction days
Public Services Career Fair
KEY STAGE 5
Various drop-down days covering – Higher Education, Apprenticeships, Gap Years
Career research
University and alternative options research
Careers software & research skills – www.unifrog.org
Visits to Higher Education events and specific universities
Destinations week
Links with the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) and the events/opportunities they provide
Individualised mentoring by pastoral and subject staff
Work experience
One to one careers appointments
Follow-up one to one appointments
CAREERS ADVISOR
We ensure that impartial careers advice and guidance is available for all our students.
Futures
Careers information, advice and guidance is offered by the Careers Co-ordinator Ms Newmanin the Futures room upstairs in Humanities. Appointments can be booked by emailing her on melanie.newman@wrennschool.org.uk and she is also available for drop in sessions at break and lunchtimes. The Futures room is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8am till 4pm and has a wide range of resources for everything careers related.
External Career Guidance
Mrs Cheryl McCarthy (LifeJigsaw) also interviews all year 11 students. She is also available for drop in sessions at break and lunchtime on the days she is in.
Mrs Newman offers a similar service to our Key Stage 5 students. Appointments with Mrs Newman can be arranged through Mrs Mayes (Sixth Form Manager).
Gatsby Benchmarks
Wrenn Academy’s careers programme supports the achievement of the eight Gatsby benchmarks. We are dedicated to implementing these benchmarks in our school:
Benchmark 1: A Stable Careers Programme
- Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by Students, parents, teachers, governors and employers.
Benchmark 2: Learning from Career and Labour Market Information
- 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 the best use of available information
Benchmark 3: Addressing the Needs of Each Student
- 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.
Benchmark 4: Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers
- All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of careers paths.
Benchmark 5: Encounters with Employers and Employees
- Every Student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
Benchmark 6: Experiences of Workplaces
- Every Student should have first-hand experience of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing, and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
Benchmark 7: Encounters with Further and Higher Education
- All Students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
Benchmark 8: Personal Guidance
- Every Student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) 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.
Key Learning Outcomes
Every Careers focused activity or event will be linked with a Key Learning Outcome from the CDi’s Careers Framework, which is tailored to the year group of students participating.
Years 7-11 will work through 17 Learning Outcomes in order to meet each element of learning.Search:
| Outcome | Element of learning |
|---|---|
| Self-awareness (1) | Self-awareness, self-determination and self-improvement underpin aspiration, ambition and achievement in careers, learning and the world of work |
| Self-determination (2) | Developing a range of career management, employability and enterprise skills is the key to meeting challenges, making progress and managing change |
| Self-improvement as a learner (3) | Developing a range of career management, employability and enterprise skills is the key to meeting challenges, making progress and managing change |
| Exploring careers and career development (4) | Career exploration expands individuals’ horizons for action and awareness of opportunities. An understanding of career processes and structures enables individuals to make sense of their own careers, understand the career experiences of others and contribute in important ways to the career wellbeing of others. |
| Investigating work and working life (5) | Investigating people’s changing experiences of work enables individuals to understand the meaning and purpose of work in people’s lives. They learn what constitutes good or decent work and how to find it for themselves. |
| Understanding business and industry (6) | Understanding different sizes and types of business organisation, why they are organised as they are and how they view success enables individuals to prepare for employment and to appraise the contribution of business and industry to community, social and economic life. |
| Investigating jobs and labour market information (LMI) (7) | Individuals need to know how to access, analyse and act on relevant, objective and up-to-date job and labour market information when thinking about careers, employability and enterprise. They also need to know how to protect themselves from subjective and biased information. |
| Valuing equality, diversity and inclusion (8) | Individuals need to share in the commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion as a British and international value. By countering stereotyping, discrimination and prejudice, individuals can realise their own ambitions and help others to do the same. |
| Learning about safe working practices and environments (9) | Learning about safe working practices and environments helps individuals to keep themselves and others healthy and safe at work. |
| Making the most of careers information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) (10) | Individuals need to learn how to recognise, access and make effective use of trustworthy sources of information, advice and guidance which are offered on a one-to-one or small group basis, both online and in person. This includes being actively involved in identifying their needs and how they can be met. |
| Preparing for employability (11) | Preparing for employability is about enabling individuals to gain the skills and experience they need to get, maintain and make progress in employment or self-employment including networking, negotiation, self-advocacy and staying healthy. |
| Showing initiative and enterprise (12) | Showing initiative and enterprise is about helping individuals to make the most of their opportunities, manage risk-taking and demonstrate drive and determination, especially in a business sense. |
| Developing personal financial capability (13) | Being able to calculate and compare the costs and benefits of different living, education, training and employment options, considering any financial support that may be available, is an increasingly important skill for individuals to develop. They need to know how to make budgeting and financial planning decisions about spending, borrowing, saving and investing to safeguard their economic well-being now and in the future. Personal financial management is part of citizenship at KS3 & 4 and interpreting and solving problems in financial contexts is part of maths at KS3 & 4. |
| Identifying choices and opportunities (14) | Individuals need to know how to identify and investigate possible choices, progression pathways and qualifications that are in their best interests to consider. This includes being able to respond effectively to unforeseen or unplanned choices and opportunities. |
| Planning and deciding (15) | Individuals need to know how to make and carry-out carefully-considered and negotiated decisions and plans. This also involves showing persistence and resilience to cope with chance events and any unintended consequences of their decisions and plans. |
| Handling applications and interviews (16) | Promoting themselves in a way that attracts the attention of selectors and recruiters, as well as managing the applications process, requires that individuals develop a range of self-presentation and marketing skills including the use of digital and social media. This also requires that they develop strategies to cope with set-backs and disappointment. |
| Managing changes and transitions (17) | Transition confidence and preparedness help individuals to make successful moves such as changing schools, going to university or starting an apprenticeship or employment. Reviewing and reflecting on previous transitions can help individuals to develop the psychological resources to cope with future transitions. |
