Careers
Education at Our Lady of the Rosary
Joy Excellence Service
For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:6
OUR INTENT
At Our Lady of the Rosary, we believe that every child is created in the image of God and possesses unique, God-given potential. Careers education in our school begins not with job choices, but with aspiration, self-belief, and an understanding that learning has purpose beyond the classroom. We are committed to nurturing children’s confidence in who they are, what they can become, and how they can contribute positively to the world around them. Through our carefully sequenced PSHE curriculum and the wider life of the school, we support children to develop high aspirations, strong self-awareness, and an appreciation of how their learning connects to real life, future pathways, and service to others. Our Pre-Gatsby approach lays secure foundations for future careers education by encouraging curiosity, reflection, resilience, and ambition from the earliest years.
Careers learning at Our Lady of the Rosary is woven intentionally through curriculum learning, assemblies, pupil leadership, and community engagement, ensuring that all children are supported to recognise their strengths, challenge stereotypes, and prepare confidently for their next steps.
Focus Area
FrameworkPre-Gatsby at Our Lady of the Rosary
What This Looks Like at OLRS Linked
Culture of Aspiration
Awareness of Work and Community
Children are encouraged to reflect on their strengths, interests, and achievements through Growth Mindset teaching, assemblies, pupil leadership roles, and positive role models. High expectations are communicated consistently, with an emphasis on effort, perseverance, and possibility.
Pupils learn about a wide range of jobs and roles within school, the local community, and wider society. This includes visitors, themed PSHE learning, and discussion about how different roles contribute to the common good.
Benchmark 1
Benchmark 5
Focus Area
Linking Learning to Life and Careers
FrameworkPre-Gatsby at Our Lady of the Rosary
Curriculum learning is regularly linked to real-life contexts and future applications, particularly through PSHE Future Focus learning, enterprise activities, and transferable skills.
4 Building Future Skills Our PSHE curriculum explicitly develops resilience, collaboration, communication, leadership, organisation, and reflective thinking, revisited progressively across year groups.
FrameworkPre-Gatsby at Our Lady of the Rosary
Exploring Pathways Pupils are introduced to future pathways, including jobs, careers, qualifications, and routes such as college, apprenticeships, and university, in age-appropriate ways.
Phase-by-Phase Implementation and Impact
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS): Careers learning is rooted in play, language development, and understanding the immediate world. Children explore people who help us through stories, role-play, visitors, and daily routines. Inclusive representation and careful challenge to stereotypes ensure all children can imagine a wide range of futures.
Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2): Pupils broaden their understanding beyond the school environment. Through PSHE and Future Focus learning, children explore community jobs, understand why people work, and identify skills linked to roles. Reflection supports recognition of developing strengths and interests.
Phase-by-Phase Implementation and Impact
Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4): Careers education becomes more explicit. Pupils explore job families, research local roles, identify transferable skills, and reflect on how skills develop over time. Teaching actively challenges stereotypes and promotes inclusion.
Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6): Pupils make clearer connections between learning, strengths, and future pathways. They are introduced to qualifications and routes such as college, apprenticeships, and university.
Enterprise activities, leadership roles, and transition-focused PSHE support independence, organisation, and confidence.
Our Vision in Action
Careers education at Our Lady of the Rosary is integrated intentionally within PSHE and wider curriculum learning, ensuring coherence rather than isolated experiences. All children are supported to see themselves represented in future pathways, with stereotypes actively challenged and high expectations maintained for all.
Skills for learning and life are developed progressively across the school, and regular opportunities for reflection and pupil voice support children to articulate their strengths, aspirations, and growing confidence.