The Careers Department

THE CAREERS DEPARTMENT

Careers at Wellingborough School Head of Careers and Careers Lead – Mrs Alexandra Arber

The Careers Department at Wellingborough School is underpinned by our long-term vision and core values to support individuals in their decision making and choices to lead them ultimately beyond school. The aim of Careers at Wellingborough is to provide an all-encompassing, effective and stable careers offering which raises the aspirations of our students throughout the entirety of their school career. This is important in order to ensure that students are able to be flexible, dynamic, resilient, innovative, proactive and collaborative to accommodate and thrive in workplaces, or to create work for themselves. To achieve this, we aim to address the needs of each student, by providing them with enriching career and educational related experiences and guidance, to ensure they are fully equipped with information to enable them to make informed decisions about important life and school choices.

Statutory requirements and expectation Career Guidance supports the 2013 Government Gatsby Benchmarks and in doing so is opening students’ eyes to careers they may not have considered. Good Careers advice helps limit anxiety by giving the students control and inspiring them to achieve their goals. It helps inform them about the world of work and the opportunities available to them.

Gatsby Benchmark 1 - Stability of the Careers Programme Our Head of Careers works with Tutors, Heads of Houses and Heads of Departments.

The Head of Careers is line managed by the Head of Sixth Form and works closely with the Aspiring Students’ Coordinator. Careers sessions are delivered during PSHCE and Life Skills lessons, weekly Careers lunches take place for Year 11 – Year 13 students and Careers Newsletters and updates are ongoing. The Head of Careers is available for all students, parents/carers and teachers to approach if they would like an individual appointment.

Gatsby Benchmark 2 - Learning from Career and Labour market information We achieve this by sharing current opportunities and labour market information through targeted emails, a monthly newsletter and providing constantly updated information on our school platform for parent engagement and learning continuity, Firefly.

Gatsby Benchmark 3 - Addressing the needs of each pupil With 1-to-1 interviews, each student is monitored individually, and continued support is offered. Equality and diversity are embedded in the delivery. Students are asked to share their potential career interests so we can respond with a targeted and informed careers provision.

Gatsby Benchmark 4 - Linking Curriculum learning to Careers The Careers Department make teachers aware of new careers developments and insight events available in their subject areas and vice versa. Teachers also have access to our Careers platform, Unifrog.

Gatsby Benchmark 5 - Encounters with employers and employees Pupils have multiple opportunities to learn from employers and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through Careers conventions, work experience, Apprenticeship evenings, Old Wellingburians or Careers Lunches with visiting speakers.

Gatsby Benchmark 6 - Experience of Workplaces Year 12 are tasked with finding and approaching companies to secure Work Experience which they undertake in the Summer Term. Staff also visit businesses as part of their delivery. Visits to external fairs and conventions also take place. The Careers Lunch programme invites visiting speakers into school to share their insights into their workplaces.

Gatsby Benchmark 7 - Encounters with Further and Higher Education Pupils are given the resources to research universities, courses and attend open days.

The students and staff have membership of Unifrog to assist with their research.

Universities are invited to the Careers Convention and to lectures. We run an annual Apprenticeship Evening which highlights Apprenticeship and Degree Apprenticeship opportunities to students and parents. The Head of Sixth Form runs a UCAS evening and Oxbridge evening. The Aspiring Students Coordinator runs the weekly Aspire Group for students who are aiming to apply to Oxbridge or study Medicine or Dentistry; members of the group visit an Oxford or Cambridge College in Year 12.

Gatsby Benchmark 8 - Personal Guidance All Year 11 and 12 have individual 1-1 interviews with the Head of Careers. Other students can book an interview at any time. Alongside the specific Careers Guidance, the School holds a Sixth Form Options evening to help inform and guide students which the Head of Careers also attends. Students are kept informed on which pre-requisite subjects are specifically required.

Learner Entitlement Every student is entitled to high quality career education and guidance as part of the overall education: Year 7: The PSHCE programme will encourage students to understand personal development, the world of work and how to plan for the future.

Year 8: The PSHCE programme will start students thinking about their transferable skills and what success means to them. Students are encouraged to log on to Unifrog to start researching careers that fit with their favourite subjects or competencies as they start to think about what the right options are for them.

Year 9: The identification of transferable skills. Why are they relevant, how will they be used and how the pupil can continue to obtain them. This is achieved through career lessons within PSHCE lessons. Students are introduced to Unifrog and are encouraged to research careers that fit with their interests and competencies.

Year 10: The identification of career families: The concept that some careers use the same skills and enable you to group them and ultimately move through different career areas.

Year 11: CV writing and covering letters. This covers why a CV is needed; how to produce and update one and how to produce a covering letter or email.

Year 12: Campus University/City University/Apprenticeships/School Leaver Programmes/Gap Years/CV writing and covering letter reminder session.

Year 13: Individual appointments as required and support with the UCAS process.

Any other application processes are provided by the Sixth Form team and the Head of Careers.

Management and delivery The aim for Careers to be embedded in the School ethos and to draw on OW/parent experience is crucial to Careers. Students are given access to Careers platforms, software and resources and given the tools to undertake their own independent research. Careers work closely with the Head of Sixth Form, Tutors and Heads of House and support the UCAS process. The Careers Department consists of a Head of Careers who works 21 hours per week during term time and is line managed by the Head of Sixth Form. The Head of Careers is supported by an Administration Officer who is also the administrator for the Head of Sixth Form.

Development The implementation of the Careers programme is monitored and reviewed at the end of the academic year to develop the delivery for Wellingborough School pupils. Feedback forms are given to students following Careers Events.

In 2022 the Head of Careers is studying towards a Level 6 Diploma in Careers Guidance and Development with the CDI (Careers Development Institute) accredited by OCR in order to be an in-house resource for Wellingborough School students. A Medicine Day in partnership with The Medic Portal has been instigated and a Careers lunch programme is in development for launch in January 2022.

Information and delivery 1 x 6 lessons - Years 7/8/9/11/12 1:1 interviews - Years 11 and 12 Work Experience - Year 12 Apprenticeship Evening – Years 11 - 13 Careers lunches - Weekly (from January 2022) - Years 11 - 13 Information - Websites/noticeboards/newsletters/Careers room (ongoing) Careers Convention with over 120 stands – every two years Additional Careers events - The Apprenticeship event, Inspirational Speakers, Medicine Day The advice, lessons and events offered cover the following: • Developing employability skills • Help with personal statements and writing CVs • Attending careers insight events • Securing work experience • Researching higher education courses • Finding an apprenticeship • Taking a gap year • Studying abroad • Via the Careers Department, Old Wellingburians can provide advice and networking opportunities Engaging Parents/Carers Parents/Carers are encouraged to get involved in the progress of their children through • Yearly information evenings aimed at key decision points e.g. GCSE Options, Post-16 Options • Access to school website, Firefly and Careers Newsletter with supporting information and resources • Parents’ evenings • Parents are invited to attend the Careers Convention and the Apprenticeship Evening • The Head of Careers can be contacted at any point Relationship to our other Internal Policies This strategy should be read in conjunction with the following school policies https://wellingboroughschoolorg.sharepoint.com/sites/Policies/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FPolicies%2FShared%20Documents%2FPolicies%2F2%20Publish%20Versions%20PDF%2FGeneral%2FEquality%20Diversity%20Policy%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FPolicies%2FShared%20D ocuments%2FPolicies%2F2%20Publish%20Versions%20PDF%2FGeneral&p=true&wdLOR=c51D61EBC%2D8CC4%2D40EE%2D8839%2D3B8E39983FC0

• Equality and Diversity Policy

• Learning Development Policy

https://wellingboroughschoolorg.sharepoint.com/sites/Policies/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FPolicies%2FShared%20Documents%2FPolicies%2F2%20Publish%20Versions%20PDF%2FGeneral%2FLearning%20Development%20Policy%2Epdf&paren t=%2Fsites%2FPolicies%2FShared%20Documents%2FPolicies%2F2%20Publish%20Versions%20PDF%2FGeneral&p=true&wdLOR=cBBAB749F%2DB319%2D46A8%2D86FE%2D64DCD8C69D5A

In summary Wellingborough School seeks to help all students take their place as suitably qualified and responsible adults within society. The focus is upon raising the aspirations and achievement of individual students and equipping them with skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding as a foundation for managing their lifelong career and learning.