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

 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

Apprenticeships:

What are apprenticeships?

An apprenticeship is a paid job where the employee learns and gains valuable experiences.

Alongside on-the-job training, apprentices spend at least 20% of their working hours completing classroom-based learning with a college, university or training provider which leads to a nationally recognised qualification. 

An apprenticeship includes: 

• paid employment with holiday leave 
• hands-on-experience in a sector/role of interest
• at least 20% off-the-job training 
• formal assessment which leads to a nationally recognised qualification

 Who can apply?

An apprenticeship is a great paid work opportunity for people over the age of 16 in England who are:

• early in their career 
• looking to upskill in their current job 
• looking for a career-change
• not in full-time education

If you do not live in England, check out apprenticeship options in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 

Apprenticeships levels

Different apprenticeship levels equate to different qualification levels.

An apprenticeship can start at any level, but some may require:

• previous qualifications such as English or maths GCSEs 
• additional training in English or maths to ensure the apprentice is at the right level.

Traineeships are a great option for young people who are not yet ready for an apprenticeship because they provide opportunities to gain the relevant skills and experience to take on an apprenticeship and prepare for work.

One of the following qualification levels will be achieved depending on the apprenticeship level:

Finding apprenticeship

All accredited apprenticeship vacancies can be found on[] (https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch)[underline]'.

By creating an account, you can sign up to be alerted of opportunities in your area of interest and desired location. 

You can also use this website to browse what types of apprenticeships are available across different sectors.

Useful Links

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/influencers/what-is-an-apprenticeship

https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

https://www.ucas.com/apprenticeships

Labour Market Information (LMI):

Every student, parent and or carer should have access to good quality information about future study options and Labour Market opportunities.

Careerometer (widget needs to be embedded) can be used to explore and compare key information. It provides access to a selection of UK headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects for different occupations. Simply type in the title of the job you are interested in and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you. You can then look up another two occupations and compare. You can also select ‘display the UK average’ and compare the information with the occupation you have selected.

Barking and Dagenham is an exciting place to live, learn and work. Our borough is growing and transforming bringing thousands of new jobs in a range of employment sectors.

Use the link below to get the best labour market information and inspiration about careers and study in Barking and Dagenham

https://locallondon.startprofile.com/page/barking-dagenham

Parents/carers including careers newsletter:

We acknowledge parents and carers’ crucial input in helping their young person make informed choices about future career pathways. We work closely with them and welcome their involvement in their young person’s progress and future career goals.

The school produces a termly parent/carer newsletter giving information on activities and events that have taken place during the term; you can access the current and previous editions.

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Employers:

We are keen to engage with local and national employers and providers. We host events at school where we invite providers in to speak to our young people, so they are better equipped for the world of work.

However, we are always looking to increase our cohort of employers and providers both to come into school and offer work experience.

If you can offer support, please email our careers lead smanjra@allsaintsschool.co.uk or our careers advisor dshepherd@allsaintsschool.co.uk

Teachers:

Teachers play a vital role in delivering high quality, meaningful Careers Education in the classroom and beyond.

For you to feel confident to support our students we offer.

• Staff briefing sessions
• Opportunities to attend career related events
• Access to Labour Market Information
• Information on Post 16 and 18 options

To support you below are some websites you might find useful:

Icould – Teaching resources and real-life case studies

Apprenticeships – Government site with all you need to know about apprenticeships

UCAS – Information on higher education, apprenticeships and the world of work

LMI for all – Reliable labour market information

 London Enterprise advisor network

All Saints Catholic School  is also part of the Careers Hub East and helps young people to build the skills and experiences they need to lead successful futures. It does this by connecting businesses with schools and colleges. This ensures that young people are aware of all the career pathways and opportunities available to the. Through the hub we also have been assigned an Enterprise Adviser who supports the school with their careers programme.

https://www.careershub-east.london/page/home-page

For further information about our careers curriculum, please contact our IAG lead Mr S Manjra smanjra@allsaintsschool.co.uk or our careers advisor Ms D Shepherd dshepherd@allsaintsschool.co.uk