CAREERS PROGRAMME
INTENT
‘The future depends on what you do today’ – Mahatma Gandhi
Our aim through the Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance programme at St. Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy is to prepare all our students fully so that they enter higher education, training or employment as employable, confident and ambitious individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their chosen career.
Our careers programme inspires, develops and supports the aspirations of all our students, allowing them to make informed decisions as they embark on their careers journey.
We work with a range of external providers to ensure that our careers programme is robust, impartial, and current. The academy is part of the North East Ambition careers hub who support us to ensure careers outcomes are improved for all pupils.
Our careers programme is designed to meet the 8 Gatsby benchmarks:
- A stable career programme
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each student
- Linking careers to the curriculum
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
Our programme also links with the Career Development Institute’s current Framework areas:
- Grow throughout life
- Explore possibilities
- Manage career
- Create opportunities
- Balance life and work
- See the big picture
IMPLEMENTATION:
Careers lessons are sequenced through our Personal Development curriculum from Year 7 to Year 13, and skills and knowledge are effectively developed each year. Curriculum departments also link their learning to careers and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subject teachers also highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
We also work with our partners in the community to offer a range of exciting employer encounters, workplace visits and experiences of work to ensure we build knowledge of the local labour market and future careers. We have an Enterprise Adviser, Anjana Raj, who is Company Social Value Manager from Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, and works closely with the academy to ensure that students at St. Anthony’s can learn from her experience and develop key employability skills that will help them thrive in the ever-changing workplace of the 21st century.
We have developed partnerships with a range of higher education providers to provide our students with a range of opportunities including university visits, workshops on higher education and student finance, as well as decision making, making competitive applications and subject specific sessions. We work closely with our link colleges; Jesus College at Cambridge University and St Anne’s College at Oxford University as well as local colleges and universities.
Employers and alumni also deliver in school workshops and assemblies. Partners from higher and further education and local training providers all contribute towards the careers programme in the academy by attending career fairs, delivering workshops and/or assemblies and hosting tours and workshops.
Career Guidance meetings are scheduled for all pupils during Key Stage 4 and again in Key Stage 5 with the academy’s guidance advisor, who is Katie Allon from Careerwave. Drop-in appointments can be requested at any point throughout the year. An action plan is developed from each career guidance meeting and shared with students. Those most at risk of disengaging from learning and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training), and the reasons why, are identified, targeted and prioritised when scheduling one-to-one careers interviews.
Students aged 13-18 with an EHCP or who are identified as belonging to a 'vulnerable group' have the opportunity for additional guidance to prepare them for adulthood in transition years from Together for Children.
Our enrichment programme also supports students with careers education. We offer opportunities such as Duke of Edinburgh Award and Arts Award which can provide students with opportunities of workplace experiences. Our SEND department also run ‘Preparation for Adulthood’ enrichment where SEND pupils are given guidance with work related learning and skills.
IMPACT
We measure and assess the impact of the careers programme by completing the compass evaluation tool, analysing aspiration and destination data from students, and through pupil, parent and employer voice.
We also have an extremely high number of students going onto further or higher education, training or employment, and we have very few students, if any, who are NEET.
We are delighted to be in the process of re-accrediting for the Quality in Careers Standard this year, which recognises our high quality provision of careers education, information, advice and guidance.
Careers staff team
For further information, please contact our careers team on 0191 565 8904 or enquiries@staga.co.uk
Careers Leader: Mrs L Dudley (Assistant Headteacher: Personal Development)
Personal Development coordinator: Ms H Moran
Link governor: Mrs J Little.