Careers & Work Experience

The aims of our Careers Education Programme

Careers Guidance helps individuals to investigate opportunities and make choices which are both realistic and ambitious. 

In preparing young people for the opportunities, experiences and responsibilities of adult life, our aim is to promote:

• Self-Awareness: The ability to make realistic assessments of personal strengths and weaknesses; to build self confidence in students and their ability to relate effectively to other people

• Career Exploration: Facilitating a clear and informed understanding of possible career routes, allowing realistic decisions to be made, based on accurate information

• Opportunity Awareness: Developing an understanding of life style choices, the potential need for further training and on-going education; an introduction to the issues involved in a rapidly changing society, including the ability to cope with these transitions in later life

• Career Management Skills: Enabling students to plan decisions about Key Stage 4 or Post-16 Options with the confidence to use a range of careers resources for information and guidance, thus enabling them to make successful transitions

• To meet the Gatsby Benchmarks – a series of benchmarks that set out best practice in the provision of careers guidance activities

We want to prepare our students for life after school, so that when they leave school after Year 11 they do so with confidence and optimism in their chosen next steps.

How do we achieve these aims?

We seek to achieve the aims of our Careers Programme by:

• Providing students with a stable Careers programme throughout the school that is understood by students, parents, teachers, governors and employers

• Providing students with high quality information about their available future study options as well as the current and future labour market opportunities

• Evaluating the needs of each student and offering them appropriate careers guidance

• Ensuring our Careers Education Programme is linked to the School’s wider Personal Development

• Providing students with a range of encounters with employers through enrichment activities

• Providing students with an authentic work experience placement in Year 10 (Click here for information)

• Providing students with a range of encounters with further/higher education institutions, paying close attention to ensure that our most able students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds are fully involved (Click here for information)

• Ensuring that all students have continued access to the School’s careers advisor during their time in school, with no limits set on the individual contact time available to each one

• Ensuring that all students have a clear Post-16 plan in education and training as they come to the end of their time at the School

How do we measure and assess the impact of our Careers Programme?

We assess our careers programme every term using Compass +, through the Careers & Enterprise Company. This tool enables the school to see where careers have been placed in the curriculum, highlighting what career activities and events students have had access to, as well as showing any gaps and areas to improve on. This helps us benchmark, manage, track and evaluate the school's careers programme to help every student find their best next step.

What does our Careers Education programme include?

In line with the Gatsby Benchmarks, Uffculme School delivers a structured programme of careers education and work related learning to all students from Year 8 to 11.  This programme is delivered by individuals with the right skills and experiences, from a wide variety of providers both internal and external to the school. 

Year 8

• Aspirations

• Looking towards the future

Year 9

• Careers linked to subjects (via GCSE options lessons)

• Aspirations

• Careers Pilot

• Articulacy: Targeted students

Year 10

• Careers profile

• “E-Me” Mentoring Programme

• “Why-would you” HE Theatre production

• Work experience (Click here for information)

• College taster visits and talks

• Post-16 careers fair

Year 11

• Personal Careers Interview (with School’s Careers Advisor)

• Talks and presentations from Colleges and Apprenticeship providers

The Careers Advisor is also available in school for events including ‘Post 16 Evening’, Year 9/10/11 Parents Evenings, Options Evening and on GCSE Results days.     

Individual Advice and Guidance

Advice and Guidance

Careers advice is provided by Sally Trump. Sally is the School’s Post-16 advisor - she is a member of the Careers Development Institute and has worked as a careers advisor for over 20 years in a number of different schools and communities. She is is professionally qualified to QCF level 7 and holds the qualification in Careers Guidance as well as being on the register of Career Professionals.

Sally provides impartial, individual advice and guidance for all ages to all students, from one to one interviews, group work, option evenings, parents’ evenings and the annual School Post 16 evening. 

She supports all students to engage in learning and work but also works with targeted groups of students who require more support and planning for Post 16 and attends reviews with the SEN department.

Sally liaises with the Deputy Head (Outcomes) to target provision for all students to provide appropriate advice and also engages with local employers and colleges to ensure advice and guidance is up–to-date.  Through this, Sally has developed an outstanding relationship with these organisations.

Careers South West have a statutory requirement to support students and attend reviews for SEN pupils.

To arrange an appointment with Sally, please email the School at secretary@uffculmeschool.bep.ac or you can email Sally directly at TrumpS@uffculmeschool.bep.ac

Information

Post-16 information and resources are displayed in the Foyer entrance area, and in the Year 11 Art Café, this includes full sets of prospectuses covering all the local FE colleges and many other specialised colleges.

Encounters with employers

Throughout the year, we host outside speakers through a range of mechanisms, including assemblies and PD lessons. These events also have a strong focus on personal development and aspiration, including ex-students and local successful organisations.

We have a dedicated Careers Week at the end of the summer term which involves local employers doing talks to KS3 students on their own career journey and the industry they work in. This is to give students a wide variety of input from a range of career sectors to find out more about the different job roles in these industries. This gives the students opportunities to ask questions and gain real insight into these jobs.

These encounters help the school to build links with local employers which strengthens work experience opportunities, apprenticeships and also our alumni.

Other providers also input into the careers curriculum to talk about Apprenticeships and T Levels such as the Hepco, ASK Apprenticeships and The Army.

Recommended Resources

The Careers Information Area

The Careers Advisor is available to assist students at break, lunch and tutor time on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Recommended Online Resources

The websites below are for students to access information on careers and employability skills:

• CareerPilot This website provides information on the full range of choices available at 14, 16 and 18, including apprenticeships, college, higher level study, etc. The website has a number of tools that students can use to help them plan their careers and assess their employability skills. There is also a Parent Zone with answers to career related questions.

• icould icould.com has excellent videos to inspire students, and a quiz based on Myers Briggs (the Buzz Quiz) to help students think about their personality and what type of career they might suit.

• Success at School This website has helpful articles and sections about how to develop transferable skills, information about apprenticeships, advice from people in different industries, plus industry and sector information presented in an easy-to-digest format. 

• Student Padlet Careers Hub Padlet. This is designed to be a one stop shop for students in the South-West and is kept up to date with careers advice and current initiatives.

• Springpod & Skills for Life A guide to the different post-16 options including T Levels, Apprenticeships, Higher Technical Qualifications and short courses including Skills 4 Life.

Higher Education

• Informed Choices Guide This is a Russell Group guide to making informed choices about post-16 Education. It is packed with useful information, and an Interactive tool to help students explore which subjects can open up degrees.

• UCAS All the information about degree courses and entry requirements, everything you need to consider about applying to Uni including accommodation, student finance, support and information/ideas on GAP years.

• Prospects Information on applying to Uni, post graduate study, job information, 'What can I do with my degree' and a job match quiz.

• Not Going to University Alternatives to going to Uni  - work experience and Degree Apprenticeship searching site.