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Careers - Overview

‘INSPIRE, INFORM AND PREPARE – EVERY PUPIL AT EVERY STAGE’

CXK 2017 White Background   Careers enterprise logo png

Quality in Careers Standard Logo

 

The provision of careers guidance and support at St George’s Church of England Foundation School seeks to deliver on the updated 2023 Department for Education Careers Strategy. We have been awarded the Investor in Careers award, a Quality in Careers Standard, through CSW Group Ltd.  Following our assessment, St George's Church of England Foundation School has been accredited as “Fully meeting all the accreditation criteria, incorporating the Gatsby Benchmarks.”  

An outline of our Careers journey at Secondary is shown below, with more detail in 'Our Provision'.

Learning Journey TP

Every pupil should have an encounter with an employer for every year of their education - in 2022/2023, all pupils had a Careers experience. Year 7 and 8 had talks from the Fire Service and Years 10 and 11 from Army Careers. We have had alumni visits to year 9, 12 and 13 lessons from a member of the RNLI, a timber frame manufacturer and a science equipment manufacturer. All year 7, 8 and 10 pupils had lesson visits from the DWP.

We have a Career of the Week and a termly focus on a particular transferable skill, based on Skills Builder. We had a very successful Careers Fair in July 2023, which was open to our pupils during the day and to the community after school.

The Career team "deliver a strong careers programme drawing on a range of external support." Kent Enterprise Co-ordinator

"A real team effort" - School visitor

"A big thank you to you for your support with applications and interviews this year" - Parent

"Students receive high-quality careers advice. By the time students complete Year 13, they have experienced the world of work. Very few students leave the sixth form without having secured a place in training, education or employment" - OFSTED, 2019

"A comprehensive programme of CEIAG which includes Careers Education... across the Curriculum... impartial careers advice and a range of work-related learning activities and events. 

A very thorough and well organised programme." Investors in Careers assessor, 2023

Updated March 2023 – reviewed annually

Our Careers Team and Aims

WHO IS INVOLVED?

The Careers Team is :

Mr Morgan (Assistant Headteacher - Personal Development, Careers Leader)

Mrs Howard (Director of Transition and Progression)

Mr Duffy (Primary)

Mrs Sadler (Student Careers - particularly Kent Choices at KS4)

 

Our Careers Link Governor is Reverend Paul Worledge.

Our Enterprise Coordinator is David Fretton (The Education People) and our Enterprise Adviser is Hayley Tyler (Cyberfort Limited),

The team work to plan and deliver a Careers programme, which includes advice for pupils, parents and staff as well as employer engagement and support.  Pupils are also supported in their “Career Planning” by Chris Targett and Becky Towner.  Both are independent and impartial Career Development Professionals employed by CXK.Ltd (www.cxk.org). We also receive support from the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) and have an Enterprise Adviser and Enterprise Co-ordinator.

The Enterprise Advisor Network (EAN) is supported by KCC and CEC, bringing employers and schools together. We have worked together during the past year to develop a strategy and plan for the careers provision at St George’s. We utilise tools such as ‘Compass’ to measure our progress towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks (see below).

If you have any queries or would like to more about our Careers Programme, please contact either Mr Morgan (davidmorgan@st-georgescofe-thanet.kent.sch.uk) or Mrs Howard (lucyhoward@st-georgescofe-thanet.kent.sch.uk )

The government has mandatory guidance for schools which are called the Gatsby benchmarks:

The 8 Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance

  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

We want:

  • all of our pupils to understand the full range of opportunities available to them, to learn from employers about work and the skills that are valued in the workplace and to have first-hand experience of the workplace;
  • all pupils to get an excellent programme of advice and guidance that is delivered by individuals with the right skills and experience;
  • all pupils to get support tailored to their circumstances, with access to face-to-face advice.
  • all pupils to get the information they need to understand the job and career opportunities available, and how their knowledge and skills can help them in considering suitable careers.

We evaluate our Careers Programme annually and complete a Compass+ assessment in terms 2, 4 and 6 of each year.

Our Provision

OUR PROVISION

 “What's available for my son or daughter?" 

PRIMARY

Currently our primary pupils have visited workplaces linked to some aspects of the curriculum. For example, local restaurants, supermarkets and an ice cream parlour. Pupils in EYFS also engage in role-play activities, often with links to some job roles. During 2018/19 the government planned to spend time researching what kind of careers activities work well in primary schools. We continue to develop the provision within the primary school in line with government guidance.

All Secondary pupils have access to unifrog (see HERE)

KEY STAGE 3

Careers and the wider world of work plays a key role in our PSHE programme of study, which is taught across the curriculum in Key Stage 3. Pupils in Years 7 to 9 will have their learning regularly linked to careers and the wider world of work. This will include some visits to and visitors from relevant organisations. In Year 9, specific support is given to guide pupils as they select their GCSE options.

Mr Targett continues to provide additional support to all years, with their career development on Wednesday lunch times and additional days when he is in school, where he is available at the popular “lunchtime drop-in” service in the Heart; no appointment needed – just “drop-in” and speak with Chris.

In line with the Gatsby Benchmarks, which set out best practice for schools, we are looking to develop more workplace encounters for pupils across KS3, particularly in STEM subjects.

YEAR 10

Support will be provided for Year 10 pupils choosing their next steps, through an initial Assembly in the Summer Term and then small group interviews held in school with Mr Targett; these sessions will continue into Year 11.

Pupils have the opportunity to complete a Work Experience placement during the summer term, which is arranged by the Careers team, using the EBP (http://www.ebpkent.co.uk/) to check the placements.

Curriculum areas will be seeking to develop links between pupils’ studies and the world of work as we continue to develop our provision. Pupils can also make use of the Careers resources in Unifrog.

YEAR 11

Every Year 11 pupil will be seen by Mr Targett in a group interview for “Careers Guidance” before Christmas, following this, those pupils who need a little more help will be seen for a one to one interview.

Post-16 options - useful information

If you feel your son or daughter will need a one to one interview, please let their form tutor, Mrs Howard or Mr Morgan know as soon as possible.

Each pupil will complete an Action Plan in their appointment(s), detailing what they need to research and what they are initially considering for their Post 16 education or training. This will include when they need to make applications through the Area Prospectus : Kent Choices 4 U.

Pupils can also make use of the careers resources in the reflection room (student support). Another useful resource is CXK resources

SIXTH FORM

CXK Careers Advisors provide ongoing support to our Sixth Form pupils with regards preparing for their next steps after their studies, whether Apprenticeships, School Leaver Schemes, Gap Years and Higher Education (such as University and Distance Learning). This helps pupils to explore the options and pathways available, including where they may lead and the opportunities therein. Miss Green is the Sixth Form Careers Lead.

Year 12 pupils particpate in a one week Work Experience during Term 3 in February.

Work related skills events are also visited so that pupils learn about and develop appropriate skills valued by employers. The school also encourages visitors from a range of sectors to speak with pupils. Pupils can also make use of the careers resources in the Sixth Form Common Room.

Our programme is reviewed and assessed annually, using a number of sources of information, such as PUPIL, parent and staff SURVEYS THROUGH MICROSOFT TEAMS, number of NEETS (those not in education or employment) and looking at onward destinations (apprenticeships, universities, jobs).  

 

Learning Journey TP

 

Labour Market Information

WHAT IS LMI?

Labour Market Information (LMI) can provide us with insights into different jobs and opportunities, telling us what is available now or predicted to be in the future. It can be gathered from a wide array of sources from websites run by Government funded organisations, through to adverts for job vacancies in local papers and online. Even anecdotal sources such as conversations with friends and family can give us information on who maybe recruiting. Each source can provide us with information on the labour market.

Turning it into intelligence, however, is key. To do that it is important to ask yourself, How was the information gathered, when, by whom and for what purpose? This will affect what the data is attempting to prove (if biased) or what it may mean for you and your career decisions.

For example: If the data was collected five years ago? How reliable is it? (not very) However, if the data was collected last week it is likely to be more reliable. 

Tools such as Imiforall can help us access basic data on different jobs which, is helpful for a broad picture but generalised. 

 

BE INFORMED

To create a clearer picture, it is important to try and use more than one source of information to get as big a view as possible (much like when you check more than one customer satisfaction surveys and review sites when buying a car, laptop or new mobile phone). Using more than one source of data increases the odds of accuracy.

TOP TIP: LMI is often seen as a reliable prediction of the future; this is always the case as any forecast is open to fluctuations and change. A good rule of thumb to remember is that the further away the prediction is, the more open to change the forecast will be.

RESEARCH

Research helps you to find out what is possible and is key to understanding what is going on. It can sometimes be a little tricky though so, remember there are plenty of sources of support to help you with this parents, carers, teachers, friends and your careers adviser!

Below we have added some useful LMI web links which, cover the labour market in Kent and beyond; we hope you find them helpful. We take no responsibility for decisions made using this data nor the on-going validity of each source; instead, we encourage you to investigate each one with care and consideration.

Once you have explored the data and information, it is then YOUR CHOICE what you would like to do in the future.

Good luck with your research!

Mr Chris Targett

CXK Area Manager Information, Advice & Guidance

 

Top 10 jobs in thanet

CEIAG Document and Provider Statement

Our CEIAG Document can be found HERE.

 

Our Provider Access Statement is HERE 

This complies with the legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education act 1997 (the ‘Baker Clause’).

In 2022/23 we have had frequent visitors to the school to take assemblies or visit lessons. This includes a number of alumni.  We have had visits from Higher Education institutions such as Univeristies of Kent and Greenwich, Independent Training Providers such as Liberty Training, as well as employers and employees. We are keen for our pupils to hear about people's career journeys, whether they were conventional or not.

 

Some students who did their exams in 2022 are doing the following:

Accounting at University of Sussex, Maths at Portsmouth University, Art and Design at UCA, Physics at University of York, Psychology and Criminology at De Montfort University, Business at University of Kent, Public Health at Christ Church, Biomedical Science at University of Kent, Geography at Portsmouth University, Modern Languages at Queen Mary, London… and many more universities and courses!

Beyond University, one student is a Weapon Support Technician in the RAF, another in the Royal Marines Band, another on a Carpentry apprenticeship, and another on a construction apprenticeship. 

 

Careers Quizzes To Try and useful websites

ICOULD

Explore different roles and search by subject areas to find out where your choices could take you. Complete the personality quiz called “the buzz quiz” to see if your personality is a good fit with different occupations. This is useful for some students but not the only way to decide on your future choices. Click Here

ICould Test Results

 

16 Personalities 

Take this personality quiz to see how your character may link to your future career aspirations. It's suitable for some pupils but not all.

Click here

 

Or try:

https://www.sortyourfuture.com 

You will have to sign up, but this has good quizzes and information.

 

KENT CHOICES :  Information on all Post 16 options and routes. Application and support platform for Post-16 studying. We will provide all year 11 students with a password and usernames before they complete year 10 and show you how to log on the first time.

NATIONAL CAREERS SERVICE : For information about specific career interests. Search what a job involves by using the job profile box.

DISCOVER UNI : Thinking about university? Take a look at some information

NOT GOING TO UNI : This site can help school leavers with searching different opportunities available to them.

APPRENTICESHIPS : For apprenticeship vacancies you can research Thanet, or further afield, or sign up to create an account to make applications

PLANIT : A to Z information about different Careers

Careers Newsletters