Careers

King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls has a statutory duty to provide independent careers advice and guidance for students in Years 7 to 11 (The Education Act 2011 / Careers guidance and access for education and training providers Jan 2018). Careers education and guidance programmes play a significant role in helping young people choose future pathways that suit their interests, abilities and individual needs. The Careers Guidance programme at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls will help students plan and manage their future pathways effectively, ensuring progression which is ambitious and aspirational. It will promote equality of opportunity, embrace diversity and challenge stereotyping. We will support students in making well-informed decisions by providing access to differentiated, impartial and independent information and guidance about the range of options (including academic, vocational, apprenticeships) that are most likely to help them to achieve their ambitions. This programme complements and should be read in conjunction with our school’s vision and values statement in particular ‘empower them to grow into independent, strong women who are equipped with the flexibility and moral courage to deal with the challenges of the modern world’ and relevant policies such as the Careers Guidance, PSCHE, Work Experience, Provider Access and Safeguarding policies.

Careers Education has never been as important as it is currently. With a changing landscape of education, training and employment it is vital that young people are offered the highest quality education, advice, information and guidance to support and assist them in making choices and managing transitions. By helping students with decisions at crucial stages, informing them of all their options and introducing them to the world of work, we aim to prepare them for the world of work whichever pathway they choose.

Careers Guidance at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls aims to encourage students to consider a wide range of options and opportunities and ultimately to go into courses and jobs which suit their needs, skills, ambitions, interests and qualities. Careers education and guidance programmes make a major contribution to preparing young people for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. A planned and progressive programme of activities supports students in choosing pathways from 14-19 years old.

Our Careers Plan sets out our careers programme for the academic year, a programme which is designed to support, inspire and motivate students to take ownership of their own choices and consider action plans to enable them to succeed in life beyond Handsworth.

Careers provision within the school and sixth form is mapped and gapped against the DfE Careers guidance and access for education and training providers, Statutory Guidance 2018 and also mapped against the Gatsby Benchmarks 1-8 and the CDI Framework for careers, employability and enterprise education. The programme is reviewed annually and we assess the impact of the careers programme with feedback from students, teachers and employers so that we can continue to provide and improve the quality of our careers provision.

King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls Career Programme – Aims

Our Careers Guidance programme will enable students to:

• receive advice, information and guidance which is impartial and unbiased,
• develop a broad understanding of the world of work and an ability to respond to changing opportunities,
• make best use of the Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) both independently and with support,
• develop essential careers skills promoted through our Teaching and Learning ethos including creativity, perseverance, resilience, good self presentation and adaptability.
• manage transitions in their lives such as GCSE and A-Level options as well as from school to university or work.
• raise their aspirations, broaden their horizons and challenge stereotyped thinking about what they and others can achieve within our society. • engage in opportunities to work in partnership with employers, higher education providers and others to provide opportunities to inspire students through real-life contact with the world of work
• develop enterprise and employability skills.
• and encourage students to see career development as a life-long process.

Our students can expect the career development journey at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls to include:

• finding information about their careers programme on the school website,
• accessing Labour Market Information by the age of 14 to support their study,
• information about how important Science and Maths are in leading to different rewarding STEM careers,
• engaging in at least two meaningful encounters by the age of 16 with Sixth Form, Further Education and apprenticeship providers,
• engaging in two careers guidance interviews by the age of 18,
• engaging in meaningful encounters with employers and employees,
• engaging in meaningful work experience opportunities,
• engaging in visits to universities,
• an invitation to join the school’s alumni network,
• and access to records on their individual careers related activities.

Careers Education and Guidance at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls has four elements:

• Careers Education: Planned programmes in the curriculum giving students knowledge and skills to help them to plan / manage their own
• Careers Advice and Guidance: Independent and impartial careers advice and guidance provided by our careers advisor.
• Careers Information: Including options, skills, occupations, Labour Market Information (LMI), pathways and progression routes. 4) Career and Work-Related Learning: Experiences within and outside the curriculum to help students learn about economic well-being, careers and enterprise.

Careers related Policies

Careers Policy 2023-2024

Provider Access Policy 2023-2024

The Careers Guidance Team

To design, develop and review an effective Careers Programme we have a Careers Team. Their roles are listed below.

Mr Chris Packham – Careers Leader

• To ensure strategic leadership of Careers Guidance (CG) across the school
• To lead the team of teachers, administrators and external partners who deliver CG
• To report to SLT and Governors on CG
• To review and evaluate CG and providing information for school development planning and Ofsted
• To prepare and implement CG programme and ensuring that details are published on the school website
• To understand the implications of a changing education landscape for CG
• To ensure compliance with legal requirements to provide independent CG and access for providers
• To monitor delivery of CG across the eight Gatsby Benchmarks
• To manage the work of the Careers Advisers
• To co-ordinate careers education at Key Stage 3 and 4 in collaboration with the Subject Leader for PSCHE.
• To monitor access to, and take up of, Careers Guidance including the tracking of students
• To establish, maintain and develop relationships with employers, FE, HE, training and apprenticeship providers
• To promote Careers across the curriculum; liaising with PSHE lead and Subject Leaders to plan careers education
• To brief and support staff involved with delivery of CG including careers advisors, form tutors, Pastoral Leaders, SENDCO
• To maintain own CPLD and support the CPLD of colleagues in the Careers Team
• To manage the Careers budget
• To communicate with students and their parents
• To attend Career Hub meetings

Sandra Jones (Careers Advisor Years 7-13)

• To provide independent and unbiased advice, information and guidance to students in years 7-11.
• To create action plans in conjunction with the student.
• To lead assemblies where required.

Louise Foster-Agg (Careers Guidance Link Governor)

• To monitor provision of Careers Education and Guidance
• To undertake a termly review of CG (Link Meetings with Careers Leader)
• To offer strategic planning support for development of CG

Subject teachers

• To integrate careers into the delivery of their curriculum
• To engage with careers CPLD
• To promote progression routes within their curriculum area
• To develop external links to support CG within curriculum areas
• To feedback specific student needs (or opportunities) to the CG team including referrals to the career’s advisors. To signpost students to appropriate CG advice and information

Additional staff responsibilities:  

Nick Heppel (Assistant Headteacher – Director of Sixth Form)

• To build a network of alumni who can help with the CG programme.
• To support the careers programme.

SENDCO

• To provide support to SEND students to help them generate their individual careers action plans
• To attend 1:1 Careers Guidance interviews for SEND students where required
• To review SEND student career action plans with their parents to ensure they are engaged and supportive of the plans
• To ensure the Careers Leader and careers advisors understand the school’s statutory responsibility to students

Careers Hubs

Since October 2015, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company, has also been running a Careers Hub pilot in the North East Local Enterprise Partnership area. This Careers Hub pilot was put in place to build on the support provided through the Enterprise Adviser Networks to achieve benchmarks 5 and 6 and support schools / colleges to achieve all eight of the Gatsby Benchmarks. Following the conclusion of this pilot the Department for Educations Careers Strategy has requested that the Careers and Enterprise Company scale up this model by establishing 20 more Careers Hubs across the country, based on the North East Pilot model.

What is a Careers Hub? 

A Careers Hub is a group, of between 20 and 40 secondary schools / colleges / SEN Schools located in the same geographical area working with universities, other education and training providers, employers and career guidance professionals to ensure that ALL the Gatsby Benchmarks are delivered in each school and college within the Hub and that careers outcomes are improved for all young people. Schools and colleges within the Hub should have a shared vision of how they will work together to improve outcomes for the young people in their area. King Edward VI Handsworth School is a member of the Birmingham Careers Hub and is supported by Jackie Plimmer (Enterprise Co-ordinator) and Joanna Maguire (Enterprise Advisor – Mott MacDonald). The role of the Enterprise Co-ordinator and Advisor is to work directly with a school’s  careers leader and careers team to support their careers programme. They combine their passion for raising the aspirations of young people with their strategic skills to help put opportunities with local employers at the heart of a young person’s education.

 

The Gatsby Benchmarks

The Government’s careers strategy, published on 4 December 2017, sets out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system that will help young people and adults choose the career that is right for them. To achieve this aim, the careers strategy sets out that every school and academy providing secondary education should use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers provision.

Under the Government’s Careers Strategy (2017) students are entitled to careers education and guidance which is therefore independent and impartial, integrated within their overall education and structured to provide help at decision points and to meet their continuing needs.  Students are also entitled to access a range of providers of technical education and apprenticeships to inform them about technical education qualifications or apprenticeships [see King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls policy statement on provider access].

Benchmark 1: A Stable Careers Programme   Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by Students, parents, teachers,  governors and employers.

Benchmark 2: Learning from Career and Labour Market Information   Every Student and their parents should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the  support of an informed adviser to make the best use of available information

Benchmark 3: Addressing the Needs of Each Student   Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each Student. A school’s  careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.

Benchmark 4: Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers   All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of careers paths.

Benchmark 5: Encounters with Employers and Employees   Every Student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be  through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.

Benchmark 6: Experiences of Workplaces   Every Student should have first-hand experience of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing, and/or work experience to help their exploration of career  opportunities, and expand their networks.

Benchmark 7: Encounters with Further and Higher Education   All Students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in  schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.

Benchmark 8: Personal Guidance   Every Student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they  are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all Students  but should be timed to meet their individual needs.

Measuring the impact of our careers programme

Our progress towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks is evaluated using the online Compass+ tool. In the academic year this is carried out on a termly basis by the Careers Leader in partnership with our Enterprise Adviser, Enterprise Co-Ordinator and members of the Careers Team. The CG strategic plan for 2021-2024 is based upon the outcomes of the Compass audit. The most recent Compass evaluation took place in May 2022 with the following results:

	Benchmark 1	Benchmark 2	Benchmark 3	Benchmark 4	Benchmark 5	Benchmark 6	Benchmark 7	Benchmark 8
School Result May 2022	100%	100%	81%	100%	100%	62%	100%	100%
% of schools nationally achieving   Benchmark	27%	52%	25%	45%	58%	52%	30%	61%

Our Careers Guidance Programme is also monitored through regular feedback from students, staff, governors and our visiting partners. This feedback is collected through questionnaires and focus groups following key careers activities and at the end of each academic year. This is analysed by the Careers Leader with actions fed back to SLT, the Careers team involved and the Governing Body. Key action points are also included in the School Learning and Development Plan. The quality of the impartial guidance provision is evaluated by the students who have accessed the service.

Destination data (DfE) is used to assess how successfully students make the transition into the next stage of education or training, or into employment and to inform future CEAIG provision. This is analysed by the Careers Leader with key trends and actions fed back to SLT and Governors.

A designated Governor has responsibility for overseeing the quality of Careers Guidance. The Careers Leader reports to the Governing Body on a termly basis. The CG policy is reviewed on a bi-annual basis by the Careers Leader. This is ratified by Governors. The CG programme is presented to the welfare committee of the Governing Body on an annual basis.

Careers Guidance Programme by year group

 

Year 7

Linked Gatsby Benchmark

•                    Voluntary/optional access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 career interview during lunchtime drop in sessions. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •                    Careers strand in PSCHE lessons designed in line with the CDI’s learning objectives. See the PSCHE policy for further information. •                    National Careers Week – tutorial activities, assemblies, careers talks at lunchtime •                    National Apprenticeship Week – tutorial activities. •                    University talk – University of Bath – why go to University and what it is like to be a student. •                    Guess my job session with employees

Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 8 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 4, 5 Gatsby Benchmark 2 Gatsby Benchmark 7 Gatsby Benchmark 2, 5

Year 8	Linked Gatsby Benchmark
•  Voluntary/optional access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 career interview during lunchtime drop in sessions. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •  Careers strand in PSCHE lessons designed in line with CDI’s learning objectives and framework. •  National Careers Week – tutorial activities, assemblies, careers talks at lunchtime. •  National Apprenticeship Week – tutorial activities. •  Employer/employee speed-dating activity •  University of Oxford visit – Summer Term	Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 8 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 4, 5 Gatsby Benchmark 2 Gatsby Benchmark 2, 5 Gatsby Benchmark 7
Year 9	Gatsby Benchmark Link
•                    Access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 careers interview during lunchtime drop in sessions. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •                    Careers strand in PSCHE lessons in line with CDI’s framework and learning objectives.   • Post 14 choices programme including; GCSE subject option talks from Year 11 pupils, GCSE options evening, GCSE subject choices preparation, links to information about other post 14 providers. •                    Next Generation Awards •                    National Careers Week – tutorial activities, assemblies, careers talks at lunchtime. •                    National Apprenticeship Week – tutorial activities & live assembly from Apprenticeship Skills and Knowledge Service. •                    University talk •                    Careers Fair	Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 8 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 3, 4, 8 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 5 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 4, 5 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmark 7 Gatsby Benchmark 2, 3, 5, 7

Year 10

Gatsby Benchmark Link

•                    Access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 careers interview during lunchtime drop in sessions. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •                    Careers strand in PSCHE lessons in line with CDI’s framework and learning objectives. •                    Unifrog Introduction; introduction to Unifrog a destinations platform to research future pathways and opportunities. •                    National Careers Week – tutorial activities, assemblies, careers talks at lunchtime. •                    National Apprenticeship Week – tutorial activities & live assembly •                    Apprenticeship Awareness Presentation – Apprenticeship Skills and Knowledge Service. •                    Careers panel “professional services”. •                    Support for virtual work experience applications via Speakers for Schools

Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 8 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 4, 5 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 5, 6

Year 11	Gatsby Benchmark Link
•               Access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 careers interview. All students will have a 1:1 interview. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •               Post 16 option choices and transition into the Sixth Form events. Sixth Form Open Evening. Post 16 Option Choices Programme included hosted breakfast in Sixth Form, A-Level subject talks in assemblies and lessons. •               Careers Strand PSCHE lessons in line with CDI’s framework and learning objectives. •               National Careers Week – tutorial activities & assembly via Apprenticeship Skills and Knowledge Service. •               In Depth information session on apprenticeships via Apprenticeship Skills and Knowledge service. •               University talk •               Careers Fair •               Support with Work Experience.	Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 3, 4, 8 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 7 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 5, 6
Year 12	Gatsby Benchmark Link
•                    Access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 careers interview. Targeted students will have a 1:1 interview. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •                    Careers Strand PSCHE lessons in line with CDI’s framework and learning objectives. •                    Wednesday afternoon opportunities for work experience and volunteering. •                    National Careers Week/Careers Fair – tutorial activities, assemblies, careers talks at lunchtime. •                    National Apprenticeship Week – tutorial activities & assembly via Apprenticeship Skills and Knowledge Service. •                    University talk – Personal Statement writing. •                    Year 12 post 18 day. •                    Oxford University launch talk for interested students. •                    UCAS: 1:1 tutor meeting regarding personal statements, mock interviews, meetings, practice admissions tests and interviews higher and degree apprenticeship support	Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 8 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 5, 6 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmark 1, 2, 5, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 7, 8

Year 13

Gatsby Benchmark Link

•                  Access to independent and impartial careers advice and guidance through 1:1 careers interviews. Targeted students will have a 1:1 interview. Additional support is available through self-, parental- and tutor referral. •                  Careers Strand PSCHE lessons in line with CDI’s framework and learning objectives. •                  Wednesday afternoon opportunities for work experience and volunteering. •                  Life after Handsworth Day. •                  National Careers Week – tutorial activities, assemblies, careers talks at lunchtime. •                  National Apprenticeship Week – tutorial activities. •                  University Talk – Student finance.

Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 8 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 3 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 5, 6 Gatsby Benchmark 1 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 2, 3, 4 Gatsby Benchmarks 2, 7 Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 7