Career Support

Cardinal Allen Catholic High School has a statutory duty to provide impartial and objective Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) to every pupil across the school. We believe that CEIAG should be delivered in a way that empowers our pupils to make informative decisions about their future and career pathway, within both further and Higher Education.

CEIAG is seen as an integral part of the holistic curriculum which is available to every pupil. Delivery of our CEIAG programme is completely impartial - we do not favour any one further education establishment but work closely with all post 16 providers to offer the most appropriate careers pathways to our students.

What we offer:

• A programme of careers education in all Year Groups (Careers Curriculum)
• A School Careers Adviser who provides personal one to one careers guidance interview for all Year 11 students and additional support for younger pupils who need it most;
• A careers evening for pupils in Years 10 and 11 - a chance for pupils and parents to explore career ideas and progression routes with providers of post 16 education in order to make informed decisions;
• 'Drop' in careers advice sessions at lunchtime and after school;
• Dedicated careers room and section in the LRC (Learning Resource Centre);
• A range of informative groupwork sessions covering aspects of further education, training opportunities, apprenticeships and other progression opportunities; Access to Careers related software;
• Assemblies led by post 16 providers;
• Visits from employers;
• Visits to Further Education Colleges and Universities
• Mock results event;
• PSHCEE (Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education) days with a Careers focus.

Year 11 - Your Choice, Your future - A quick overview

September / October / November

• Attend any Careers events at College or Sixth Form;
• Visit Apprenticeship provider open days, look at apprenticeship websites for school leaver vacancies;
• After attending open evenings, complete application forms.
  
  

December / January

• College and Sixth form applications to be handed in (check for closing dates);
• Apply for apprenticeship vacancies via training providers or employers;
• Check post and emails for interview invitations.
  
  

February / March

• Attend interviews for College or Sixth Form - if invited to attend a group interview in school or an individual one at your chosen College/Sixth Form;
• Its ok to submit several applications form - also plan for different scenarios.
  
  

April / May

• Attend any practical or assessment days or attend any further interviews;
• Find out about college buses, the bursary scheme or any financial assistance available;
• Final GCSEs begin - GOOD LUCK.
  
  

June / July / August

• Final GCSEs examinations;
• You officially leave school;
• Collect GCSE results;
• College / Sixth Form enrolment or start full time apprenticeship.

What happens in your careers interview?

Your careers adviser will:

• Agree what outcomes you would like to achieve from your interview based on impartial and confidential guidance;
• Help you to assess your current situation including skills, aptitudes, qualifications, personality, motivation, needs etc;
• Provide you with accurate, up to date information;
• Agree a clear action plan outlining the next steps you have decided to take based on realistic targets and timescales.

Implementation of Careers Education

These aims are achieved through the Careers curriculum which is outlined above. All strategies are inline with the Gatsby Benchmarks. Careers Compass is completed twice per year and action points inform improvements. 
The Curriculum Leader along with the Enterprise Advisor network, Careers Advisor, curriculum leaders external providers, and employers strive for continuous improvement and build on each benchmark further.

• A stable Careers programme
• Learning from Career and labour market information
• Addressing the needs of each pupil
• Linking curriculum learning to careers
• Encounters with employers and employees
• Experience of workplaces
• Encounters with further and higher education
• Personal Guidance

Evaluation

The school is committed to CPD for Careers and all team members actively seek CPD opportunities.

Regular meetings with Inspira and the School Enterprise Adviser ensures a robust programme which meets all the criteria of the Gatsby Benchmarks and Government Statutory Guidance.

This combined with pupil, parent and external provider evaluations and comments ensure that there is a robust Careers programme that caters for all our pupils

Annual Monitoring

Careers Compass is completed twice yearly. Actions for areas of improvement are developed. Should you require any further information on the school careers programme please contact

Careers Lead: Mr T Farrington 01253 872659, email t.farrington@cardinalallen.co.uk

Careers Advisor: Mrs L O'Connor 01253 872659, email l.oconnor@cardinalallen.co.uk

Published information will be reviewed July 2023

Teachers

Learn Live

LearnLive delivers interactive careers advice and recruitment opportunities as live and on- demand broadcasts from the biggest apprenticeship and graduate recruiters from across the UK.

Click on the link below to discover when the next interactive live broadcasts with recruiters are:

https://learnliveuk.com/live-broadcasts/

Alternatively, click on the link below to watch a wide variety of on demand videos with live chat support:

https://learnliveuk.com/videos/

Governors

We are fully committed to ensuring that our careers programme is a coordinated and informed effort involving governors and staff, where together we can develop an excellent careers approach based around national guidance and research.

Statutory guidance for governing bodies, school leaders and school staff published by the Department for Education in October 2018, stated that the governing body should:

• provide clear advice and guidance on which he/she can base a strategy for careers education and guidance which meets the school’s legal requirements, is developed in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks and informed by the requirements set out in this document.
• include a member who takes a strategic interest in careers education and guidance and encourages employer engagement.
• make sure that arrangements are in place to allow a range of education and training providers to access all pupils in years 8-11 to inform them about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships, and that a policy statement setting out these arrangements is published.
• The lead governor for careers is Mrs S Jones
  

Information for Parents and Students

Apprenticeships

For some of our pupils the opportunities provided through an apprenticeship will be worth consideration after leaving our school.  Apprenticeships have changed significantly over the last few years and are currently developing at a rapid pace. From level 2 (intermediate) up to level 7 (masters) there are a range of different apprenticeship standards available for the vast majority of job roles.  Apprenticeships allow you to combine work and study by mixing on-the-job training with classroom learning. You’ll be employed to do a real job while studying for a formal qualification, usually for one day a week either at a college or a training centre. By the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll hopefully have gained the skills and knowledge needed to either succeed in your chosen career or progress onto the next apprenticeship level.

Local labour market information:

Further Education Providers:

Other Useful Websites