Careers Education

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Key Staff Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Careers Leader – Mrs L Dover
  • Careers Education and Work Experience Lead – Mr P Steward
  • Careers Advisor and Work Experience Coordinator – Ms Tiffanie Linzell
  • Assistant Head of Sixth Form – Mrs R Littler
  • Senior Leadership Year Link – Mr W Sprenkel

Careers Provision
Careers provision at Plymstock School is fully mapped to address the national framework for good careers guidance known as ‘The Gatsby Benchmarks’:

  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

Careers Education
Careers Education is delivered to all our students from Year 7-11 as part of the Life Education Curriculum and on ‘Collapsed Sessions’: In Year 7 our students ‘play’ the Real Game as an introduction to their careers journey. In Year 8 the focus is on Employment Areas and understanding local Labour Market Information. Students also complete an Innovation challenge and consider how to develop a ‘can-do attitude’. In Year 9, ‘Choices’ activities complement the Year 9 Option Process. Year 9 students also complete an ‘Enterprise Challenge’ and study employability skills. The emphasis in Year 10 is on Employability and Work Experience. All Year 10 students are required to complete a week of Work Experience during Challenge Week, which takes place in the summer term. In Year 11, ‘Futures’ activities are designed to support our students in making their Post 16 decisions. Finally, during the Sixth Form our students complete a range of Employability and Careers activities as part of their tutorial programme including a visit to the Higher Education Conference and a work experience placement.

In addition to the Careers Curriculum we offer a range of Careers Enrichment events, through the Careers Department and across different subject areas and departments. These include: South West Skills Conference, Women into Technology Events, STEM Event, Skills Group , Medical Group, Mock Bar Competition, Babcock Mock Interviews, Enterprise Challenge, You’re Hired! University Visits (Plymouth University, Exeter University and Oxford University)

Careers Information
We have a dedicated Careers Centre where our full time Careers Advisor is based. In addition, the Sixth Form block houses a range of Careers, Apprenticeship and Jobs Information alongside the UCAS and University Information. We ‘buy in’ a number of ‘live’ online packages including JED (Job Explorer Database), Higher Ideas and UNIFROG to support our Careers programme. Our students have access to Computer Suites and iPads at break and lunchtime for any careers research they wish to complete.
In November we run our hugely popular Careers Fair and Futures Event. All students from Years 9-13 visit the event which is attended by a large number of exhibitors including local FE colleges, Apprenticeship Providers, Universities and Employers. The Futures Event is an interactive/hands on event which gives our students the opportunity to ‘have a go’ at a range of employment activities.

Careers Advice and Guidance
Careers advice and guidance is viewed as a long term process at Plymstock School. The Careers Department works closely with the Pastoral Team based in the Hub, the Sixth Form Team and Tutors in order to secure the best outcomes for our students. The Careers team supports the Year 9 Option Process and it is possible to make a Careers appointment on Parents Evenings in Years 9-11. In Year 10 students will attend a Careers Tutorial with the Careers Advisor and they receive an individual Follow-up Interview in Year 11. Careers advice and guidance continues to be available in the Sixth Form where students can book individual interviews with the Careers Advisor and we run an Employability Group to support students choosing not to go to university.

Work Experience and Employability
All Year 10 and Year 12 students are required to complete a Work Experience Placement.

Partnerships
We are especially proud of the strong working partnerships we have with external education and apprenticeship providers and local businesses and employers.

To see an overview of our school Careers Programme click HERE

To view our Provider Policy click HERE

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