Careers

Our careers education, advice and guidance is provided, or taught, through several means, including; all students having access to a personal account on Unifrog, the careers platform with dedicated lesson time to use the tool in KS3 and KS4, PSHE lessons delivered during tutor time and during Success for Life lessons, visits from training providers and employers, and presentations given by our pool of professional parent and alumni volunteers and access to unbiased and professional careers advice at key points in their education journey (but available on request for any student at any point in their journey).

Our investment in careers advice ensures that the guidance we provide is current, impartial and relevant for the young people soon to be embarking upon their chosen courses and professions. Targeted advice begins in Key Stage 3, particularly around the time students are choosing their option subjects, and we ensure that every student in Year 11 has a plan for the next two years of their education, whether it be continuing into the Sixth Form with A Levels, more vocational courses at college or an apprenticeship with a local business. Our Sixth Form students receive advice and support, particularly with university and apprenticeship applications. Their destinations post-18 are monitored with interest, and they are warmly invited to return to Denefield as alumni to talk about their chosen career pathway.

We have a three-year plan to improve and enhance our careers programme, which is reviewed and updated annually.

The impact of our careers programme is measured and assessed through progression and destinations information, student voice, including the Compass+ Futures Questionnaire, post-event evaluation, but we always welcome informal feedback so please do get in touch with Mrs Jackson (jjn@denefield.org.uk) if you would like to.

Denefield is committed to meeting the requirements set out by Department for Education’s Careers Strategy published in December 2017. This includes our intention to adhere to the Eight Gatsby Benchmarks for outstanding career provision:

1. A stable careers programme.
2. Learning from career and labour market information.
3. Addressing the needs of each Student.
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 (Gatsby Foundation, 2014).

Furthermore, our policy is to set out Denefield’s commitment to fulfilling its duties in relation to the statutory career guidance duty (Education Act 2011). This states that all schools should provide independent careers guidance from Years 7 to 13 and that this guidance should:

• be impartial
• include information on a range of pathways, including university options or apprenticeships
• be adapted to the needs of the student.

For more information please see our Careers Education and Guidance Policy which can be found on our policies page.

In addition, the school is compliant with Section 42B of the Education Act 1997 (updated January 2018), which states that all academies must give education and training providers the opportunity to talk to students about approved technical qualifications and apprenticeships. Further information relating to this is set out in our related document, Provider Access Policy which can be found on our policies page.

Our careers programme is reviewed annually in September.

As a parent, it is difficult to have the right answers when the world of work and education is changing all the time.  Here are some useful resources to help you keep up to speed and answer your child’s questions:

https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/careers-advice-for-parents/

https://careermap.co.uk/careermag-parents/

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

In addition, we share information about careers events, post 16 and 18 options, work experience and relevant opportunities, via our online noticeboard, Futures Bulletin.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries or need some assistance.  Likewise, if you have an inspiring career and would like to share your experience, please do volunteer to join one of our events.

There are many resources available to help you with any issue you have regarding future aspirations and choices, particularly your Unifrog account.  If you have forgotten your login, your username is your school email address and you can reset your password by clicking the Reset Password link, then going to your RMUnify mailbox to click a link in the email you will receive from Unifrog.  Unifrog, and other resources mentioned below, can help with advice on choosing your GCSE or post 16 options, choosing a university or apprenticeship, writing a CV or applying for jobs

Careers Resources – for links to useful website or documents.

Information about Apprenticeships -  for information about how we share vacancies and links to useful websites.

Labour Market Information (LMI) – see documents attached for latest reports and information about local job market information.

Do you have a career that would inspire our students? Are you a past student that would like to share your experience of further education, university, training or apprenticeship?

We are always on the lookout for volunteers to visit our school and share their experiences and career routes with our students.

Please get in touch with Mrs J Jackson (details above), if you are interested in supporting our students by sharing your real-life experiences of your successful career path and your knowledge of your industry.