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Careers (CEIAG)
Careers Education, Information and Guidance (CEIAG)
At The Beaulieu Park School, we take pride in ensuring that our students have a personal development programme that equips them for moving into the appropriate further education, apprenticeship or workplace. This starts as soon as they arrive at secondary school in Year 7 and builds significantly through Years 8–13.
Our careers programme is built around the Gatsby Benchmarks as seen in the picture below. To find out how we support your child in their journey to becoming the leaders of tomorrow, click each benchmark lower down the page.
As we are currently in the early stages of our Secondary school, we do not yet have Destination Data. After two years of our first cohort leaving Year 11 (academic year 2024-2025), we will be able to publish this information and will link it here.
Any parent, pupil, employer or member of staff can review our CEIAG policy under the policies tab or contact Mrs Vint at lvint@beaulieuparkschool.com (01245 943500) to access further information about the programme.
Skillsometer
Complete the Skillsometer quiz by clicking the link below and find a list of job suggestions based on your interests and skills.
www.lmiforall.org.uk/cm3/widget.html
Careerometer
Click on the Careerometer link below to find out how much you can earn per week for any job and how the pay is compared nationally.
https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/cm2/index.html
Useful websites
Get the lowdown on top employers, and search for the latest jobs, courses and advice: https://successatschool.org/
1. A Stable Careers Programme
At The Beaulieu Park School our aim is to equip every student with the knowledge, drive and character necessary for success at University and beyond*. We use the Gatsby Benchmarks as a guide to plan our Careers Education Information and Guidance (CEIAG) programme and infiltrate our provision through every element of student life. Our aim is to ensure every student, regardless of their background or ability, are afforded an outstanding education in careers to ensure they are well informed to make choices that are right for them.
At The Beaulieu Park School, we begin our careers provision in year 7. We believe that exposition to industry professionals and dialogue around skill sets and career choices from the beginning of a child’s secondary educational journey are crucial in ensuring the right choices are made by each student as and when they reach key points in their educational journey.
At Beaulieu, we:
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engage students with dialogue around career choices and options within our Life Skills and Citizenship lessons
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take our Year 7 students on a trip to Parliament to experience the workplace and afford them encounters with employers and employees (as well as develop their political understandings)
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engage Year 8 students with an off-timetable day with the Army
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run a Barclay’s Day for year 9 exploring key skills and knowledge needed for success in the world of work, all whilst further developing their confidence
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Run a career carousel day for year 9, engaging them with a 1-2-1 discussion with industry professionals
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prepare students for and facilitate mock interviews with year 10 and year 12
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Provide interview support for our year 11 students ahead of their KS5 applications
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run a careers fair for year 11 to assist them in their KS5 choices
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support year 13 with their post 18 choices and applications to ensure we are doing everything we can in the aim of 0% NEET figures
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and much more...
Please see the pdf at the bottom of this page for our full careers provision across all of the Benchmarks for Years 7 to 13 (subject to change and implementation as a result of availability of resources).
*All further & higher education and apprenticeship routes are valid next steps for our students. Choices are important and must suit the individual. At Beaulieu however, it is imperative that all children, whatever their background believe that University or further education is a viable choice for them and that these pathways are not reserved for those from more affluent backgrounds. At Beaulieu, we believe that education is the key to a happy, healthy, socially mobile/adaptable and fulfilled life.
2. Learning from Career and Labour Market Information
Labour Market Information (LMI) enables you to see the demand and supply for jobs in an area or city. It can help you to make well informed decisions when looking and applying for work by understanding the skill sets employers are looking for and how much money you can earn in each profession. LMI helps you to see the areas in which specific professions are employing, where in the country the demand for certain skill sets are, and the level of education you need in order to pursue certain roles. It is a useful tool which can offer great insight.
Labour Market Information at Beaulieu
At The Beaulieu Park School, we use current local and national LMI to help inform the choices we make around our CEIAG provision and ensure our students are privy to its use prior to choosing their options at KS3 and KS4. Students explore the LMI sites listed below and when used in conjunction with the skillsometer, can consider roles that they might wish to begin working towards whilst at school.
LMI is regularly discussed within the classroom through its explicit links to the career spotlights (see Gatsby Benchmark 4) and within our Life Skills and Citizenship programme, explicitly in year 8 and year 10. Tutors display the latest LMI for Essex (see below) on their tutor boards and engage in discourse within form time. Excitingly, year 12 students will engage with a labour market research project as part of the Beaulieu Diploma, presenting findings on any chosen career and displaying their work on the outside wall of the classroom in which it directly correlates.
Our options evenings and open evenings will take LMI into careful consideration, sharing information on the latest data provided by the National Careers Service and seeking collaboration with companies and businesses that represent the growth sectors to engage with our cohorts.
Labour Market Outlook - Autumn 2020:
“While there is still uncertainty in the jobs market, the figures this quarter show signs that the rate of decline is levelling off. There has been a clear improvement in net employment intentions, which have risen seven percentage points since summer this year.
Nonetheless, intentions to make redundancies remain elevated – with 30% of employers planning to make redundancies in the three months to December 2020. However, it is encouraging to note that employers are using a wide range of tactics to stave off redundancies where possible. These include temporary lay-offs or furloughing staff (41%), redeployment (37%), recruitment freezes (32%), freezing or delaying wage increases (29%), cutting bonuses (29%) and terminating temporary worker or agency worker contracts (27%).
With the furlough scheme now being extended from November, employers will have further Government support to help save jobs and potentially protect employees from redundancy.”
Source: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/labour-market-outlook
Useful websites:
Please see below for some recommended websites linking to Labour Market Information.
The Essex skills insight and economic growth tool: https://tinyurl.com/yy8h4kf3
The Essex data signposting tool: https://tinyurl.com/y5gbecrf
The Labour market Profile for Essex and comparison across other Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP’s) Tool: https://tinyurl.com/y4cwsnt4
The East of England Labour Market Information – Working Futures, Employer Skills Survey and Employer Perspectives Survey (further information below: https://tinyurl.com/y3q9pfj3
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Working Futures: Working Futures uses robust sources of national data on demographics, education, employment and the economy to make projections of the UK labour market. This presentation includes information on future growth sectors and future growth occupations.
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Employer Skills Survey: The Employer Skills Survey is the UK’s definitive source of intelligence on employer investment. This presentation uses information on training behaviour and recruitment of young people and education leavers from the survey.
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Employer Perspectives Survey. The Employer Perspectives Survey provides insights into the thoughts and behaviour of UK Employers as they make decisions about how to engage with training providers, schools, colleges and individuals in the wider skills system, to get the skills they need. This presentation includes information on the sources of external training that employers use.
The latest employment figures from the Office for National Statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/
The UK Data Service – primary data sources: https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/get-data/themes/labour/key-data.aspx
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development - labour market data and analysis on employers’ recruitment, redundancy and pay intentions: https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/labour-market-outlook
Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP’s) news: https://www.lepnetwork.net/news-and-events/?type=newsArticle
PayScale combines salary data with superior software utilizing AI and the most advanced reporting tools available to help individuals know their worth and employers to get pay right: https://www.payscale.com/
3. Addressing The Needs of Each Pupil
At The Beaulieu Park School, we use a programme called Morrisby (formerly Fast Tomato) in order to support our students with their hopes and aspirations for the future. The programme begins in year 8 and enables students to further discover the world of work and suggested pathways forward by analysing their personality, skills and traits. Morrisby enables students to make sense of the job market and see what qualifications are required for a variety of roles, supporting them to create an action plan to help work towards their goals. What better time to start thinking about your educational journey than just before you need to pick your options!
See how the Morrisby programme works by watching the video below: Morrisby Overview
ARRK Mentoring
At Beaulieu, we encompass our ARRK principals in everything we do. They are the foundations upon which the school has been built and every member of staff actively seeks opportunities to praise students for their engagement with them, every day. Each academic year, students use the ARRK principals as a basis for discussion within a ‘mentoring’ session. Students are off timetable for half a day and attend their mentoring session with an allocated member of staff who listens to the student present their personal skills and qualities in an interview style meeting. This exposure to a more formal style of pressure explicitly focuses on allowing each student to harvest the necessary skills to succeed in interviews post 16 education. The ability to talk about one's successes and strengths is a skill we know to be essential in all walks of life and we are proud to say that this opportunity enables students to develop preparedness for these encounters.
Curriculum Vitae
The exposure to ARRK mentoring throughout KS3 allows students to develop a strong confidence in presenting their skills and celebrating their successes. At KS4, ARRK mentoring becomes CV mentoring and preparation, following a similar formal structure to that described above but including more of an interview style meeting. This development allows students to continually feel challenged but also prepare for the vigorous processes many of them will face when they submit applications for post 16 work or study.
KS5 Mentoring
In KS5, students often face the hardest studies they will ever undertake. To support them in their learning and engage them in careers dialogue, students are offered a 30-minute meeting with a teacher mentor bi-termly. Vulnerable students and those at risk of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) will automatically be assigned support.
Click below to complete a Skills assessment and skills health check created by the National Careers Service:
Skills Assessment
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/skills-assessment
Skills Health Check
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/skills-assessment/skills-health-check/home
Click the link below for some post 16 advice from the BBC Bitesize website:
4. Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers
Career education is embedded throughout the curriculum with at least one reference to a career in every subject, each half term, for every cohort. Subjects use the career spotlight slide below to highlight roles relating to their curriculum learning. These career spotlights are carefully planned using current Labour Market Information in order to help students make informed decisions about their educational or vocational journey.
Life Skills and Citizenship
An important element of our Life Skills and Citizenship curriculum (PSHE) programme focuses on a self-assessment of skills acquired throughout the course of the academic year and targets that students wish to work on for the following academic year. Under the 1-2-1 guidance of the form tutor for this task, students are able to be reflective learners and think about their goals for the next twelve months. These goals often feed into their aspirations for the future and coupled with the task, enable students to develop the skills needed to create and present a strong curriculum vitae when they begin to seek employment.
Co-curricular
Our Co-Curricular programme is rich and diverse, embracing many of the long-standing traditions of some of the country's best schools. Our main curriculum is complemented and enhanced, adding to the skills, cultural experiences and well-being of our students. An example of our co-curricular clubs which directly facilitates exploration of careers that can be pursued alongside or following a student’s educational journey are listed below*:
Acrobatic Arts |
Badminton |
Basketball |
Choir |
Computer Programming |
Drama Club |
Environmental Club |
Fashion Design & Illustration |
Football |
Musical Theatre |
My Music |
Netball |
Orchestra |
Public Speaking and Debate |
Rock Band |
Rugby |
Science Investigation Project |
Sign Language |
Street Dance |
Textiles Craft Club |
Trampolining |
*this list is not exhaustive and is subject to change.
For further information on our co-curricular provision, please visit our co-curricular section: /449/co-curricular
STEM competitions, events and assemblies
Annual competitions and events run alongside the competitions within the Beaulieu House system, including STEM based competitions, British Science week, National Skills Day, the Big Bang Fair, Volunteer’s week and much more. Our Science, Math and Technology departments lead the annual STEM focussed competitions with the support of the Heads of House and engage each cohort with challenging and engaging events*. Some of these competitions include:
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Scrap-heap challenge
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Chemistry forensics
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Maths Challenge
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Design an app
STEM curriculum leaders also present specialist assemblies exploring their chosen focus in order to help our students develop their knowledge and understanding of these areas of study. We know what with exposure to this dialogue and understanding, our students are afforded time to make informed choices about their options and career paths prior to reaching these important crossroads.
*As a result of school infancy and impact from the coronavirus, our STEM competitions have been delayed. We hope that upon our return to school, we will be able to facilitate these competitions.
Useful Websites:
Career mind-map selection tool: https://tinyurl.com/y5bjfqz6
Market intelligence and research: https://tinyurl.com/yyep292k
See how the subjects you love link to different job sectors: https://tinyurl.com/u98lgm4
5. Encounters with Employers and Employees
At Beaulieu, our vision is to provide students with a wealth of careers knowledge and experiences to prepare them for life after The Beaulieu Park School and to enable them to make the best possible choices for themselves. Our careers education and guidance will help students to be open minded and to all possibilities whatever their background. All students should feel that they can achieve their goal and be encouraged to have the very highest aspirations. To provide the very best level of exposure to our students, we organise a big event for every cohort:
Year |
Event |
7 |
A trip to parliament |
8 |
Off timetable day with the Army / University Trip |
9 |
Barclay’s Day |
10 |
Mock Interviews |
11 |
Careers Fair |
12 |
University Trip |
These events are complemented by additional engagement within the school:
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Police presence around the school on a regular basis
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Visitors in assemblies
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Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow programme
Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow (in school)
One of the provisions we have in place at Beaulieu is a programme named after our school ethos ‘Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow’ which engages our student body with professionals from a variety of fields*. These voluntary professionals come into school to talk to our students about their route into their careers and what their day-to-day working life looks like. A question-and-answer session precedes the session and students are able to ignite their curiosity further through this opportunity. Upon completion of the session, students complete a school survey rating how much they enjoyed it.
*As per Bakers Clause referenced in our CEIAG policy, please get in touch with mwatkins@beaulieuparkschool.com if you would be interested in participating in this programme. We are always excited to work with people in our community from both professional and educational settings.
Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow - Webinars
When our school provisions moved remotely as a result of Coronavirus, we introduced a weekly webinar programme which operates through our regional Uni Connect ‘Make Happen’, part of the Office for Students. Students sign up to a webinar of interest and, as above, hear employees talk about their route into their careers and what they do as part of their daily role. Opportunities for Q+A are provided and students complete a school survey following the webinar rating how much they enjoyed it. To date, 88% of our student body have enjoyed the webinars they’ve participated in, with 44% wanting to learn more.
Click on the link to see historical webinars that our students have engaged with: https://www.makehappen.org/workplace-wednesdays/
Mock Interviews
By the time students reach year 10, they will have had three opportunities to engage with an interview style meeting with a member of staff at the school. Mock Interviews mimic a professional situation, engaging students with punctuality and presentation and preparing them for a real-life experience of an interview process. The interviewers provide feedback to students and this can be used to refine any areas for development ahead of employment. Timing this day ahead of the challenges of year 11 and before KS5 applications enables students to feel confident in their very first interview encounter.
Careers Carousel
In year 9, students engage with a career's carousel; an event in which employers and employees speak to students for a few minutes at a time about their company and the roles within it. This event (very much like a ‘speed dating style event) allows students to gain a quick insight into the profession prior to moving on to the next station. Students complete a tick sheet questionnaire as they carousel to each station and use this to help them see where their interests are drawn to. Taking place prior to options evening, students have another opportunity to explore a variety of fields before making their GCSE choices.
6. Experiences of Workplaces
From Year 7, students are encouraged to engage with voluntary support with school duties through our House Systems and Ambassador roles. Affording students the ability to hone leadership and managerial skills prepares them for later life when these skills become the backbone of their day-to-day duties. Some of the roles that enable students to exercise these transferrable skills are:
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House-Captain
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Vice-Captain
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Prefect
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Student Council Ambassador (working alongside Essex County Council and The Multi-Schools Council)
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Library Ambassador
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Subject Ambassador
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Sports Representative
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Eco-Ambassador *
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Inclusion Ambassador (including LGBTQ+) *
*not yet in effect
Work Experience
Work experience is one of the most valuable experiences a student can engage with whilst still in education. We help students to organise work experience placements during Year 10 and Year 12 and members of staff visit their placements to evaluate its success. These two-week experiences enable students to get a feel for what it is really like to be out in ‘the big wide world’. Year 12 work experience is encouraged to focus on a placement directly linking to their chosen areas of study and interest.
The benefits of work experience:
Trips and Visits
In addition to the explicit engagement with workplaces as detailed above, students also engage with workplaces through the trips and visits they participate in as part of the whole school programme and the careers specific programme, too. See Gatsby Benchmark 5 for more information.
7. Encounters with Further and Higher Education
Encounters with Higher and Further Education are important events which help students to evaluate whether they would like to pursue certain routes in their educational journey or not. At Beaulieu, we have timed our engagement with these events to occur prior to any decision making that students have to make, thus allowing them flexibility to carefully consider their choices to ensure they are right for them.
We know that University and further education is not the right choice for some but believe it is important to allow students to make informed choices about their next steps through experience. As a result, students are taken to a university during Year 8 and year 12, helping them to experience, first-hand, what university is like ahead of choosing their GCSE options in Year 9 and post 18 routes.
Please see bottom of the page for a clearer PDF download of the above grid.
Trips and Visits*
As outlined in Gatsby Benchmark 5, we take our Year 8 and Year 12 students on a trip to University. These meaningful encounters, ahead of their options and post-16 choices, allow students to speak to both staff and pupils whilst experiencing what it would be like to learn within such an educational setting.
Open Evenings
Our open evenings for year 11 students will be supported by students in Year 10 and Year 13, providing them an opportunity to develop their transferrable skills by supporting and managing subject stalls, whilst engaging with this further education provision.
Parents Careers Association*
We are hoping to create a parent's careers association in our 5th year of operating the secondary school (2023) whereby parents and carers engage with our student body to help provide guidance and support for further and higher educational choices. Much like an employer/employee engagement programme with a school (but a little less formal), the parent's association will help to provide impartial advice on career routes and courses to take in order to reach different career goals.
*As per Bakers Clause referenced in our CEIAG policy, please get in touch with mwatkins@beaulieuparkschool.com if you would be interested in participating in this programme. We are always excited to work with people in our community from both professional and educational settings.
Post 16 and post 18 routes – further information
Apprenticeships
Find an apprenticeship: https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch
Apprenticeship information for students, parents and teachers: https://amazingapprenticeships.com/
Higher and Degree Apprenticeships
Higher and degree apprenticeships: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/699399/Higher_and_degree_apprenticeship_fact_sheet-090418.pdf
Traineeships
Find a Traineeship: https://www.gov.uk/find-traineeship
T-Levels
T-Levels: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels
A-Levels
Facts about A-Levels: https://www.ucas.com/further-education/post-16-qualifications/qualifications-you-can-take/levels
University
Why go to University? https://www.makehappen.org/guide/why-go-to-university/ UCAS: https://www.ucas.com/
Find a course
National Careers Service course finder: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/find-a-course/search Qualification
Levels explained
What qualification levels mean: https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
Financial Support
Further education courses and funding: https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help Support and
Advice
Careers Leader Miss Watkins (email): mwatkins@beaulieuparkschool.com
National Careers Service (webchat and freephone): https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
Call: 0800 100 900 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday 10am – 5pm Saturday
Local Further and Higher Education Institutions
The Beaulieu Park School Sixth Form (coming 2024) |
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/ |
Chelmsford College |
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https://www.chelmsford.ac.uk/ |
Writtle University College |
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https://writtle.ac.uk/ |
King Edwards VI Grammar School Chelmsford |
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https://www.kegs.org.uk/sixth-form/2544.html |
Chelmsford County High School for Girls (Sixth Form) |
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http://www.cchs.co.uk/sixth-form/ |
Anglia Ruskin University |
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https://aru.ac.uk/ |
8. Personal Guidance
"At The Beaulieu Park School our aim is to equip every student with the knowledge, drive and character necessary for success at university and beyond.”
Yes, aspirations are high for our students, but our mission statement does not limit them to this one and only option. Simply, Beaulieuans will be ready for this step should they decide to take it. All further and higher education and apprenticeship routes are valid next steps for our students. Choices are important and must suit the individual. At Beaulieu, it is imperative that all children, whatever their background, believe that University or further education is a viable choice for them and that these pathways are not reserved for those from more affluent backgrounds. We believe that education is the key to a happy, healthy, socially mobile/adaptable and fulfilled life.
Specialist Careers Advice
“Every pupil should have at least one such interview by the age of 16, and the opportunity for a further interview by the age of 18.”
Gatsby Benchmarks
At Beaulieu, we are committed to ensuring all students aged 13-18 receive independent and impartial guidance from a trained careers leader, at least once within this time. Our careers guidance shows no bias or favouritism towards institutions, education or occupations as we know how important it is for students to form their own conclusions on what routes they take post-16 and post-18. To reflect this, our Gatsby Benchmark 7 page details the routes students can consider at these key decision-making points in their lives. In order to support students with specialist careers advice, we work alongside level 6 and 7 qualified careers leaders sought through CDI and registered with UK Career Development Professionals.
Destinations data
As a new school in our infancy, we have not yet been able to analyse destinations data but this will be evidence used to help inform possible avenues that students need support and education around prior to making their post-16 and 18 destination choices. When our first cohort completes their fifth year at Beaulieu in 2023 and post 16 education in 2025, this information will be shared on our school website. We aim for 0% NEET.
Accessibility
Specialist careers leaders work alongside the school to initially support students with educational needs and those within minority risk groups (where appropriate) prior to delivering support to the entire student body. This focus enables us to ensure that support is delivered to those who may require additional, impartial guidance in a timely and supportive manner. As with all of our approaches, we will evaluate the success of this at the end of each facilitation and use our findings to develop our provision to ensure we are always providing the very best support for our students, at all times.
Post-16 Choices Animation from The Department for Education
Continual discourse
Career's advice and guidance is not limited to student encounters with specialist careers advisors but encompasses many elements of our everyday lives at school. Every scheme of learning across the school includes at least one careers spotlight, linking curriculum learning to a career and explained by the teacher who gives advice and guidance on the job introduced. The Life Skills and Citizenship programme facilitates careers conversations almost every lesson, as students are encouraged to engage in with curiosity and inquisition each time the lessons are delivered. The school’s Careers Leader meets students within their Life Skills and Citizenship to discuss the outcomes from their skills tests and help them to understand the variety of routes available to them based on their present dreams and goals. Assemblies are also used to engage students with careers, Labour Market Information and events that they can engage with in order to help them make informed decisions post-16 and post-18.
Mentoring and CV support
As outlined in Gatsby Benchmark 4, we use the ARRK principals to help students develop the skills needed to present their strengths in a formal meeting-style mentoring session. This 1-2-1 opportunity enables students to receive feedback from the member of staff they are speaking to and work towards building a sound knowledge in preparation for the creation of their CV by the time they reach KS4. For more information, please see Gatsby Benchmark 4.
Mock Interviews
In Year 10, students will experience a mock interview process with an outsourced company. They will complete an application for any of the roles available, present a supporting CV and answer the prepared questions for that role. Exercising this formality; presentation, punctuation and discourse will support students in their first real-life interview experience. Personalised feedback will be provided, and students will be able to use this to help them feel ready for broaching the idea of a weekend or summer job.
Future use of (destination) data
• Data capture of Post 16 destinations is used to inform students of best institutes to attend and to spot trends that might best imform careers advice for Beaulieu students.
• Accurate data on each student and record the Careers advice given to each student.
Useful websites
Jobs and routes: https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/sectors
Explore different careers on the National Careers Website: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers