Career Plan

CAREER PLAN

Lea Manor High School is committed to providing a full and thorough Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme across the curriculum, which aims to help to guide pupils through their post-16, career and future options while addressing each of the Gatsby Benchmarks.

CEIAG provision across the school is monitored by:

Mrs Claire Moore (Assistant Headteacher) – Moorec@leamanor.luton.sch.uk

Our commitment to you:

Lea Manor High School seeks to provide a planned programme of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for pupils in partnership with Luton Borough Council, training and HE providers, businesses, parents, alumni and other external agencies.

The school’s ambition is to ensure that all pupils leave equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge required to successfully support their entry to the next stage of their development. To this end, the school’s CEIAG programme has three main aims:

• Self-Development – enabling pupils to understand themselves, their strengths and the influences on them, acquiring the core competencies and employability skills necessary to enable them to access range of opportunities
• Career Exploration – investigation of opportunities in learning and work, understanding the changing world of work and current labour market information
• Career Management – developing skills enabling them to make and adjust plans and to manage change and transitions.

To achieve these aims we are adopting the Gatsby Benchmarks to fulfil our duty and to ensure that our programme is embedded across the school.

Our entitlement statement (below) outlines what pupils and parents can expect to receive during their time with Lea Manor High School.

Key Stage 3

Throughout KS3, pupils are prompted to think about their strengths, interests and employability skills through lesson teaching. All pupils will complete a comprehensive ‘Aspirations survey’ which provides an insight into their current thoughts and knowledge in many areas related to their future options. This allows the Careers Leader to ensure the careers programme is fit for purpose and relevant to all pupils.

By the end of Key Stage 3, all pupils will have:

• A better understanding of the full range of 14-19 opportunities for progression.
• A better understanding of their strengths and areas for development, and support to evaluate how these might inform future choices in learning and work.
• An understanding of some of the qualities, attitudes and skills needed for employability.
• Used online resources to research information about opportunities and apply their findings to help to make informed choices for Key Stage 4 Pathways.
• Received appropriate advice and guidance on Key Stage 4 options.
• Opportunity to experience meaningful encounters with employers.

Key Stage 4

There are dedicated Learning Family time sessions to increasing pupils’ awareness of local post-16 providers, using ICT facilities to research courses, qualifications and apprenticeships with an emphasis on entry requirements for each pathway. A careers programme, covering self-development, career exploration and career management is embarked upon within PSHCE lessons where pupils learn what qualities and skills are relevant to different careers and build upon their own employability skills. Pupils will also learn that education and training can take place in a number of environments from further education to apprenticeships and traineeships. Throughout KS4, pupils have the opportunity to attend open days, trips to further and higher education establishments, Careers Conventions and other relevant career related experiences. In addition, pupils will receive clear personal guidance to assist them to make successful post-16 choices, as well as meaningful encounters with employers. All pupils will complete a comprehensive ‘Aspirations survey’ which provides an insight into their current thoughts and knowledge in many areas related to their future options.

In addition to the careers provision within school, pupils in Year 10 are given the opportunity to experience the world of work through a Work Experience placement for one week. Year 10 pupils will also embark on the 16 x 16 programme which encourages pupils to develop and recognise their own employability skills.

The careers plan for Year 11 pupils focuses on transferable skills and qualifications required for various careers. It incorporates information about different qualifications and courses available at post-16 and assists pupils in the successful completion of application forms, CV writing, composing Personal Statements and interview skills. Representatives from local colleges, universities and apprenticeship organisations will regularly visit the school to expose pupils to all the options available to them during this crucial year.

By the end of Key Stage 4, all pupils will have:

• Been given the opportunity to complete the 16 x 16 programme, which develops their skills and qualities for their future (Year 10).
• Enhanced their self-knowledge, career management and employability skills.
• Used online resources and other sources to investigate and explore future choices and progression routes.
• Experienced the world of work through visiting a local employer.
• Been given direct access to employers, colleges, training providers and universities.
• Been given guidance to help identify a range of post-16 options and support networks that they can use to plan and negotiate their career pathways.
• Been provided with the resources to complete the post-16 application procedures, including CVs, personal statements, and preparation for an interview.
• Been offered a 1:1 careers interview.

Evaluation

The Statutory Guidance (October 2018) requires schools to measure and assess the impact of careers upon destinations, breaking this down by what pathways, distance travelled for vulnerable learners, etc. Our programme will be reviewed annually with feedback from key stakeholders. For example, evaluation surveys, feedback sessions, focus groups, etc.

Parents/Carers

The Government has changed the law in recent years so that young people leaving school will need to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. Pupils can opt to study or train in any of the following ways:

• Study full time in a sixth form, college or with a training provider
• Gain an apprenticeship or traineeship
• Work or volunteer full time, combined with part-time education or training

Parents/carers are vital to pupils understanding of career choices and the decisions they make. We wish all parents/carers to have up-to-date information on choices at 14+, 16+ and 18+ and we would actively encourage you to attend parent information sessions and parents evenings.

We would also encourage parents to discuss any concerns regarding careers related matters with Mrs Claire Moore (Assistant Headteacher).

Pupils, teachers, parents and employers can access information about the Lea Manor High School Careers programme through the ‘Careers’ section of the school website, or by contacting the Careers Lead (Claire Moore – moorec@leamanor.luton.sch.uk – 01582 652600).

Information for parents / carers

It may also be helpful for parents and carers to access these additional websites and parental guides, by accessing the Useful Links  to the left of the page:

How parents/carers can help 

We aim to help every pupil to reach their full potential and progress on to a successful destination by providing them with the widest possible range of employer and careers related opportunities. You can help your child with this by regularly engaging them in conversations about careers and assisting them in researching post-16 opportunities, as well as encouraging their awareness of Local Market Information (LMI).

We will be more likely to achieve our aim of pupils reaching their full potential if we have the help and support of those around us, including parents, employers and alumni. Therefore, the school seeks to actively engage parents/carers in the development and delivery of careers provision. Careers updates, together with requests for assistance with careers events are provided through the school newsletter, school website or social media.

We appreciate that your time is precious and we would value your contribution whatever this may be. Here are some examples of how a parent could get involved in careers activities:

• Deliver small group sessions to pupils about your own career and the path you have taken to achieve this
• Run mock interviews with pupils to prepare them for the world of work
• Ask your employer whether they could host a workplace visit for a small group of pupils

The above list is not exhaustive, if you have any further ideas of how you could support our CEIAG programme please do not hesitate to get in touch with Claire Moore (moorec@leamanor.luton.sch.uk) – 01582 652600.