Careers and work related learning
At CFGS all students are actively encouraged to plan for their future. Some students may have a career path in mind and know exactly what they want to do. However, there will also be those who may be undecided and need additional advice, guidance and information to help them make informed decisions. CFGS welcomes the Government's Careers Strategy making the most of everyone's skills and talents (December 2017); the Gatsby Benchmarks Good Career Guidance (2014); the Careers Statutory Guidance (October 2018, updated in 2020 and 2021).
We are using these tools to help in our continual drive to further develop our careers information, advice and guidance work (CEIAG).
Our Careers, Education, Information and Guidance(CEIAG) work
The school's careers programme is delivered in four key ways:
- Through the taught careers education programme
- As part of mentoring programmes
- Through workshops, online webinars and assemblies
- As part of one-to-one careers guidance interviews
Students are given a wide range of education and information to support them with their future career decisions.
Taught careers education modules, which are delivered by tutors as part of the PSHEE programme. During these lessons students have the opportunity to reflect upon the skills and qualities needed for different careers and are encouraged to carry out their own research into careers and job roles.
Students in Year 11 receive one-to-one interviews with an independent careers advisors. Students get the opportunity to learn from employees and employers through workshops and mentoring programmes.
Our Careers Vision
We believe that all young people can reach their full potential. This is possible when students are encouraged, supported and given opportunities to help them be aspirational about their future career options.
In this short film we share our school vision and the importance of a whole leadership team buy-in. Learn how we deliver this programme and how important it is that the whole leadership team of a school buys into the careers vision.
Assistant headteacher Ms S. Zaneb says:
“The careers vision has been shared with the leadership team and the leadership team has bought into the vision. We have then cascaded that to the whole of the teaching staff… Our vision is that each of our students has their own personalised journey during the five to seven years that they are with us”.
Student Entitlement
We value the importance of introducing careers as soon as students join the school in Year 7. All students receive a range of careers information, guidance and experiences through careers events and activities, including labour market information and advice to support students’ next steps once they finish school at the age of 16. We have a structured careers education programme in place. This programme is delivered by tutors through the PSHEE programme to students in Years 7 to 13.
By the end of each Year, students should be able to do the following:
Year 7
- Describe themselves, their interests, strengths and career preferences.
- Explain what labour market information (LMI) is and how it can help them choose a future career.
- Link trips and visits to careers and what they are learning in their subjects.
Year 8
- Identify their skills and match these with their career interests.
- Use LMI and recognise its usefulness and purpose in assisting them in making future career decisions.
- Explain the qualifications and skills needed to enter the careers they are interested in.
Year 9
- Have explored different subject routes for their GCSE options.
- Can explain the skills and qualifications they need to get into a career of their choice.
- Can use LMI and understand how it might help them in their future career decision-making.
Year 10
- Year 10s are encouraged to use Unifrog to explore the range of career options available to them.
- Can explain their current strengths and weaknesses and the ways they can develop their areas for development.
- Have at least three encounters with employers and record the benefit of these encounters.
- Have participated in practice mock interviews.
Year 11
- Have explored different Level 3 subjects including A Levels and BTECs and have explored sixth form routes.
- Fully understand LMI and how it might help them make future career decisions.
- Have a clear understanding of apprenticeships and FE routes and can explain the best option for themselves.
Year 12
- Participated in formal work experience placements.
- Participated in the UCAS process and made HE choices.
- Visited at least one university and explored HE courses.
- Participated in mock practice interviews.
Year 13
- Had encounters with at least three employers (virtually or face-to-face).
- Experienced additional career planning support, including UCAS and financial planning.
- Made decisions about their next steps and have thoroughly explored a range of options that match their skills and interests.
The careers education programme is reviewed and updated, as appropriate. The careers education programme was reviewed in September 2023. The next review is scheduled to take place in September 2025.
To view Careers-Related Learning Events for each year group (Year 7 to Year 12), please click here.
Work Experience
Students have the opportunity to undertake work experience placements in Year 10, Year 11 and in the Sixth Form. The aim of work experience is to give students the opportunity to gain an insight into the world of work either to help students with their career choices or to enable them to see the skills and qualifications needed to enter a given profession or sector.
Work experience is organised and managed by the Work Experience Coordinator (the Careers Leader), with the support of the Sixth Form team. Students are encouraged to and supported in finding their own placement. Parental agreement is sought and students complete a work experience diary during their placement, as a way of reflecting on their progress and skills used and gained. Student feedback is also sought at the end of placement.
Work experience is optional for students in Years 10 and 11, but it is a requirement for all Year 12 students. Year 12 Health and Social Care students take part in two placements during the academic year.
Measuring the Impact of our Careers Programme
The online Compass Tracker Tool is used to record progress in achieving the eight Gatsby Benchmarks. The Compass self-evaluation is carried out on an annual basis by the Careers Leader. Provision of the careers programme is monitored through regular feedback from stakeholders including students, staff, and teachers. This feedback is collected through online surveys following careers activities and at the end of each academic year. External provision is monitored and evaluated through the school’s quality assurance procedures including observations, learning walks, work scrutiny, student and parent/care voice, where appropriate. Feedback is analysed by the Careers Leader and shared with staff and teachers.
The effectiveness of our careers guidance will be reflected in the higher numbers of students progressing to positive destinations such as apprenticeships, technical routes, sixth form colleges, further education colleges, universities or employment. Destination data (DfE) is used to assess how successfully students make the transition into the next stage of education or training, or into employment and to inform future CEIAG provision.
A designated governor has responsibility for overseeing the quality of careers guidance. In addition, an Assistant Headteacher works closely with the Careers Leader to ensure the careers programme is fit for purpose.
The Gatsby Charitable Foundation has provided schools with a clear blueprint of what good careers provision should look like. At CFGS we support the achievement of the eight Gatsby benchmarks:
| Benchmark 1: A Stable Careers Programme | Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by Students, parents, teachers, governors and employers. |
| Benchmark 2: Learning from Career and Labour Market Information | Every Student and their parents should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make the best use of available information. |
| Benchmark 3: Addressing the Needs of Each Student | Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each Student. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout. |
| Benchmark 4: Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers | All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of careers paths. |
| Benchmark 5: Encounters with Employers and Employees | Every Student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes. |
| Benchmark 6: Experiences of Workplaces | Every Student should have first-hand experience of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing, and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks. |
| Benchmark 7: Encounters with Further and Higher Education | All Students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace. |
| Benchmark 8: Personal Guidance | Every Student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all Students but should be timed to meet their individual needs. |
As a school, we achieved the National Quality in Careers Standard Award in July 2022. The assessor was impressed with the way in which the careers programme is led, systematically evaluated and noted:
The Careers Leader is enthusiastic; driven by rigour and has a strong understanding of the context she is working in and the positive effects that a robust and well connected CEIAG provision can have.
Useful Websites
A
The Alec website provides tips on writing your CV, finding a job and handling interviews.
B
The Big Choice website allows you to search by location and employment sector for school leaver vacancies.
C
The Career Finder website includes a variety of apprenticeships, graduate jobs and internships are advertised in this section of the UCAS website.
E
The Employment4Students website contains a wide range of holiday and gap year jobs, part time work, internships and graduate opportunities.
F
The Future Talent website includes details of a range of current apprenticeships, training schemes and courses for young people.
G
The Get My First Job website allows you to carry out a job search of a range of jobs from different industries. You can register your details and receive information about current vacancies that match your interests, qualifications and location.
The Gov.UK website had information on all types of apprenticeships. You will need to register to search and apply for vacancies.
Universal Jobmatch is a government website that allows you to search and apply for full and part time jobs in the United Kingdom and abroad.
J
This is the NHS job vacancy website.
N
nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
The National Careers Service website has information on over 750 job profiles, apprenticeships, advice on job hunting, and starting your own business.
The Not Going to Uni website provides advice and vacancy information for school leavers on school leaver programmes, apprenticeships, sponsored degrees, gap year activities and distance learning.
R
The Rate My Apprenticeship website includes information on a range of apprenticeships.
The Recruit website provides information on careers in the finance sector. You will need to register to be kept up-to-date with jobs and work experience opportunities.
S
The School Leavers Milk Round website includes job vacancies and careers advice for school leavers.
The Student Ladder website includes an extensive list of school leaver programmes and internship opportunities.
Provider Access Statement
This statement sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to pupils at the school for the purpose of giving them information about providers’ education or training offer. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.
Pupil entitlement
All pupils in Year 7 – 13 are entitled:
- to find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;
- to hear from a range of local providers about opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships – through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events;
to understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.
Management of provider access requests
Procedure
A provider wishing to request access should contact Dr Claudette Bailey-Morrissey, Student Aspirations and Careers Leader on telephone: 028 981 1131, Ext: 1520 or email: cmorrissey@central.towerhamlets.sch.uk
Opportunities for access
A number of events, integrated into the school’s careers programme, will offer providers an opportunity to come into school to speak to pupils and / or their parents / carers.
Contact
Careers Leader is Dr Claudette Bailey-Morrissey.
Dr Bailey-Morrissey can be contacted by email at cmorrissey@central.towerhamlets.sch.uk or by telephone on 020 8891 1131.
