Careers and Education Guidance
Weekly School Careers Bulletin 65 - W/C Monday 20th January 2020
Careers Overview
Our Careers department aims to provide excellent Careers provision for all. Mrs Gaulton, our Careers Leader, is available daily for any advice and guidance, she can be found in the O’Brien Library, where there is a dedicated Careers area. Careers Education & Guidance is provided throughout the school and embedded in the curriculum.
Our designated Careers Leader is Mrs Gaulton, she can be contacted on 01279 654901
We have dedicated careers guidance & information which is delivered in three categories;
Universal; all pupils develop their careers knowledge and skills through assemblies, dedicated Careers PSHEE lessons, tutorial time. External independent speakers will be invited in to speak to students throughout the year.
Concentrated; pupils identified by Learning Co-ordinators with a need for advice will have an interview with either the Careers Leader or where a more intensive guidance needs are identified will be referred to our independent advisor who visits regularly throughout the academic year. Years 12 & 13 students intending to look for apprenticeships or employment are also identified and offered interviews as a priority.
Self-Referral; pupils and or their parent/carer may arrange an appointment to see the Futures Co-ordinator.
We support all pupils to consider a broad and ambitious range of careers to help our pupils’ develop high aspirations and understand where different choices can take them in the future. Our Careers Library is situated in the O’Brien library and is available to all students throughout St Mary’s. Our Careers Leader is available to discuss careers and work experience. We also offer independent Careers Education and Guidance drop-in sessions for all year groups with our external independent advisor who visits the school on set days throughout the year.
Careers Programme
We deliver a structured Careers and IAG curriculum which is reviewed on an annual basis. The key activities scheduled are as follows:
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Year 7 |
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Year 10 |
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Year 11 |
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Year 12 |
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Year 13 |
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Sixth Form
At St Mary’s we encourage all Sixth Form students to explore their post 18 options, whether that is University, apprenticeships, employment, a Gap year or other education or training. Opportunities for exploring future choices are available throughout the two years of Sixth Form. Sixth Form students are able to seek permission for up to 5 absences per academic year to attend visits to explore these post 18 options.
All sixth form students have access to ‘Fast Tomato’ an online careers programme which enables pupil’s to explore the many different career opportunities open to them and the varied routes of entry.
Students attend sessions on how to write effective personal statements for both University and Apprenticeship applications. Each person applying through The Universities and College Admission service ( UCAS ) receives individual form tutor support and a one to one meeting with the Director of Sixth Form. Students seeking an alternative route will be invited to attend an individual guidance interview with our independent advisor. Students receive regular emails of University Open days, Summer Schools and Taster days. We also send email updates about apprenticeship vacancies and Gap years for those considering alternative routes. Please see the sixth form page for more detailed information regarding post 18 options.
Additional careers support that year 12 and 13 students receive includes the following:
- On-site Academic and Industry speakers
- Talks from former students
- Opportunity to have an appointment with an Independent Careers Advisor
- Help with sourcing work placements
- Personal Statement and CV Preparation
- Tailored support for Oxbridge and other competitive entrance courses such as Medicine
- Mock Interviews
Employer Engagement
We recognise and value the importance of working with local employers in order to support our career provision at the school. We are extremely keen to establish links with employers who will be able to enrich our students’ education and show them new possibilities within the world of work.We engage with over 100 different employers through work experience placements for our year 10 students. Over 30 employers and other education providers attended our careers carousel and another 30 professionals attended our mock interview day for year 11 and 13 students.We welcome further support from employers specifically those within the finance and law industry.
For next academic year we are seeking employers to support our Careers Carousel, Year 10 work experience, year 12 work placements and mock interview day. If you are able to help us with any of these events please contact Kerry Gaulton, Futures Coordinator at info@stmarys.net
Guidance for Parents/Carers
Parents and carers play a very significant role in helping students make informed choices about their study options and decisions about their future careers. Parents and carers are encouraged to talk with their child about their options and future aspirations. We value parents and carers input and encourage you to attend activities at school such as GCSE and A Level options evenings. We would also appreciate any offers of help with our Careers Carousel and Mock Interview day.
Should you wish to discuss your child’s future please contact their form tutor in the first instance, or Mrs Gaulton, our Careers Leader via email info@stmarys.net
Year 10 Work Experience
Monday 6th July - Friday 10th July 2020
Work Experience - A Guide for Parents
Work Experience Parental Consent Form
Student Own Placement Form -updated version to follow
In July all Year 10 pupils will undertake one week’s work experience. In preparation for this the pupils will have a Careers PSHEE lesson to help them discover the range of careers available to help them to make an informed choice when it comes to planning their work experience placement
Year 12 Work Experience
Year 12 - Academic Year 2019/2020 Work Experience - Monday 29th June - Friday 3rd July
Mock Interviews
Mock Interviews for all Year 11 students will take place on Thursday 14th November 2019. This is a fantastic opportunity for all students to put those skills into practice. Our interviewers’ then give pupil valuable feedback on their CV and their interview performance.
Futures Meetings
Students attend two Futures Meetings with a senior member of staff. In this meeting, students are given advice and talk though their options post-16. Students progressing to GCE A levels are encouraged to think carefully about their subject choices and how this may impact their Post 18 options. The Russell Group of universities Informed Choices provides information on facilitating subjects which are preferred by Universities.
For those considering alternative pathways to Sixth Form we provide details about apprenticeships and Open Days and can assist with applications. There are numerous Employers with options for school leavers who offer comprehensive apprenticeship programmes. For further information about apprenticeships please read A Parent’s Guide to Apprenticeships
Labour Market Information
Current Labour Market Information can be found here: Living and Working in East Herts, Living and Working in East Herts 2. We believe it is important for all of our students to understand the Labour Market because this will help them to make realistic choices about their future. During our recent Careers Week, all the students were shown the following short video to help them understand the Hertfordshire Labour Market. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxEnwYjtk5w&feature=youtu.be
The Careers and Enterprise Company
We are signed up to The Careers and Enterprise Company – The Enterprise Advisor Network –programme. The is a free provision managed locally by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership to support us to achieve all 8 Gatsby Benchmarks by August 2020 – a target set by the department for Education in their Careers Strategy (Dec 2017).
Further information about The Careers and Enterprise Company can be found here:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/
Further information about The Gatsby Benchmarks can be found here:
http://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance
Destination Data
CAREERS NEWS
THURSDAY 15TH NOVEMBER 2019 - "MOCK INTERVIEW DAY"
On Thursday 15th November we held our annual Mock Interview Day for both Year 11 and Year 13 students. All students were given an allocated interview time with an external professional. Over 250 interviews were carried out throughout the day. Where possible each year 13 student was matched to an interviewer from the industry they are hoping to go into after their studies benefiting from a more in-depth interview. 95% of students now say they have more confidence about attending an interview.
- As in previous years the feedback we received from the visitors after the interviews was lovely.
- “It was a pleasure, as always, to be able to attend St Mary’s today to assist with the Mock Interview programme. The students I interviewed were all of a very high standard and I am sure all will go on to do well in their chosen third level education or in their chosen careers”
- “I have been to a number of mock interview events at local schools but this was my first time at St Mary’s. Your pupils were some of the best prepared from any school I have attended previously. They were polite, articulate and appropriately dressed and all interviewed very well”
- “I noticed that this year’s interviews were much better, you can see the progression from Year 11 to Year 13, most of the students were extremely well prepared, confident and willing and able to speak eloquently about their activities”
This is a vital part of the Careers education that all students receive here at St Mary’s. The experience of being interviewed by people with professional expertise within a safe environment is invaluable to our pupils.
Thursday 19th September 2019 – St Mary’s Careers Carousel
Thursday 19th September, was the date that our annual Careers Carousel took place. With a mix of over 25 employers and educational institutions in attendance the hall was full to the brim with talk of careers and future prospects. The day started off with an atmosphere of excitement and eagerness filling the hall. Employers were putting the finishing touches to their stalls as the first students enthusiastically lined up outside the hall to see what awaited them. Year 9, 10 and 11 got the chance to visit multiple employers throughout their allocated hour. The buzz of career talk filled the air as students gained as much information as they could. ‘What qualifications do I need to be able to do this?’ competed with ‘Is there any work experience that you think would be helpful?’ Questions were being answered and students were absorbing the information ready to be used again in the future when planning their next steps.
At lunchtime it was the turn of the younger years and the Sixth Form to experience the Careers Carousel. Huge groups flooded the hall excited to see what it was all about. For some this was their first experience of career planning and it was a delight to hear some of the questions they were asking and to hear the students saying they had found a career they would like to pursue when they were older. At the end of the day when the whole school had had the opportunity to visit the Carousel and the last of the stalls were being packed away a sense of calm descended on the hall once again. A huge amount of information had been shared throughout the day and it felt like it had made a real difference to some of the students.
Careers Week March 2019
Careers Week 2019 was bigger than ever with 13 events scheduled throughout the week. Students also enjoyed careers-focused activities during form time, quizzes in the library at lunchtime and a pop-up information event by Harlow College to educate and inspire.
Students were invited to sign up to presentations from a wide range of industries to allow them to pick up skills and gain useful insights into potential future careers.
We hosted a number of presentations from a range of experts:
- A Career in Medicine and the realities of training, by former St Mary’s student, Dr Hurrell
- Former paramedic, Mr Edwardson, spoke about his time in the field and explained to steps to becoming a paramedic today
- A Science and Technology careers talk by the Innovations Coordinator at Airbus Defence and Space, Mr Agnew.
- Former student Ruth Carlson returned to St Mary’s to give an inspiring talk about her career in civil engineering, the benefit of pursuing STEM subjects and where it can take you
We also held a number of workshops, including ‘The Application Process and Interview Techniques’. Students learnt valuable life skills to help them prepare for the world of employment by taking them through a job application process and providing advice about how to conduct themselves at an interview. A CV workshop was also held later in the week to share do’s and don’ts when it comes to constructing a winning CV.
Providing our students with opportunities to interact with employers and to develop their awareness of further study and employment options improves the success of their transition from school to work. It was lovely to hear our students talking about their dream jobs and to see them starting to get excited about their bright futures
The following websites are recommended. This list is not exhaustive and a more extensive list of websites for particular career sectors can be found in our Careers Library.
https://university.which.co.uk/
nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk
https://www.getingofar.gov.uk/
https://amazingapprenticeships.com
https://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/
https://www.ucas.com/further-education/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/post-16-apprenticeships
St Mary’s Catholic School is not responsible for the content of external websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. Websites are checked regularly but may be subject to change without notification.
