Careers

KC Careers Bulletin

Termly information extravaganza containing the latest information and opportunities available to our students.

Policy for Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG)

Kingsthorpe College has a statutory duty to ensure that all registered pupils, from Year 7 to Year 13, are provided with independent and impartial careers guidance.

Students need help to make choices and manage transitions: they need good quality careers education, information, advice and guidance.

Specifically, students need access to:

• Comprehensive and up to date information on the full range of options in education, training and work, accompanied by information on the progression opportunities that follow from each of those options;

• Timely and impartial advice and guidance;

• Programmes of careers education that equip them to make effective use of the information, advice and guidance provided and to develop their career management and employability skills.

What is Careers Education and Guidance?

The CEIAG programme recognises the need for young people from Year 7 to develop career management skills so that they are better prepared to take their key decisions – Key Stage 4 Options in Year 9 and their Post 16 Options in Year 11. Students acquire the skills to:

• Investigate learning and career opportunities.

• Make informed judgements about learning and career options.

• Understand how these choices will help them to achieve their ambitions.

• Enable them to successfully manage key transition points.

The Careers programme at Kinsgthorpe College is developed in consideration of the CDI (Career Development Institute) framework and the Gatsby Report's benchmarks.  Three key areas are:

Self Development - through careers, employability and enterprise education

Careers Exploration - learning about careers and the world of work

Career Management - learning how to develop career management and employability skills (to include managing changes and transitions)

The guidance from the DfE places a duty on schools to secure access to unbiased and impartial careers guidance for their students.

Aims

Kingsthorpe College’s Careers Education and Guidance policy has the following aims:-

• To contribute to strategies for raising achievement, especially by increasing motivation.

• To support inclusion, challenge stereotyping and promote equality of opportunity.

• To encourage participation in continued learning including higher education and further education.

• To develop enterprise and employment skills.

• To reduce drop out from and course switching in education and training.

• To contribute to the economic prosperity of individuals and communities.

• To meet the needs of all our students through appropriate differentiation.

• To focus students on their future aspirations.

• To involve parents and carers.

What opportunities are offered in Careers Education and Guidance?

At Kingsthorpe College we are committed to providing students with a wide range of guidance and support to help them make the best choices for their futures. We offer learning opportunities through student development sessions and tutorials as well as one to one guidance from independent advisors and online support.

Equality and Diversity

Careers education is provided to all students and provision is made to allow all students to access the curriculum. Students are encouraged to follow career paths that suit their interests, skills and strengths with the absence of stereotypes. All students are provided with the same opportunities and diversity is celebrated.

• Year 7 - The focus is about introducing careers and thinking about the vast number of careers / jobs available.

• Year 8 - The focus is linking our plans and dreams to reality.

• Year 9 - The focus is self-assessment, career paths and options post 14.

By the End of Key Stage 3 students will have the opportunity to:

• Consider their own qualities, skills, interests and academic potential.

• Understand the options/choices open to them at the end of KS3.

• Discuss their choices with their teachers and tutors.

• Investigate knowledge and skills people need at work.

• Make decisions about their own learning and the curriculum.

• Use action planning to support their career development.

• Access careers information.

• Year 10 - The focus is researching the wide range of careers available.

• Year 11 - The focus is post 16 options.

By the End of Key Stage 4 students will have the opportunity to:

• Consider their own qualities, skills, interests and academic potential.

• Participate in work related activity e.g. mock interviews.

• Understand the importance of key skills – communication, application of number, information technology, improving their own performance, problem solving and working with others.

• Investigate the knowledge and skills people use at work through work related simulations.

• Understand the options open and available to them at the end of KS4, where to get information and how to apply –Sixth Form, College, Apprenticeships, Employment.

Years 12 and 13

Kingsthorpe College Sixth Form values enrichment and personal development. We believe that Sixth Form is an exciting time when students should be broadening their horizons and developing new skills. Our enrichment programme allows students to gain in experience as well as build their confidence and self-achievement. We also offer students the chance to gain in qualifications and work experience relevant to their University or job applications. Our enrichment programme is vast. It covers many different activities, such as Young Enterprise, and has a focus on careers and personal development. www.young-enterprise.org.uk

Staff 

The school Careers Lead is Mr Hobbs who runs our Careers Education Programme and co-ordinates the school’s Enterprise and Work Experience Programmes.

Parents and Carers

Parental involvement is encouraged at all stages. Online resources have been specifically chosen to help parents become more involved. All online resources are easily accessed through the links on the school website. Parents are kept up to date with careers related information through letters, newsletters and at open evenings. Parents are welcome at careers interviews and where necessary are invited.

View the Parent Pack from Amazing Apprenticeships.

Careers Events

The College arranges a variety of events and activities where students can meet representatives from businesses, education, voluntary organisations and former students for inspiration and guidance in a wide range of career areas. Regular events involving external participants include, employer talks and university visits as well as mock interviews for Y11 and Post 16 students.

Our annual Careers Fair targeted at students in Y9/10/11 and Post 16 attracts exhibitors from major national, regional and local companies together with universities and other organisations. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness of a wide variety of opportunities and to motivate our students to consider a broad and ambitious range of pathways and to work hard to achieve their full potential. We aim to provide something for everyone! This event is incredibly successful and as a result of this growing success is also open to a number of local secondary schools.

The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP)

Offer great opportunities for young people in the area in HPT and Advanced Manufacturing.
See their website for more information: The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) 

UCAS

The vast majority of students at Kingsthorpe College will apply to university; as a result we have an excellent, well-organised and successful UCAS support system. Year 13 students receive information and guidance on applying through UCAS and writing Personal Statements. They also carry out extensive research on universities and courses that may be of interest to them. In June, Year 13 students attend a UCAS Registration Day in which they register online and formally begin their UCAS application. Parents are invited to a UCAS Information Evening to ensure that they remain fully involved in what are life-changing decisions for the students. Students are encouraged to use their free time to research courses and institutions, refine their Personal Statement and complete all details on the UCAS form. The school’s Senior Leadership Team and all Post 16 tutors are actively committed to this process.

Engineering Careers

Guide to Engineering Careers

The following links are a selection of useful career, training and choices websites:

The National Careers Service

The National Careers Service website contains information on over 750 jobs and contains details of the skills and qualifications you'll need. You can also find out about what the work would be like, the average salary you could expect and what the career prospects are. The National Careers Service website also incorporates a CV builder, action plan, funding information, example letters, skills checker facility and interview tips.

Prospects, the graduate careers website has approximately 400 job profiles which you can use to help you make an informed career choice and gain a better understanding of what's involved in a wide range of jobs.

Careers Advice Online allows you to browse through information on all kinds of jobs. The information is split into job families, so it’s easier to find what you’re interested in. If you’re not sure about what sort of job to go for, you can try looking at the section on choosing a career. The National Careers Service

Where can I get impartial careers advice on line?

Try Career Pilot. A really useful site that has loads of help, advice and even an app to put on your phone! www.careerpilot.org.uk

Try Open University. A useful site that has loads of help, advice! http://www.open.edu

www.how2become.com Is the UK’s leading career, testing and educational specialist. Since 2005 we have trained and guided 1000s of candidates like you through recruitment processes. Whether you are looking to pass your GCSEs or a psychometric test or you want a career as a pilot, a civil servant or in the emergency services as a police officer – we are here to help you!

https://www.ucas.com/ Details of the course requirements for all university courses. Definitely worth looking at before you decide on the subjects you want to study at college.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship Find out about apprenticeships and search for vacancies.

Labour Market Information

Click here to view

CareerMag 

Access the Career Magazines for both parents and carers and school leavers. 

Careers Library

The Careers Library is a place where students can access books, leaflets, magazines, prospectuses (college and university) and the internet. In particular there is a range of:

1. Occupational books.
2. Careers Leaflets.
3. HE books.
4. Apprenticeship information.
5. Free magazines full of interesting articles/case studies to take away where more than one copy is on shelf.

Magazines and flyers on:

1. Gap year opportunities.
2. Specific careers.

The Careers Library is kept up to date by the Librarians.

Statement of entitlement

1. As a pupil Kingsthorpe College you are entitled to receive a programme of careers education, advice, information and guidance

Your CEIAG programme will help you to:

• Understand yourself, your interests, likes and dislikes, what you are good at and how this affects the choices you make
• Find out about different courses, what qualifications you might need and what opportunities there might be
• Develop the skills you may need for working life
• Make realistic, but ambitious, choices about courses and jobs
• Develop a plan of action for the future
• Understand the different routes after Year 11 including training, further and higher education and jobs
• Be able to make effective applications for jobs, training and further and higher education
• Develop your interview skills
• Improve your confidence

You will receive:

• Collapsed Timetable Activities
• Guided tutor time
• Access to the careers library – information is available in books, videos, leaflets and on computer – ask for help
• Interviews with the Connexions Personal Adviser
• Other subject lessons linked to careers

You can expect to be:

• Treated equally with others
• Given careers information and advice that is up to date and impartial
• Treated with respect by visitors to the school who are part of the careers programme
• Given extra help if you have special needs

Calling all Employers and Training Providers

Here at Kingsthorpe College we encourage our students to dream big, work hard and stay humble. We prepare and inspire our students so that they have the necessary knowledge, skills and aspirations to succeed in the job market of tomorrow. If you would like to work with Kingsthorpe College and support our Careers and Enterprise programme, helping to raise aspirations and inspire the next generation of workers, please get in touch - our door is always open.

We are keen to work with employers, industry representatives and training providers to support our students on their journey to employability.

Here is a list of possible activities you could get involved with in our school:

• Careers Fair
• In School Career Days
• Work place visits
• Careers talks
• Inspirational Assemblies
• Subject specific Careers
• Work experience placements
• Mentoring
• CV writing advice
• Interview preparation
• Mock Interviews

If you can support any of these activities or have other ideas to help our students to develop their employability skills, please contact Mike Hobbs (Careers Leader) who would love to hear from you. 

Contacts

The Careers team can be contacted either by telephone on 01604 716106 or by email: Student.Careers@kingsthorpecollege.org.uk