Twickenham School is committed to offering an exceptionally high quality careers programme to support all our students in achieving their aspirations. Teachers will often reference the world of work and illuminate how their taught subject links with careers within their lessons however a summary of our careers journey is detailed below:
Years 7 & 8
Students in Years 7 & 8 are introduced to the world of work through a range of tutor time activities and PDC lessons that inspire and excite students to build aspirations and ambitions for their adult lives. There will opportunities for visits from outside speakers, including specialists from the Innervate Careers team. Students will be encouraged to see a connection between hard work and having a positive attitude to learning with their success in achieving their own goals.
Year 9
As a critical decision-making year, students are supported throughout to make well informed and guided choices about their studies through to GCSE. A range of careers and subject specific talks in PDC lessons and assemblies help students to understand the subjects they will need to study to go on to the next steps in their own development and career aspirations. We will make available a variety of software tools to help students to build up their knowledge of a range of careers pathways they could take. They will be able to find out about post-16 study at college or another school and compare this with the wide range of apprenticeships and training programmes on offer locally. Additional careers advice will be available for students who would like extra support.
Years 10 & 11
Students preparing for their exams also face challenging decisions about their next steps post-16. There are an ever-growing number of qualifications and courses available: we will support students and their families to understand the choices that are available and to make appropriate decisions. As well as a tutorial programme, careers fairs, visiting speakers, guidance, trips and activities, students will have a planned 1-1 careers meeting with a specialist from Innervate careers in Year 10 and in Year 11 with personalised advice and next steps for every student.
Evaluation
We use the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Compass tool to evaluate how our careers programme performs against the Gatsby Benchmarks. In addition, pupils, parents, staff and external partners are regularly asked for feedback on careers activities and events via questionnaires, surveys and our Pupil Voice forum. This feedback is then used to inform future planning and develop the programme.
Statutory Guidance and the Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 guidelines that define the best careers provision in schools and colleges. The DfE Careers Strategy is built around them, and they are used to structure the careers programme here at Twickenham School.
Why are the Gatsby Benchmarks important?
The Gatsby Benchmarks have a key role in:
- Raising young people’s aspirations and promoting access to all career pathways
- Enabling all young people to develop the skills and outlook they need to achieve career wellbeing, including adaptability and resilience
- Underpinning the Department for Education guidance to schools on meeting their statutory responsibility for careers guidance.
Gatsby Benchmark 4. Linking curriculum to careers
- Subject teachers are highly influential – students are 18 times* more likely to be motivated to learn if their teachers know their hopes and dreams
- Students feel more engaged in their learning when they perceive the relevance of what they are studying to their own and other people’s lives
- Students are given the opportunity to develop their career thinking and to acquire important career management and employability skills
- Students become more aspirational, understanding that perceived barriers can be overcome and that there are numerous pathways to success
Who to contact about our careers offering:
If you would like to contact our representative at Innervate Careers please email natalie@innervatecareers.com or alternatively Ms Martin, Senior Careers Leader at info@twickenhamschool.org.uk for further information and advice.
Twickenham School has appointed a lead governor to take a particular strategic interest in careers education and guidance and the development of partnerships: Ms Claire Little.
Further information for Parents/Carers
We understand how difficult it can be to navigate through the large amount of information concerning careers.
Choices available to your child are likely to be very different from those you had at school. However, parental guidance significantly influences decisions made by our students, so it is imperative you have access to current information.
Websites for careers information and advice specifically for parents:
Summer-term-Newsletter-Issue-12-2023.pdfAutumn-Term-Careers-Newsletter-2022.pdf
Careers-Hub-Newsletter-December-2022.pdf
Careers-Hub-Newsletter.-March-2023.pdf
https://www.ey.com/en_uk/careers
Information for Employers
Are you able to offer advice, work experience or support?
At Twickenham School we are keen to give all our students an opportunity to forge connections with employers. Our students are looking to broaden their horizons, obtain as much experience as possible and equip themselves for their future careers. The engagement and support of our local community is invaluable in helping us to build a rich network of contacts. If you would like to be added to our database of contacts to hear about events you might be able to contribute to such as speed networking, mock interviews, workshops and work experience, please complete this form TS Careers Programme
Resources for Teachers
Here you will find information on statutory guidance as well as links to useful resources concerning careers-related learning.
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| Innervate Summer Term Newsletter 2022 |
