Careers Education

 

---

CLICK HERE to read our Careers Provider Access Policy 

---

 

OVERVIEW 

The Careers programme at Nonsuch High School for Girls is underpinned by the belief that good career guidance can have a profound impact on social mobility, as it ensures that each and every young person, whatever their needs, background or ambitions, knows the options open to them to fulfil their potential. Excellent careers guidance makes sure there is equality of opportunity and that it unlocks potential and transforms outcomes for people of all ages, and we believe that giving students the best careers education and guidance is vital to improving their motivation to learn and help them to achieve.

New research, entitled ‘Motivated to achieve’ shows that participation in career talks with volunteers from the world of work can change the attitudes of Key Stage 4 pupils to their education and can influence their future plans and subject choices, motivate them to study harder and supports an improvement in academic attainment. With this in mind, strong links have been forged with local employers, colleges, universities and our own Nonsuch Alumni, who work with us to deliver a programme which helps our pupils and their parents to make informed decisions about subject choices and future career pathways, ensures students have encounters with the world of work and learn the skills that are needed to be successful in the workplace.

A full overview of our CEIAG Programme can be found via this link.

In line with guidance and using the eight Gatsby Benchmarks shown further below, our Careers' policy at Nonsuch High School for Girls aims to support students:

• to understand their options and different paths to work, to plan the steps they need to take, and to get from where they are to where they want to go, whilst encouraging them to understand that career development and planning is a lifelong journey;
• to be inspired about new opportunities they might not have known about (or that might not exist yet), or thought they could not achieve;
• to understand the importance of LMI and to investigate what 'jobs of the future' may look like and what skills will be needed for these jobs;
• in making well-informed decisions by providing access to differentiated, impartial and independent advice, information and guidance about the range of options (including academic, vocational, apprenticeships) that are most likely to help them to achieve their ambitions;
• to develop an awareness of their individual strengths, weaknesses, skills and aptitudes and how these link to possible careers, future education and training. Have an understanding of the key elements of their personality and understand that building an accurate self-image can guide successful career choices which can improve their well-being through doing a job they are good at and enjoy;
• to help them identify, build on and evidence the key employability skills – the core skills that will make them effective in the workplace; listening, presenting, problem-solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, leadership and teamwork.

 

           1.   A stable careers programme

           2.   Learning from career and labour market information 

           3.   Addressing the needs of each student  

           4.   Linking curriculum learning to careers 

           5.   Encounters with employers and employees  

           6.   Experiences of workplaces 

            7.   Encounters with further and higher education  

            8.   Personal guidance 
 

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG)

• Careers Information – including learning options, skills, occupations, labour market information (LMI) and progression routes
   
• Careers Advice and Guidance - personalised help when required from advisers to identify long-term goals and plan steps to attain them
   
• Careers Education - gives students the knowledge and skills for planning and managing their careers
   
• Work-related learning – experiences within and outside the curriculum which help students learn about economic well-being, careers and enterprise
   
• Development of Employability Skills - realistic and meaningful opportunities for development of employability skills
   

Monitoring and Evaluation

• Impact scores are generated via questionnaires to identify ways to further improve our provision. Questionnaires assist in refining specific elements of our Careers provision, for example, the meaningfulness of an activity from the perspective of students, teaching staff, visiting employers or training providers. This ensures we can continue to tailor our Careers Programme to ensure we provide quality experiences for students, parents, employers & training providers.
   
• We use The Careers and Enterprise Compass toolkit to help evaluate our careers' activity against the eight Gatsby Benchmarks.
   
• We undertake a yearly audit with Heads of Department to ensure we continually link curriculum learning with careers.
   

Extra Support Available

• Pupil Premium Students and those identified as needing extra support are invited to attend workshops run by our independent professional careers advisor or one-to-one consultations. These sessions include further information, advice and guidance on careers and further education. Students are also invited to attend sessions which help them to build upon and improve their self-esteem, self-belief and self-confidence and these are led by a qualified life coach.
   

Morrisby Careers

• Students in All Year Groups have access to Morrisby Careers which is an online careers portal and is designed to help young people broaden their horizons and consider a broader spectrum of career and education options.
  
  Students take a short psychometric questionnaire which gauges interests, attitudes and motivations. They are then offered career and education suggestions, personalised to them.
  
  Students require a code to sign up to Morrisby Careers and this can be obtained by emailing Mrs Ahmad.