Our careers programme

Our careers programme thoroughly prepares students for university and the world of work. We help students develop the skills and knowledge needed for the fast-changing job market, and provide them with a exciting range of opportunities to engage with employers, further education providers and higher education institutions throughout their time at the Academy.

Our programme aims to meet all of the 'Gatsby Benchmarks' – a nationally recognised framework for world-class careers guidance – through the following strategic adjectives:

• Organise parent engagement events to inform parents about today's job market and world of work, and how to advise their children on these topics.
• Individually track every pupil's progress through the careers curriculum, including the trips and activities they take part in.
• Make time for active reflection after each trip and activity, so that each pupil is continually evolving their vision for their future.

Year Overview

In Year 7, students are introduced to the working world by exploring a wide variety of jobs and careers. They make connections between our school values (Work Hard, Aim High, & Be Kind) and how these are essential for success in the workplace. Students begin to learn explicitly about skills, and are introduced to the language of the eight SkillsBuilder ‘essential skills’ for employers: 

• Communication – listening & speaking 
• Creativity and problem solving 
• Self-management – staying positive and aiming high 
• Interpersonal – leadership and teamwork

Students begin to identify their interests. They learn how recording and reflecting on their experiences in-and-out of the classroom can support them in making career choices.

From Spring term, students begin to use the Unifrog platform to: 

• Create their interests profile to identify and understand their key interests 
• Begin recording activities on the platform e.g. trips, clubs, experiences  
• Explore the careers library independently to learn about job sectors and the employability skills they require 

Gatsby Benchmarks

In Year 7, students work towards the following Gatsby benchmarks: 

Benchmark 3 – Addressing the needs of each pupil 

• A school’s or college’s careers programme should actively seek to challenge stereotypical thinking and raise aspirations. 

Benchmark 4 – Linking curriculum learning to careers 

• Study programmes should also reflect the importance of maths and English as a key expectation from employers.

Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers and employees 

• Every year, from the age of 11, pupils should participate in at least one meaningful encounter with an employer. 

In Year 7, students are able to: 

• 1 Describe yourself, your strengths and preferences
• 5 Identify different kinds of work and why people’s satisfaction with their working lives varies 
• 11 Recognise the qualities and skills needed for employability and provide evidence of progress from both in and out of school

Year Overview

In Year 8, students explore the concept of ‘pathways’, learning about the decisions they will make in the years ahead. Particular attention is paid to GCSE options, post-16 and post-18 study options. This work culminates in a university campus and city visit in the summer term.  

Students continue to be exposed to careers widely, with greater attention paid to the requirements of particular jobs or sectors. They begin to build awareness of labour market information, and how jobs in the future may change, or may not even exist yet. 

In Summer, Year 8 students take part in Jack Petchey First Give, working as teams to complete a fundraising project for a local cause or charity. Through the project they are taught the importance of the eight essential skills and reflect on their successes and areas for improvement in each of these.  

Students continue to use the Unifrog platform to: 

• Continue recording activities on the platform e.g. trips, clubs, experiences, reflecting on essential skills they feel they need to develop
• Explore the careers library independently to learn about the requirements of particular jobs and sectors

Gatsby Benchmarks

In Year 8, students work towards the following Gatsby benchmarks: 

Benchmark 2 – Learning from career and labour market information 

• By the age of 14, all pupils should have accessed and used information about career paths and the labour market to inform their own decisions on study options.
• During their study programme all students should access and use information about career paths and the labour market to inform their own decisions about study options. 

Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers and 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 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 technical and academic routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
• By the age of 16, every student should have had a meaningful encounter with providers of the full range of educational opportunities, including sixth forms, colleges, universities and apprenticeship providers. This should include the opportunity to meet both staff and students.

In Year 8, students are able to: 

• 6 Describe what various businesses do including their structures and plans
• 14 Demonstrate that you can make logical career decisions based on a wide range of information
• 17 Show that you can be positive, flexible and well-prepared at transition points to generate new opportunities and make the most of them 

Year Overview

In Year 9, students reflect on the knowledge they have developed during KS3 and how their experiences inform their choices of GCSE options.  They reflect on how their interests have developed and changed since Year 7.

Students consider local market information (LMI) in more detail – what skills employers are looking for, and how to ensure they keep paths open to as wide a range of education and employment opportunities. In particular, students explore how maths and English are used in the workplace, and how developments in STEM and globalisation are affecting the labour market. They consider misconceptions and stereotypes linked to LMI, and how this can impact choices at transition points in negative ways. Students also look into laws on child employment – including maximum working hours and how to manage a part-time job with studying.

In Autumn/Spring, Year 9 students take part in employer encounters to learn more about how careers develop and how essential skills in school are used in the workplace.

Students continue to use the Unifrog platform to: 

• Continue recording activities on the platform e.g. trips, clubs, experiences, reflecting on essential skills they feel they need to develop 
• Explore the careers library independently to learn about the requirements of particular jobs and sectors 
• Consider future university, apprenticeship, and technical pathways that are open to them in the local area and beyond.

Gatsby Benchmarks

In Year 9, students work towards the following Gatsby benchmarks: 

Benchmark 2 – Learning from career and labour market information 

• By the age of 14, all pupils should have accessed and used information about career paths and the labour market to inform their own decisions on study options.
• Parents should be encouraged to access and use information about labour markets and future study options to inform their support to their children.

Benchmark 3 – Addressing the needs of each pupil 

• A school’s or college’s careers programme should actively seek to challenge stereotypical thinking and raise aspirations.
• Schools and colleges should keep systematic records of the individual advice given to each student, and subsequent agreed decisions. All students should have access to these records to support their career development.

Benchmark 4 – Linking curriculum learning to careers 

• By the age of 14, every pupil should have had the opportunity to learn how the different STEM subjects help people to gain entry to, and be more effective workers within, a wide range of careers.
• Throughout their programme of study (and by the end of their course) every student should have had the opportunity to experience how their subjects help people gain entry to (and be more effective workers within) a wide range of occupations. 

Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employers and employees 

• Every year, from the age of 11, pupils should participate in at least one meaningful encounter with an employer.

Benchmark 6 – Experiences of workplaces 

• By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.

In Year 9, students are able to: 

• 4 Describe different ways of looking at people’s careers and how they develop
• 6 Describe what various businesses do including their structures and plans
• 7 Be aware of what job and labour market information (LMI) is and what it can do for you
• 8 Identify how to challenge stereotyping and discrimination that could be damaging to you and those around you
• 9 Be aware of the Law related to young people’s permitted work hours and know how to minimise health and safety risks to you and those around you
• 10 Identify and make the most of your personal networks of support including how to access the impartial careers information, advice and guidance that you need

For more information about our careers programme please contact Harry Morgan on info@arksoane.org or 020 7430 8876.