Careers

Gatsby Good Career Guidance

The Career Development Institute Framework for careers, employability and enterprise education

CDI Framework

For Further Information about the careers provision contact our Careers Leader Paul Denton: pdenton@suttonmail.org

Careers Leaders

Head of Careers: Mr Denton
Head of Sixth Form: Mr Marris
Governor Link: Ms N Prasad
 

Please see our Careers Provider Access Statement below:

SGS Careers Provider Access Statement

A provider wishing to request access should contact Mr Ian Marris, Head of Sixth Form and Line Manager of Careers: Telephone: 020 8661 4501  Email: imarris@suttonmail.org

Mr Denton can be contacted via pdenton@suttonmail.org .

The Careers Education and Guidance programme recognises the need for young people to have secure independent careers guidance for all year 7-13 pupils. It is intended to inspire and motivate students to consider a broader and more ambitious range of future education and career options. So they are better prepared to make key decisions at important stages in their lives - Key Stage 4 Options in Year 9, Post 16 Options in Year 11 and Pathways post 18 – University or Apprenticeships or other routes.

It is a learning environment which encourages students to tackle real life challenges, to manage risk and develop transferable employability skills: decision-making, team building, problem solving and communication skills. It involves interaction with a range of inspirational role models, to instill resilience, goal setting, hard work and confidence to encourage students to overcome barriers to success.

Students acquire transferable employability skills to:

• Investigate learning and career opportunities
• Make informed judgments about learning and career options
• Understand how these choices will help them to achieve their ambitions
• Enable them to successfully manage key transition points.
• To facilitate good interview techniques in later life. 
• Improve their ability to take decisions, make choices, be adaptable and apply appropriate strategies in relation to opportunities available locally, nationally and internationally.

This all takes place within a framework of internal and external support networks including

• Sutton Education Business Partnership (SEBP), Further & Higher Educational Colleges, Sixth Forms and Universities, and engaging with employers.
• Involving young people and parents in activities including Year 9 and Y11 Options Evening, Year 10 Work Experience, Y10 and Y11 enterprise days, Year 12 & Y13 Student Finance evenings.
• Parental information evenings and parents & students have the opportunity to meet our Careers adviser to discuss their further and higher education choices and apprenticeship opportunities.
• Monthly email bulletins, careers lessons, the school website,
• A Prospects careers adviser
• Higher Education events, like taster days or medlink for sixth form students
• A Careers fair at the school.
• The opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills for self-employment – through KS4 enterprise, enterprise week and trade fairs as working for yourself is a viable pathway and option

KS3 Years 7-9

In year 7 students develop skills that will prepare them for the rest of their academic and working life.  As part of this process Careers education is delivered within the students form tutor lessons. In these lessons students are encouraged to develop their skills within Citizenship and consideration is given to higher level thinking, Information gathering, people skills and situation skills. 

In year 8 and 9 there are 3 careers lessons delivered by form tutors in extended tutor periods. Students are encouraged to visit and register with the National Careers Website to identify where to get information and to start to identify some of their skills and attributes. They are then encouraged to develop an action plan to look at further information they might need to find and to identify some careers they may wish to consider. 

Students are also asked to identify key stages in their life cycle so far and to assess their decision making skills and to consider their options for GCSE.

View Lesson 1here

View Lesson 2 here

View Lesson 3 here

Year 9 builds on the previous advice and guidance and considers some role models for students to aspire to. A range of occupations are considered with case studies.  A racing driver a medic and even Richard Branson feature. The key here is for students to identify the skills the person has and what they like about the job. The lessons use  icould, videos to engage and inspire students.

The changing nature of work is considered where students explore the future jobs market and the sort of careers that might be on offer.

Students finally consider the post 16 options that are available, with clips on apprenticeships and higher education.

View lesson 1 here             

View lesson 2 here

View lesson 3 here

KS4 Year 10 & Year 11

Year 10 Careers Education

Lessons are delivered in fortnightly careers lessons. The lessons are divided into 6 separate themes:

1.Preparation for work experience, where students are encouraged to start the search for a summer term work placement, and advice is provided on how to start this process.

2. Students reflect on their interest and skills and how this will inform their future choices – identifying the skills, attributes and abilities that they have and therefore which occupations might suit them.

3. Employability skills are explored and considered in relation tom a first attempt at a CV first CV, to support the work experience process.

4. The various different careers that students are interested in are researched and presented back to the class so students obtain a variety of opportunities that they may wish to consider.

5. Preparation for work experience is discussed and questions to ask before work experience, e.g. obtaining a training schedule, dress code and health and safety issues.

Students participate in a week's work experience which they are encouraged to organise themselves relating to their individual interests.

Year 11 Careers Education                     

Lessons are delivered in fortnightly careers lessons.

Year 11 lessons are divided into six themes:

1. Work Experience debrief/pathways post 16 - where students discuss and comment on each other work experience and the knowledge and employability skills that they obtained. This leads onto a consideration post 16 pathways that I might consider, sponsored degrees, apprenticeships, and university choices.

2. CV’s are updated adding work experience and building on the skills developed in Y10/ this leads to a video CV as a way to differentiate an application for a future job. My employability brand is considered – what does brand me look like? and how does knowing this help me to improve my skills or develop new ones for my chosen career?

3. The Interview Selection process – what is involved in an interview and how to act and deal with tough questions.

4. The Interview Process- What will take place? what skills are needed for interview? Dealing with tough interview questions

5. Mock Interviewing – students interview each other for a job and peer asses each other.

6. Which University/ the UCAS process and how to find the right university for me.

KS5 Year 12 and 13                                              

All Year 12 and Year 13 students attend weekly lectures form a range of speakers. They also participate in a higher education conference involving former students sharing experiences, advice and guidance on university choices and destinations.

Students visit university open days and attend parental information evenings to explain the UCAS process and the alternative opportunities to university like apprenticeships.

There is also a parental information evening from Student Finance England in February to explain the student loans system, the process for applying and what loans/grants can be obtained.

Mock interviews are provided for those students who are aspiring to Oxbridge or to study medicine. These are provided by the medical, economics, history, and languages societies and by staff within these departments.

Every two years there is a careers fair for all KS4 and KS5 students.