On Track Education

Careers Education at On Track Education

All staff contribute to Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance through their roles as support workers, tutors, teachers, subject leads and Senior Leadership team.

At On Track we recognise the vital role a high quality careers programme plays in raising the aspirations of all young people in our school. It increases motivation by linking activities in school with preparation for life post 16 and we provide a range of opportunities for our students to meet with external providers to support them in determining their next steps.

We strive to ensure our students are equipped with the necessary skills for them to plan their future careers and know how and where to access impartial and unbiased information about further education, vocational opportunities, apprenticeships, careers and the world of work.

Careers is a timetabled subject for all our students from year 7 onwards. Our curriculum is sequenced and progressive to enable our students to gain as full an understanding of Careers and the options available to them as possible. We have designed an accredited pathway building from AQAs to WJECs and BTECs for our 6th form students, increasing their knowledge and understanding alongside enhancing their employability.

We are really proud to offer our students and parents the opportunity to attend a Next steps event, where they have the opportunity to speak on a 1:1 or small group basis with a range of local FE providers, apprenticeships, local Alternative Provision providers, support services such as the Reaching for Independence team and our Careers advisor. This event is evolving and expanding with more providers joining us in September including the Army and RAF. We are also working with our colleagues in other local SEND schools and Alternative Provision to establish a SEND focused Careers fair.

As well as accessing the in school events we arrange, we also support our students to attend local jobs and Careers fairs and the National Apprenticeship show at Westpoint Arena where appropriate to their next steps.

We value the role that Careers guidance plays in helping our students focus on their longer-term career ambitions and ensure an equality of opportunity for all. Every student is entitled to receive high quality careers guidance to support them in determining their future career and the steps needed to reach this.

We have used the Gatsby Benchmarks as the starting point for planning our careers programme and evaluating its success. We complete the Compass Evaluation tool termly and work closely with our Careers and Enterprise advisor to ensure our careers programme is effective and suited to the needs of our students.

The impact of the careers programme can be measured through the relatively low number of Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) following Year 11, and the diverse paths followed by our students after leaving On Track. This is significant considering the number of our students who have had interrupted educational journeys prior to joining us. Our staff work tirelessly to support our students in identifying their next steps and then in making them a reality.

Careers contact in school

Cath Fordham – Careers Leader and our dedicated point of contact, for any careers related enquiries.

Contact details
Email: cfordham@ontrackeducation.com
Tel: 01271 372269

The Careers Entitlement for all students

By the end of Key Stage 3 all students will have the option to:

Taken part in weekly, timetabled careers lessons in years 7, 8 & 9
Develop an awareness of their individual skills, strengths and aspirations
Be confident at using online resources including Xello and Career Pilot to research LMI and a variety of jobs that may suit their interests and skillset
Receive career information and on-going support from their key team
Have had the opportunity to meet and ask questions to at least 4 employers.
Take part in the Next Steps event where they can find out more about the options available to them when they are Post 16. This is also offered to families at the end of the school day.

By the end of Key Stage 4 all students will have the option to:

Experience careers education, focused on their development, labour market awareness, educational pathways and employability skills within the Careers curriculum
Be offered at least one individual appointment with a qualified, independent, impartial careers advisor
Have explored a range of different careers and pathways
Have been given the opportunity to speak to representatives from various sectors of the world of work.
Have completed a work experience placement when ready to
Been shown how to create a high quality CV.
Have written a formal letter, e.g. covering letter.
Been given impartial advice and guidance on post-16 education, employment and training and apprenticeship options
Signed up to receive apprenticeship opportunities alerts
Develop presentation and interview skills through mock interviews.
Be confident to access careers information and resources.
To have taken part in taster days/ sessions for FE colleges.
Have visited or spoken to representatives of further education institutions

Careers Policy

Our Careers Policy is available under the Policies section of our school website.

Student/Parent Careers Information:-

At On Track we use Xello and are beginning to explore Careerpilot as a source of career information. Pupils are introduced to the website in our Careers lessons. After creating their own personal account, students and parents can then access a range of careers information on the website.

Xello is a platform we subscribe to which provides our students with up to date LMI and helps them to explore a range of careers that may be of interest to them and suit their skillset.

Careerpilot is a free website helping 13—19 year olds in the South of England plan their future study and work and has a lot of useful information for young people and parents.

Get the information you need to help your child make the right choices at 14, 16 and 18 through the Careerpilot website, aimed at young people, and the Parent Zone, aimed at parents and carers. Careerpilot is a free website helping 13—19 year olds in the South of England plan their future study and work and has a lot of useful information for young people and parents. The Careerpilot Parent Zone can help you as a parent/carer get answers to the career questions you want to ask, about:

Choices at 14, 16 and 18;
Further Education College;
Apprenticeships and Traineeships;
Higher Education (including HE provided at local colleges);
Job sectors and growth;
Funding and support.
Answers are clearly written and link to additional information in the Careerpilot website or on other websites. Access the Parent Zone from the Careerpilot home page or from http://parentzone.careerpilot.org.uk/parent

Additional Careers and Student Information Website Links

Careers & Enterprise Company Guide for Parents and Carers

This guide is a useful ‘practical resource for supporting your child’s career decisions: guidance on pathways, opportunities, and fostering future aspirations’.

Apprenticeships

Central Governments dedicated apprenticeship website has a whole range of information to help young people decide if Apprenticeships are the right route for them. You can also search for apprenticeship vacancies.

Success At School

Success at School is the place for young people to explore careers, get the lowdown on top employers, and search for the latest jobs, courses and advice.

The National Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work opportunities. The service offers confidential and impartial advice. This is supported by qualified careers advisers.

The National Careers Service website aims to:

help you with careers decisions and planning
support you in reviewing your skills and abilities and develop new goals
motivate you to implement your plan of action
enable you to make the best use of high quality career related tools.

icould has a range of video clips showing real people talking about their jobs and careers.

This is a free online library of careers related film, news and information. As the preferred digital new media partner to the Institute of Career Guidance, the largest careers body in the UK, Careersbox aim is to deliver a new way for students to explore their skills and career options.

LifeSkills, created with Barclays, is a free, curriculum-linked programme, developed with teachers to help improve the skills and employability of young people in the UK.

Youth Space

The study guide section within youthspace contains a range of information including help on making options choices in Year 9, post 16 options, and getting into higher education.

Careers