Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

At Chiltern Academy, we are committed to providing pupils with high quality Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) so that they have the skills, knowledge and resource to achieve their potential and make informed decisions about their future.

Our extensive careers programme outlines the range of activities that are available for each year group. Careers education is embedded into the curriculum and pupils have access to accurate and up-to-date labour market information. Pupils will develop their understanding of the diverse and changing world of work through encounters with employers and careers learning, and will be able to explain the range of pathways (including academic, vocational and apprenticeships) available through further and higher education literature and events. Our careers provision is aligned to the eight Gatsby Benchmarks, a framework of good careers guidance that are at the heart of the Government’s Careers Strategy.

Our careers leader is responsible for the implementation of the careers programme and supports pupils throughout their Chiltern careers learning journey. Please take a look at our CEIAG hub which has been designed for pupils, parents and staff, to complement our careers offer. There are a host of useful careers related resources and information.

CEIAG Hub - Click here to enter

A breakdown of the CEIAG offer is outlined below:

Year 7	Introduction to the world of work, meeting with employers during Chiltern Academy’s ‘Inspiring Minds, Building Futures Careers Fair’ Coding workshops with Cisco Skills building workshops with explicit career exploration assembly. Opportunity to visit places of work through curriculum and extra-curricular led trips Introduction to Unifrog, an online careers research tool Form time activities to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week Explicit links to careers in the curriculum during National Careers Week
Year 8	University experience Targeted groups: University visits - University of Bedfordshire Pupil receptionist for the day Employer engagement opportunity during Chiltern Academy’s ‘Inspiring Minds, Building Futures Careers Fair’ London Luton Airport Skills Builder Workshop Opportunity to visit places of work through curriculum and extra-curricular led trips Unifrog Skills and Interests development Exploring aspirations through Unifrog questionnaires and activities Form time activities to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week Explicit links to careers in the curriculum during National Careers Week
Year 9	Options Assembly The Brilliant Club Scholars Programme for our more and most able pupils Workplace visits Unifrog Subject-linked careers exploration Exploration of Green Careers with London Luton Airport Exploration of STEM and Engineering through the Industrial Cadets Awards in collaboration with local employers Decision making lesson using Unifrog. Skills development webinars and workshops Opportunity to visit places of work through curriculum and extra-curricular led trips Careers Champions opportunity STEM careers exploration through STEM conference at the University of Bedfordshire DWP Skills and CV writing workshops Weekly Careers Drop-in Sessions Form time activities to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week Explicit links to careers in the curriculum during National Careers Week
Year 10	Business Education Skills Partnership (BESP) speed networking events involving Careers Academy with Job Centre Plus for pupils studying ASDAN Working Options conference and networking events to meet with industry professionals CV Skills workshop with Enterprise Adviser from Stonbury Ltd Work Experience Week Participation in the Wadham Project in partnership with Wadham College, Oxford University Cambridge University visit - Pembroke College Post 16 taster sessions with further education providers Opportunity to visit places of work through curriculum and extra-curricular led trips Unifrog education pathways exploration 1:1 guidance for identified, targeted pupils Bursary and scholarship application support sessions Form time activities to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week Explicit links to careers in the curriculum during National Careers Week Weekly Careers Drop-in Sessions
Year 11	Post 16 Pathways Fair including apprenticeship providers A Level Masterclass sessions Participation in the Wadham Project in partnership with Wadham College Berkhamsted School Sixth Form visit for scholarship pupils Post-16 Visit to Verulam Sixth Form Cambridge University visit - Pembroke College Post-16 Scholarship Application support Alumni visit to support Post-16 applications College Application support CV writing sessions 1:1 personal guidance Unifrog Destinations exploration Form time activities to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week Explicit links to careers in the curriculum during National Careers Week Weekly Careers Drop-in Sessions

To maintain quality and ensure compliance with the latest statutory guidance, the careers strategy will be reviewed every two years and the impact of the careers programme will be measured and evaluated regularly.

Pupils

It can be difficult to know where to start in making decisions about your future. However, career planning and exploration is important as it allows you to:

Make informed choices

Identify goals and produce an action plan of how you will achieve these

Develop your skills and experience that are relevant to your area of interest – this in turn will enhance your employability as you can demonstrate that you are motivated, proactive, and well prepared for the further studies/employment

You may or may not know what you want to do in the future, but a good place to start is to think about:

What are my strengths and what would those around me say I am good at?

What do I enjoy doing? This can be in school, through extra-curricular or in your spare time

What opportunities are available now and in the future? Do I know what jobs are declining/increasing?

What motivates me?

Please see a list of resources at the bottom of the page, that you can use to explore your career ideas and consider the choices and pathways available

Parents

With an array or careers information and an ever changing labour market, it can be difficult to know where to look and what to read when it comes to understanding what is available to your child. The choices available to your child today, are likely to be very different to what was available to you at school. However, parental guidance has always played a significant role in a pupils decision making and so it is important you have access to relevant and up-to-date information. Our careers programme sets out the range of opportunities available, which aims to develop pupils sense of self, knowledge of the working world and to raise ambitious aspirations for their future. For more advice and careers information, specifically for parents, please visit:

Talking Futures

www.talkingfutures.org.uk/

Talking futures is a handy site for helping parents understand their child’s options at Post 16 and Post 18. The Parents Toolkit for Career Conversations provides helpful tips to get your teenager talking about their goals and ideas.

Careermag for Parents & Guardians

https://careermap.co.uk/career-advice/careermag/for-parents-guardians
Up to date information including topics such as new career pathways, labour market information, UCAS applications, applying for jobs, financial planning and work experience.

Chiltern Academy CEIAG Hub link

If you have any careers related questions concerning your child, please contact Miss Walker (careers leader) on 01582 310644 or email zwalker@chiltern-academy.co.uk

Employers

To increase pupil’s awareness of the world of work and the knowledge and skills required, we endeavour to provide a range of employers and careers related opportunities to each of our pupils. Below are some examples of careers activities an employer could get involved with:

Offer a work experience placement through your organisation to one or a group of our year 10 pupils

Take part in our Business, Education, Skills and Partnership (BESP) events where pupils ask you questions about your job role, the organisation you work for and your careers journey

Provide a careers insight talk to pupils about your career path or sector in which you work in

If you work in a growing industry, share with pupils the upcoming opportunities that they may be available to them

Deliver/support a subject lesson specific to the industry in which you work in; bringing real-life context to a particular subject area or topic

Offer a mentoring programme to enhance pupils employability skills

Deliver an activity/skills based workshop i.e. CV writing, interview preparation, team building task

If you are a business or an employer and would like to support our pupils in any of the above activities and build a mutually beneficial relationship with the school, please get in touch with our Careers Leader, Zoe Walker on 01582 310644 or email zwalker@chiltern-academy.co.uk

Staff

There are many ways in which staff can promote careers education and link curriculum learning:

Schemes of work and lesson plans show how career relevant learning is embedded into your teaching

Motivate and encourage pupils to be ambitious and to reach their full potential

Talk to pupils about the careers related to your subject

Provide pupils with impartial, up-to-date and accurate advice on the pathways available and the skills in demand from employers

Share careers related resources with pupils such as labour market information, local initiatives/opportunities and useful website links

Get involved with nationally recognised events such as National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week

Organise extracurricular activities to develop and enhance pupils’ core competencies such as teamwork, communication and leadership

Encourage pupils to take onus of their careers learning journey through independent research tasks

Inform pupils of contacts within school that can support them in their decision making, particularly at key transitional stages

Organise employer visits and industry trips to promote pupils understanding of the world of work

Invite employers in to give a careers talk, share expertise or provide real life context to a topic

There are a host of lesson plans and useful resources on the internal shared drive

Useful Websites

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

https://www.morrisby.com/

https://www.careershubluton.co.uk/

https://icould.com/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/careers

https://targetcareers.co.uk/

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/

https://www.ucas.com/

https://amazingapprenticeships.com/

Policies

CEIAG Policy

Provider Access Policy Statement

The information published on this page is reviewed each term.

Post 16 Booklet

GSO Test