Careers Team
Careers Leader: Mrs Richmond
Careers Adviser: Miss Cassells
Careers Administrator: Mrs Parker
Careers Link Governor: Mr Bushell
Careers Policy Documents
The school careers programme is intended to meet the nationally recognised Gatsby Benchmark standards that underpin all successful career programmes, to reflect the whole school development plan and vision, and to embody the principles of WALK which outlines the key values of our school.
All students will follow career education programmes at key transition points, and they can access careers support through individual careers appointments, tailored to meet their individual needs. We aim to raise aspirations and awareness of the range of options and opportunities available to students to enable them to become effective decision makers and to plan for their future careers. The Careers Department:
· Contribute to strategies for raising achievement, especially by increasing motivation
· Provide emphasis on the relevance of numeracy and literacy as fundamental components of everyday employment in the 21st Century.
· Encourage students to become reflective learners who are self-aware of their strengths, skills and attributes and how these link to career and life planning
· Support inclusion, challenge stereotyping and promote equality of opportunity
· Encourage participation in continued learning
· Develop enterprise and employability skills
· Reinforce the link between and behaviour, attendance and learning skills and careers prospects and future prosperity
Current CEIAG policy documents:
Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Policy 2024-2025
Careers Programme Overview KS3 & KS4
Careers Programme Overview KS5
Measuring Impact
The impact of our careers programme is reported in several ways.
The Careers team works closely with both the pastoral team in school and the Local Authority to ensure that all students progress from St. Aidan’s on to a relevant and sustainable destination. We report our leavers’ destinations data each year to the Local Authority in line with their data capture timelines. We evaluate the impact of our provision to support this work and outline the interventions that have been implemented to support our students to progress on to their preferred destination. This information is also shared with our Board of Trustees and Governors.
Our progress towards our achievement of all 8 of the Gatsby Benchmarks in full, is formally assessed each term using the Compass evaluation tool as part of our partnership working with the Careers and Enterprise Company. The activities that form our Careers Programme are also evaluated for impact throughout the academic year and we regularly seek feedback on our provision from students and parents/carers. The results of these evaluations then feed into our annual action plan to inform our next steps. We will hold our next programme review in September 2025.
We very much recognise and value the input of parents and carers and are keen to support them in helping students make informed and realistic career decisions. Parents and carers are welcome to attend career appointments or can contact the department at any time to talk to a Careers Adviser. We also attend parents’ evenings and host information events specifically for parents and carers.
We always welcome feedback on our careers provision in school. If you would like to comment, or alternatively if you or your organisation can offer a talk on your sector of industry, or offer career enrichment opportunities for our students, please get in touch by emailing careersstaff@staidans.co.uk.
Please contact us on 01423 818534 or email careersstaff@staidans.co.uk
