Careers & Beyond CCCS
Through a planned programme of activities, Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) and Employability skills, The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School seeks to help all students take their place as suitably qualified and responsible adults within society.
The focus is upon career and option choice, raising the aspirations and achievement of individual students and equipping them with skills, attitudes, knowledge and understanding as a foundation for managing their lifelong career and learning.
The school has always had a strong reputation for the quality of its careers provision, led by a dedicated Head of Careers. As a school, we believe in the importance of:
- Providing a planned programme of activities to which all students from Years 7 – 13 are entitled which will help them to plan and manage their careers.
- Providing IAG which is impartial, unbiased and is based on their needs.
- Ensuring that the CEIAG programme follows local, regional and national frameworks for good practice and other relevant guidance, such as: Section 19 Education Act (2011), The Technical and Further Education Act (January 2017), Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents (December 2017), Careers guidance and access for education and training providers: Statutory guidance for governing bodies, school leaders and school staff (January 2018); as well as guidelines from Ofsted, the Career Development Institute and the Gatsby benchmarks for good career guidance.
- Working in partnership with the Prospects Service, local authority, employers and apprenticeship providers to ensure all students access education, employment or training at the relevant transition points.
Intent Statement
As a school we are passionate about providing curriculum breadth. Students are entitled to CEIAG which meets professional standards of practice and is both personalised and impartial. It is integrated into students’ experience of the whole curriculum and based on a partnership with students and their parents or carers. The programme is structured to deliver outcomes, and raise aspirations, ensuring that no students are identified as NEET at the end of Year 11 or Year 13.
The careers programme is designed to meet the needs of the students at The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School to ensure progression through activities that are appropriate to students’ stages of career learning, planning and development. The intent of our programme is:
- To help young people develop an understanding of their own and others’ strengths, limitations, abilities, potential, personal qualities, needs, attitudes and values.
- To help young people investigate opportunities for further learning and employment, make decisions and manage transitions across key stages.
- To help ensure that, wherever possible, all young people leave the school with employment, further education or training.
CEIAG at Coopers’ Coborn aims to provide students with the skills, knowledge and understanding to support the 3 core aims of the framework for careers, employability and enterprise education:
- Developing yourself through careers, employability and enterprise education.
- Learning about careers and the world of work.
- Developing your career management and employability skills.
The CEIAG programme provides pupils with a wide range of experiences to help them progress effectively through their education and on to successful careers.
Implementation: Management
Responsibilities are spread between the Deputy Headteacher with oversight of CEIAG, the Head of Careers and the Careers Administrator. They plan, co-ordinate and evaluate the careers programme. They also plan and implement work experience for Y10 pupils and work shadowing in Year 12. Subject leaders and Heads of Year are consulted to ensure appropriate coverage of careers themes in the PSHE programme, tutor time activities and in subjects across the school. Prospects also has an active role in leading our extensive careers interview programme.
Implementation: Staffing
All staff contribute to CEIAG through their roles as tutors and subject teachers. Through PSHE and tutor time, Form Tutors deliver specialist sessions. Heads of Year liaise with the Head of Careers to address needs of all students, including support from teachers and external agencies, such as the independent Careers Advisor. Careers information is available from the Head of Careers.
Baker Clause & Provider Access Legislation
Introduced as an amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017, the Baker Clause stipulates that schools must allow colleges and training providers access to every student in years 8- 13 to discuss non-academic routes that are available to them . It is expected that by doing so this will help address the UK’s productivity challenges and address skills shortages experienced across several sectors of the economy. This regulation has been enforced since January 2nd 2018.
The provider access legislation is new guidance that came into force from January 2023. It is a key mechanism to further help learners understand and take-up, not just apprenticeships, but wider technical education options such as T-Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications. The school has very recently had an OFSTED inspection and CEIAG was looked at as part of the inspection. It was reported that we were meeting the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks so therefore offering a stable careers programme.
For an overview of how our CIAG programme creates meaningful encounters for our students, with regards to the Provider Access Legislation:
For a detailed audit on how the school meets its obligations for the various Gatsby Benchmarks, please refer to the main ‘Careers & Provider Access Policy’ in the policies section of the School Website.
