Careers Overview
Our careers programme aims to develop students' knowledge of career education pathways, whilst also learning the skills they will need in order to have successful futures.
We aim to ensure that all our students are prepared for life after Pool Academy, for college, for university and for the world of work. We particularly want to help students develop the skills and knowledge needed for the changing job market which we set out to achieve through giving students a range of opportunities to engage with employers, further education and higher education providers through their time at the school.
From Year 7 onwards, our students benefit from a wide ranging and in depth careers programme. We aim to raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes and encourage all pupils to consider a wide range of careers. Through careers education and guidance, we aim to ensure all students make the most of their talents and are fully prepared for the next stages of their education, employment, self-employment or training. Central to this aim is the focus on academic achievement; we firmly believe that all students will be able to access a wider range of careers options with a strong academic grounding, if this is the path the students wish to take.
Our aim is to meet all of the Gatsby Benchmarks to ensure we are providing the best preparations for our students. We use the Gatsby Benchmarks as a guide to plan our Careers & Enrichment programme. As part of our commitment to informing our students of the full range of learning and training pathways on offer to them, we are happy to consider requests from training, apprenticeship and vocational providers to speak to students. A detailed overview of each of the Gatsby Benchmarks can be found here: http://www.goodcareerguidance.org.uk/
Our aims, therefore are:
- To ensure outcomes for all pupils are exceptionally high.
- To provide high quality, impartial careers guidance that helps pupils to make informed choices about which courses suit their academic needs and aspirations.
- To ensure pupils are prepared for the next stage of their education, employment, self-employment or training.
- To allow pupils to understand how their education equips them with the behaviours and attitudes necessary for success in their next stage of education, training or employment and for their adult life.
In particular we intend our students to:
- Develop a broad understanding of the world of work and an ability to respond to changing opportunities.
- Develop independent research skills so that they can make good use of information and guidance.
- Develop and use their self-knowledge when thinking about and making choices.
- Develop the skills they need to review achievements, plan future actions, make decisions, present themselves well and cope with change and transition.
Provider access
As part of our Careers Provision, we ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access all pupils in Year 7 to Year 11 for the purpose of informing them about qualifications and apprenticeships (including technical education qualifications). We have a comprehensive programme of careers education, advice and guidance which is threaded throughout the life of the academy. This programme is delivered in a wide variety of ways: in assemblies, in subject specific lessons, PSHE dropdown days, visitors to the school sharing their career experiences as part of their talk and special events like business breakfasts dedicated Careers events for all year groups.
For further information about our careers programme, provider access, how we assess impact and next steps and destinations, please see the links below.
