Careers
As schools, it is our number one priority to prepare our students for life and there is nothing more important than making sure that students have the knowledge and skills they need in order to play their full role in society and contribute to improving it. It is vital that students are fully prepared for the world of work and know what is available to them once they leave education. It is also of paramount importance that students know how to reach their full potential and what to expect along that journey.
At WPT, we are committed to working towards the Gatsby benchmarks, a set of guidelines that ensure that all schools provide the very best careers education for our students. Within those guidelines, we ensure that students have access to high quality, up to date careers information, access to a highly qualified careers adviser and the opportunity to meet and visit employers and further and higher education institutions. Where students need extra support, we guarantee that we will be there to support and guide them so that no young person ever feels that they cannot achieve their ambitions. Students will fully understand how what they learn at school will set them up for life beyond school and ultimately gain an understanding of how to make well-informed choices.
At WPT, we aim to fulfil a set of strategic goals set out by the Department of Education with regards to the careers programme and the support and advice we offer within our schools.
- All schools to begin working toward the Gatsby Benchmarks, meeting them by the end of 2020.
- All schools to have a named Careers Leader in place by September 2018.
- Schools and colleges should offer every young person in years 7 – 13 at least one encounter a year by 2020.
- Schools and colleges to have access to an Enterprise Adviser by the end of 2020.
- All schools should have in place a link governor for careers.
- Every school must ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access all pupils in year 8 to year 13.
How our schools measure and assess the impact of the careers programme on pupils
- Activity is evaluated by students on an individual basis.
- Overall provision and ideas for improvement are tabled and discussed as agenda items at Student Council meetings.
- Provision is assessed against the national Gatsby Benchmarks and areas for development are identified.
- Careers and employability provision is also informed through annual individual student surveys asking respondents to identify areas of interest and support needed – this information is then used to support individuals and plan provisions such as trips to specific places of learning or employment.
- Provision is also informed through the sharing of good practice through local careers network meetings
Each year group is seen as a ‘stage’ in the process of working towards a career goal and becoming ‘able and ready for work’ and being the best that you can be.
Gatsby Benchmarks
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance