Broughton Hall Catholic High School - Careers

Careers Programme

Job of the Week

The JOB OF THE WEEK resource offers Labour Market Information about a new job each week. The idea is for our students to be provided with as many different possible jobs available too them and break down any stereotypes there may be.

Our Careers Programme

Careers Parents, pupils, teachers and employers may access information regarding the careers programme via this area of our website, or by directly contacting the Careers Leader.

Careers at Broughton Hall is lead and co-ordinated by Mr T. Hesketh who can be contacted as follows:
Email - hesketht@broughtonhall.com
Phone - 0151 541 9440 Ext 4007

Annual Careers Plan


Careers Policy

Introduction

This policy statement sets out the school's arrangements for managing the access of providers to students at the school for the purpose of giving them information about the provider's education or training offer. This complies with the school's legal obligations under Section 42A and 42B of the Education Act 1997. We provide independent careers advice and guidance for all students in years 7-13 including, apprenticeship, traineeships and other educational institutions.

Outcomes

Our goal at Broughton Hall Catholic High School is to raise aspirations, inspire and encourage students to aim high and recognise that their academic progress will influence their future careers.

Pupil entitlement

All students in years 7-13 are entitled:

- To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point.

- To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships - through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events.

- To understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

Careers Contacts

A number of events, integrated into the school careers programme, will offer providers an opportunity to come into school to speak to students and/or their parents/carers.

For more information please contact:
Mr T. Hesketh - Careers Leader
Telephone: 0151 541 9440 Ext 4007
hesketht@broughtonhall.com

Students

Careers vision

During your careers journey at Broughton Hall Catholic High School, it is our responsibility to provide you with a careers programme that enables you to aim high and have the confidence and ambition to make informed choices that lead to rewarding and fulfilling careers in an ever-changing world. To support you each year has a focused theme.

Year 7 - Looking into the future
Showing you a range of different types of job/careers in lessons and assemblies.

Year 8 - Using my skills
Examining your skills and recognising how they apply to the workplace.

Year 9 - Careers pathways
Teaching you how to use the National Careers Service website, access Labour Market information and how to set career GOALS.

Year 10 - Employability skills
Developing your job application skills and enabling you to understand apprenticeships and provide opportunities for workplace visits and virtual work experience.

Year 11 - Life after GCSEs
Exploring post 16 options/destinations and supporting you to apply for 6th Form, FE colleges, apprenticeships and training.

Year 12 - Work Experience
Providing you with work experience opportunities and a range of employer encounters

Year 13 - Life after 6th Form
Exploring post 18 options and supporting you to apply for employment, training and university

Careers journey

As you begin your careers journey, it is useful to understand who you are and, what your strengths are, and who is available to support you in school.

Careers Leader
Mr Hesketh leads and co-ordinates the careers programme.

Careers Adviser
Mrs Karen Meagher (Careers Connect) provides support in terms of help with choosing options at Year 9 or Year 11.

UCAS Co-ordinator
Mrs Hitchmough provides support to sixth form students when the time comes to complete their UCAS applications for university.

Career Guidance Interviews
One to one guidance interviews will be scheduled in school to allow students to talk about their career or to help students consider their key strengths if they are unsure. The purpose of the interview is to help students widen their career ideas and develop research skills so they are in a position to complete their own independent research. Students can refer themselves for an interview by speaking to Mrs Meagher or their Support Manager.

Careers Lunch Time Drop in Sessions - Friday lesson 4a
This is an opportunity to have a chat about anything career related. Whether you want to know the entry requirements for a particular course, are unsure about option choices, are thinking about a number of careers, or even if you have no ideas, you are more than welcome to come and see Mrs Meagher.

Unifrog
All students are introduced to the Unifrog careers platform in Year 7 which provides many activities to help you identify your strengths and what you enjoy doing; record activities you are involved in, both in and outside school; and explore a range of careers.

Support and advice available for students with disabilities

Pearson
Use the tool, it's quick and simple to use and can help point you in the right direction.



I-Could
It's so important to seek inspiration! Whatever career you aspire to, it's always best to understand from people who perform the job. A great resource is I-Could. This website has lots of videos you can explore from different employment sectors as well some amazing personality quizzes to help you understand your motivations.



GetMyFirstJob
Offers you a whole new way to find Apprenticeships, Degree Apprenticeships, Work Experience and Graduate opportunities to get ahead.

Year 11, 12 and 13 Careers

When you reach Year 11 and sixth form, we will be focusing on your employability, which means helping you to gain employment or, securing either a college or university place. For those not moving on to sixth form and who are looking for a college or apprenticeship please use the links below. Support will be given to all students to applying for apprenticeships, college and university places.

The websites below will help you with planning your future:

National Careers Service
The National Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work opportunities. You can create your own lifelong learning account and access a range of useful tools from real-life case studies and careers guides, to web and telephone chats with independent, impartial fully-qualified careers advisor.



Apprenticeships/Training
To search for the latest apprenticeships - Register for the site, complete your details and draft your answers.

Local Sixth Form Colleges

Year 12 and 13 - What University? What Course?

The Russell Group Guide to making decisions about post-16 education
Please note that choices of A levels will vary between departments at universities, so please use this as an overall guide not as a definitive resource. The best way is to contact the Admission Tutor for the subject you are interested in applying.




Sponsored Degrees
Employer sponsored degrees provide you with a salary and extremely valuable experience. You are likely to finish your degree without any debt and be able to walk into a job, potentially with the company you were sponsored by (some companies guarantee there will be a job at the end).

Local University Websites

Not going to Uni?


Volunteering/Enrichment



Cadets



STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Information

Questions to consider when choosing options

There are many options available at 16. Questions you need to consider when identifying the right course for you are:

  • Do you enjoy the course? (Unfortunately some students do on occasion study certain subjects even though they do not enjoy them!)
  • How is the course assessed? Does it meet your learning style? Do you prefer coursework or exam?
  • How does the course differ from the course at GCSE? What will you will you be studying? How big is the jump?
  • How do your teachers feel you will cope with the course? Do they have concerns? For example will you achieve the A or A* grade needed in chemistry to become a doctor?
  • What modules or subjects will you be studying? Have you done some outside reading on the subject if you have not studied it before?


Finally, do not choose a course simply because it looks good or because your friend is studying the subject! Choose a course for the simple reason that you enjoy it and it could relate to what you want to do in the future.

Parents Information

At Broughton Hall Catholic High School we understand how important careers decisions are to our students and their parents/carers. This page is designed to assist you with that process; by providing you with a range of resources that can help you. To support students on their careers journey we have created a full school careers programme -see published Careers Policy.

Parents' Events

Mrs Karen Meagher (Careers Connect) is available at parents' events to provide advice and support to students and parents. She can also provide support in terms of help with choosing options at Year 9 or Year 11.

Careers Advice is not just for Young People, Parents/Carers also need support to help young people make tough and challenging decisions. Careers advice for Parents is a website that has been set up by careers professionals and recommended by the UK Career Development Institute. 'Careers Advice for Parents aims to give you an easy-to-read overview of all the essential facts on finding jobs and apprenticeships or choosing further and higher education courses which could make a real difference to your child's future career prospects.'

Labour Market information

At Broughton Hall Catholic High School we provide both students and parents with information on local opportunities. During the careers lessons that are delivered between Years 7-13 students are informed and given the opportunity to ask questions. The links below provides information on the future for employment within the Greater Merseyside Area.



Apprenticeship Links



Local Sixth Form Colleges



Local University Websites

Teachers Information

At Broughton Hall each department has a nominated Careers Champion to support our whole school approach to careers. To help students to aim high; our teacher section provides a number of resources including posters and videos to help support careers within the curriculum.

Posters

Attached are a number of posters that can be displayed in classrooms.



Video Content

Below are some great videos links that can be utilised in the classroom by helping students discover more information about the different types of career.

Employers Information

In order to support our vision of helping our students to aim high, we need the support of both the public and private sectors. The careers programme is the bridge between education and employment. Therefore our students need to understand, what skills and qualifications are required to be successful in the work place.

We invite all interested employers to engage with us at Broughton Hall Catholic High School. For more information or to arrange a meeting please contact Mr T. Hesketh (Careers Leader) at hesketht@broughtonhall.com



Links and LMI

This section of our careers policy serves as a one-stop shop for links to:

  • Further education
  • Employment
  • Apprenticeships

Labour Market information

The links below provide information on the future for employment within the Greater Merseyside Area.

Further Education

Local University Websites

Employment Links

Career Choices

Specialist Careers Portals

Specialist Careers Portals

Useful Websites

The following websites will enable you to search for suitable universities / courses, and assist with your financial planning and application process.

SEND

The links below detail a range of schools that provide specialist support to SEND students. Also included is advice and guidance from Disability UK on apprenticeships and employment opportunities.



Disability Rights UK

The Department for Work & Pensions provides an Access to Work factsheet for disabled people which includes information on funding.


SEND Apprenticeships

Guide to apprenticeships (SEND)


BASE

BASE offer support to those with disabilities find employment.


RNIB

RNIB offers a range of support, from helping to apply through UCAS to gaining careers advice.


United Response

United Response provides a range of support services for adults and young people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs or physical disabilities.

Measuring the Impact of Careers Provision

How we measure and assess the impact of the careers programme on pupils

Broughton Hall Catholic High School works closely with the Careers and Enterprise Company. This is an external organisation that supports schools to ensure they are following the DFEs newly devised Careers Strategy. The following information is an extract taken from this guidance.

"The careers strategy sets out that every school and academy providing secondary education should use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation's Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers provision. This statutory guidance has been restructured around the Benchmarks with information on what schools need to do to meet each one. The Gatsby Benchmarks are not a statutory framework but by adopting them, schools can be confident that they are fulfilling their legal duties: the existing duties to secure independent careers guidance and provide opportunities to a range of providers to inform pupils about technical education qualifications or apprenticeships and the new duty to publish information about the careers programme on the school website."

At Broughton we ensure we use the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks as a foundation when planning our Careers Strategy. The effectiveness of our provision is inspected and audited by the Careers and Enterprise Company using the Compass Careers Benchmark Tool. This tool is used by schools and colleges in England to support the analysis and evaluation of careers activity against the eight benchmarks of best practice (known as the Gatsby Benchmarks). The Careers and Enterprise Company coordinate the audit deadlines. This ensures the development of our careers strategy is ongoing to ensure best practice.

In line with the recommendations set out in Gatsby Benchmark 1, we as a school review the published information on an annual basis, inviting feedback from key audiences by July 2024.