"Where Autism is a strength and not a weakness"

The Lady Byron School Careers Programme

Intent:
At the lady Byron school, the preparation for adulthood provision has a clear and ambitious intent. We aim to provide all students with impartial, comprehensive, and inclusive guidance that enables them to make well-informed decisions about their future education, training, and employment.

The programme is designed to support students in developing skills, knowledge, and attitudes needed to succeed in the world of work and contribute positively to society.

Implementation:
To ensure outstanding implementation of the provision at our school, the following key features need to be in place:

1. Leadership and Management:
The senior leadership team actively promote high-quality guidance and integrate it effectively into the overall school improvement plan. We have dedicated members of staff who are responsible for coordinating and managing the program. This includes establishing strong partnerships with local employers, colleges, universities, and training providers.

2. Whole-School Approach:
Our school adopts a whole-school approach to careers guidance. This means that careers education is woven into the curriculum and delivered through subjects, tutor time, assemblies, and enrichment activities. Opportunities are provided at every stage of a student’s educational journey, starting from Year 7 and continuing beyond Year 11.

3. Personalised Guidance:
Our school offers Personalised guidance to meet the specific needs of each student. This involves conducting individual interviews, identifying interests, aptitudes, and aspirations, and providing regular feedback and support for future planning. The guidance is impartial, ensuring that students have access to a wide range of career paths, including apprenticeships, further education, and higher education.

4. Links with Employers:
Our fantastic provision establishes strong and sustained partnerships with outside agencies such as local employers. Students will have opportunities to engage directly with employers through workplace visits, career fairs, mock interviews, and work experience placements. It is crucial to expose students to various industries, careers, and job roles, fostering their understanding of the world of work.

5. Enrichment and Work-related Learning:
The school will provide a range of enrichment activities, such as guest speakers and enterprise projects. These activities help students develop employability and transferable skills, such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and leadership. Work-related learning experiences, such as industry-focused projects or competitions, will be integrated into the curriculum to enhance students’ practical understanding of different careers.

Impact:
Our careers provision will have a positive impact on students’ learning, progress, and success. The impact can be measured through key indicators such as:

1. Destinations:
The school will track and monitor the destinations of its leavers, demonstrating a high percentage progressing to positive destinations, including further education, apprenticeships, or employment. These destinations should align with students’ interests, skills, and aspirations.

2. Aspirations and Ambitions:
Through effective careers guidance, Our outstanding secondary school will help students develop ambitious aspirations and a clear understanding of the steps required to achieve their career goals. Students should be motivated, confident, and well-prepared for the next stage of their education or employment.

3. Skills Development:
Students will demonstrate the acquisition and development of employability skills, enabling them to effectively adapt and thrive in the changing world of work. They should be equipped with the skills needed to navigate the labour market and make informed decisions about their future career paths.

4. Progress within the Curriculum:
The careers provision will contribute to improved student engagement, progress, and outcomes across the wider curriculum. Students should appreciate the relevance and purpose of their studies, seeing the connections between subject knowledge and future careers.

5. Parental Engagement:
At the Lady Byron school we will actively engage with parents and carers in the careers provision, providing them with access to information, guidance, and opportunities to support their child’s career development. This involvement helps create a shared responsibility and enhances the impact of careers education and guidance.

In summary, the careers provision At the Lady Byron school has a clear intent aligned with the needs of students and the wider community. It is implemented through strong leadership, a whole-school approach, Personalised guidance, employer engagement, and meaningful enrichment activities. The impact is evident in students’ destinations, aspirations, skills development, curriculum progress, and parental engagement.

The Lady Byron School Careers Policy Statement including Provider Access Policy Statement

The Lady Byron School provides a relevant and engaging careers curriculum which meets the differing needs and requirements of our pupils. This is developed throughout a pupil’s time at the school and is always supportive of their abilities, strengths and skills.

Transition to life after The Lady Byron School

  • Support pupils in making informed decisions which are appropriate for them.
  • Provide pupils with well-rounded experiences.
  • Develop personal characteristics such as social skills, communication, independence and resilience.
  • Inspire and motivate pupils to develop themselves as individuals and live as independently as is possible.

This policy summarises the statutory guidance and recommendations. It then outlines the provision of careers education, work experience and provider access.

Statutory requirements and recommendations

The careers provision at The Lady Byron School is in line with the statutory guidance developed by the Department for Education, which refers to Section 42A and 45A of the Education Act 1997. This states that all schools should provide independent careers guidance from Years 8 -13 and that this guidance should:

  • be impartial.
  • include information on a range of pathways, including apprenticeships.
  • be adapted to the needs of the pupil.

In addition, the school is compliant with the careers guidance that the government set out for delivery from 5 January 2018: ‘Careers Guidance and Inspiration for young people in schools.’ This states that all schools must give education and training providers the opportunity to talk to students about approved technical qualifications and apprenticeships. Further information relating to this is set out later in this document, under Provider Access.

Careers Provision at The Lady Byron School

All pupils have access to the following:

  • Lady Byron Life Skills curriculum (LBLS) – Careers and preparing for life after Lady Byron is a fundamental aspect of our LBLS curriculum
  • Visitors in to school and offsite visits support pupils in developing their understanding of a range of different post 16 pathways.
  • All pupils have access to advice and guidance from our external careers’ advisor every term.
  • All pupils in Year 10 access a meeting with Careers advisor and school careers leader to explore future pathways.

Key Stage 3

  • Pupil pathways onto accredited and vocational courses are planned and prepared for in KS3.
  • Pupils take part in Enterprise projects across the school year.
  • STEM events and projects are a key part of the KS3 curriculum.
  • Pupils across the School will have the opportunity to take part in the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Key Stage 4 (in addition to KS3 ongoing provision)

  • One-to-one meetings with families, the school Careers Leader and Careers Advisor in Year 10 and Year 11 informs individual routes into Post 16 provision and appropriate and meaningful work experience opportunities.
  • The majority of KS4 pupils take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
  • Pupils in Year 10 and 11 undertake Work Experience and work-based placements and opportunities.
  • Pupils in Year 10 and 11 have the opportunity to access different training providers to develop the variety of experiences they have to support informed choices about future education, training and employment pathways.
  • Participation and completion of Basic Food Hygiene Certificates

The overall organisation of work experience is undertaken by the school Careers Leader who liaises with external providers and colleges to ensure the most relevant and engaging opportunities are taken. Families are informed and communicated with throughout the process and a work experience agreement form and work experience information form are completed. All pupils on placement are covered by the employers’ insurance and places of work are risk assessed by the Careers Leader in liaison with the Careers work experience database.

Providers Access Policy Statement

Introduction

This policy statement sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to pupils 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 42B of the Education Act 1997.

Pupil entitlement

All pupils in years 8-13 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.

Management of provider access requests Procedure:

A provider wishing to request access should contact Alison Siddons or Ellie Green Careers Programme Lead, Email: reception@ladybyronschool.co.uk

Opportunities for access

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

Premises and facilities

The school will make the classrooms or meeting spaces available for discussions between the provider and students, as appropriate to the activity. The school will also make available AV and other specialist equipment to support provider presentations. This will all be discussed and agreed on in advance of the visit with the Careers Leader.

Providers are welcome to leave a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature with Alison Siddons, Careers Program Lead. This will be made available to pupils and families as appropriate.