Careers Provision

Careers education, guidance and support are essential to life at Kingsmead School. Indeed, one our four values that allow us to meet the vision of the school is employability.

We are fully committed to delivering a valued, personalised Careers programme to all our students from the moment they begin secondary school to when they leave (post-16).

Aims

Kingsmead aims to help our learners to grow into leaders. Our careers strategy is designed to include all learners and bridge the skills gap both locally and nationally. It has particularly focused on the business growth agenda for the local area.

We educate students on the world of work and the various routes into it

We signpost how learning in the classroom supports the skills needed in the work place

We focus on the needs of our students and our local community to ensure they are successful citizens and demonstrate wider British values

Our Careers Programme

Our careers programme builds around ‘Futures Days’ which follow a theme for each year (see link in the menu). This provides timely, relevant information at each stage along their Kingsmead journey. These days are supplemented by a range of tutor time, pastoral and lesson based opportunities that link to the 8 Gatsby Benchmark and help students achieve their full potential and prepare for the world of work and further study.

We base our provision on the national recognised ‘Gatsby benchmarks.’

1. A stable Careers Programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experience of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal Guidance

Since 2014 the Gatsby report redefined what education considered to be ‘quality’ in careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) in secondary schools. The hard work and drive at Kingsmead school is currently being recognised as we move to achieve the Careers quality mark for our prioritisation and dedication towards high standards of careers provision.

For further details on Gatsby Benchmarks click here.

For further details on Our Careers Programme click here.

Careers Hub

We are currently pleased to be part of the Staffordshire LEP and through this taking part in the ‘Staffordshire Careers Hub’ (pilot) funded by the Government. The hub aims to share good practice and improve the career provision across Staffordshire schools. Even at this early stage the project supported Kingsmead students career provision by working closely with other schools and linking with additional employers.

Oxford Hub

Kingsmead are the hub for Oxford University in the Cannock area. Mrs Greenwood (Careers Leader) has helped to build our links with the university and we hold events, trips and admissions support for Kingsmead and a number of local schools

Employer Links and Interactions

We work closely with a large and varied number of providers, businesses and employers to ensure a varied, impartial and informed programme for our students. We feel it is vital that we are up to date and ensure that the key skills required by local and national employers are developed within Kingsmead students. We are currently working with three companies to co-design specific units of work from the national curriculum set in a work context. If you a provider, employer or work for a company that would like to be involved with careers at Kingsmead please follow the link menu attached to this page.

Our careers policy is found by clicking here on our Policies and Procedures page.

Our policy for access providers can be found by clicking here.

How the school measures and assesses the impact of the careers programme on pupils

We use the following indicators to determine successful areas of our careers programme and areas we would like to further improve:

The number of students NEET

The number of students at risk of NEET (use of the RONI adviser)

Number of students accessing their first choice of university, full time education or apprenticeship

Evaluations following any careers 'futures' event

Student voice and Lead Learners

Careers interview feedback

Parent Voice

Student questionnaires which review career aspirations.  We liaise with our partner businesses and LEP regarding the local labour market

The date of the next review of the information published

We regularly up date our careers 'futures' programme throughout the year and according to students' needs.  We review the overall offering at the end of each academic year.  The last interim review was July 2023.  Our next full review will be July 2024.

Mrs Natalie Kendall – Our in school Careers Advisor

'I offer independent and impartial careers advice for students of all ages at Kingsmead. I see all students throughout their time at Kingsmead for 1 to 1 guidance interviews.  I love my role and gain great satisfaction from seeing our students succeed, gain the university and college courses of their choice, gain degree apprenticeships and start their careers. I am proud that we continue to work with students a long time after they have officially left us. I believe this is a key reason why we currently have 0 students who are NEET. I make sure I am available at the majority of parent events including partnership evenings and parents evenings. We also run after school workshops which parents are welcome to attend if they let us know in advance. If you have any queries or questions please do not hesitate to contact me'.

Kingsmead aims to help our learners to grow into leaders

Our careers strategy is designed to include all learners and bridge the skills gap both locally and nationally. It has particularly focused on the business growth agenda for the local area.

We educate students on the world of work and the various routes into it.

We signpost how learning in the classroom supports the skills needed in the work place.

We focus on the needs of our students and our local community to ensure they are successful citizens and demonstrate wider British values.

Going forward our focus from a careers perspective is:

Priority 1: Enterprise – to develop and embed and Enterprise culture within and across the school curriculum.

Priority 2: Employability – to develop the employability of students with a focus on soft skill development, work place behaviour and exposure to the world of work.

Priority 3: Careers education and inspiration – to continue to add to the quality of careers guidance in schools.

For Student Links Click Here.

For Staff Links Click Here.

For Employer Links Click Here.

For Parent Links Click Here.