Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Policy

Rationale for CEIAG: A young person’s career is their pathway through learning and employment. All young people need a planned programme, whilst at school, of activities to help them make decisions and plan their careers to sustain employability throughout their lives. We have a statutory duty to give pupils access to impartial and independent careers education, information, advice, and guidance (CEIAG)

Commitment

Swanmore College is committed to providing a planned programme of CEIAG for all pupils in years 7-11, in partnership with EBP South, Hampshire County Council (HCC), Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), local colleges, training providers and employers.

We will ensure pupils, and their parents and carers can access up to date labour market information (LMI), including the salaries and promotion opportunities for different jobs, and the volume and location of vacancies across different sectors.

By the age of 14 pupils will have accessed and used information about career paths and the labour market to inform their decisions on study options.

We will ensure pupils have access to a range of local employers.

We will work to raise pupils’ aspirations and tackle stereotypical assumptions.

Swanmore College is striving to meet the requirements of the latest Government guidance.

Click here to access the webpage for 'Careers guidance and access for education and training'.

Click here to access the PDF version of 'Careers guidance in schools, colleges and universities (England)' from the House of Commons Library.

We will also offer Career support and guidance to any pupil or parent who contact us up to a year after leaving Swanmore College who are unable or unwilling to engage with other support agencies.

Development

This policy is reviewed annually by the Careers Leader and Line Manager based on current good practice guidelines by Department for Education (DfE)/ Ofsted/CEC. Information is delivered through the teaching staff, the college’s Careers Leader, Careers Advisor, pupils, parents/carers, governors, advisory staff, and other external partners. It is:

• Underpinned by the college’s policies for teaching and learning, assessment, recording and reporting achievement, special needs and the PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education), SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural) & Citizenship curriculum (including enterprise and work-related learning, equal opportunities, health & safety and financial capability).
• Designed to meet the needs of all pupils at Swanmore College. Events/activities may be differentiated to ensure they are appropriate to pupils’ stages of career learning, planning, and development.
• SEND pupils are supported with specific events and tailored advice and guidance. The Careers Leader will work with the SENDCo and relevant external agencies.
• Looked after children and care leavers are supported with specific advice and guidance. The Careers Leader will work with the Designated Safeguarding Lead and relevant external agencies.

Objectives

Pupils are entitled to CEIAG which meets professional standards of practice, and which is person-centred, impartial, and in confidence. It will be integrated into pupils’ experience of the whole curriculum and be based on a partnership with pupils, their teachers and their parents or carers. The programme will raise aspirations, challenge stereotyping, and promote equality and diversity.

Aims

For pupils to:

• develop a sense of self awareness and a knowledge of their skills, abilities, and potential.
• acquire knowledge of the world of work and the opportunities for continuing academic education, vocational training, and future employment.
• make informed decisions about their future and understand how to implement them, having access to information about the full range of post-16 pathways, including apprenticeships and T Levels.
• acquire and recognise transferable key skills that will allow them to be effective in a variety of situations in their adult and working life.
• overcome the overt and subtle barriers that they may encounter as they progress through education and into employment.
• be made aware of equal opportunities and role models and be able to challenge stereotyping of potential career areas.
• undertake a period of work experience at a placement of their choice to explore the world of work.

For parents and carers to be able to:

• guide their children through key careers and school decisions.

Implementation

Management: A named Careers Leader is responsible for coordinating and publishing the careers programme and managing the provision of careers education (including by completing a termly Gatsby benchmark audit (compass tool). The co-ordinator works closely with an independent Careers Advisor, other relevant staff (HOY/DHOYS, Tutors, SENDCo, DSL, PSHE coordinator) and other outside agencies and is responsible to a member of the Senior leadership team (SLT). WRL (work related learning) is also coordinated by this person. They establish, maintain, and develop links with other providers/employers and monitor teaching and learning in careers education.

The Governing Body are responsible for supporting the Careers Leader and Headteacher to meet legal requirements, ensuring that all registered pupils are provided with independent careers guidance, that arrangements are in place to allow a range of education and training providers access to the school (PAL legislation) to discuss the full range of post-16 options, that this policy does not discriminate on any grounds, and handling complaints in this regard.

Staffing: All staff are expected to contribute and support the CEIAG guidance programme through their roles as tutors, subject teachers, and management. Careers education is planned, monitored, and evaluated by the Careers Leader in consultation with the designated member of the SLT, the independent Careers Advisor and other interested parties. The programme is mainly delivered through special event sessions or activities organised by the Careers Leader to specific groups and led by supervising teachers. Tutors are encouraged to support pupils when making decisions through mentoring sessions and the day-to-day interaction with their groups. The independent Careers Advisor provides specialist careers IAG. Careers information is available from the dedicated careers office and by using school computers to access the internet.

Curriculum: CEIAG will be integrated into their experience of the whole curriculum based on a partnership with pupils and their parents and carers. The programme will provide equality of opportunity, inclusion, and anti-racism. The careers programme includes events where a whole year group participate (group work, discussion, guest speakers, individual tasks to include research, planning and reflection), careers guidance activities (questionnaires and individual interviews), information and research activities as individuals or small groups (using the careers resource area, computer packages and guest speakers), work-related learning (including a minimum of one week work experience), action planning and recording achievement and open events for all interested parties such as a Further Education (FE) Fair and Option Choice evening.

Measuring and Assessing Impact: Feedback is sought from teachers, pupils, parents, and carers on the careers programme implemented within the PSHE sessions and the wider information sources that are available. Feedback is gained from surveys that are distributed during the year. This helps us to understand and support the pupils’ journey through CEIAG from year 7 to post-16 education by reviewing and analysing the feedback and adjusting as necessary to address any issues that arise. Pupils’ transition data is collected during year 11 and submitted to the Local Authority who create our Activity Survey enabling us to review and analyse our support to pupils transitioning to post-16 and the impact we have had on pupils' selection and choice of FE.

Records: Comprehensive and accurate records will be kept supporting the career development of pupils. These will be stored securely using Unifrog and transferred to Compass+. The school will allow access to this information, should a student or their parent or carer request it.

Partnership: An annual agreement is negotiated between the college and EBP South identifying the contributions to the programme that each will make. We work with the Local Authority to share relevant destinations information, as outlined in the school’s privacy notice. We work with the full range of providers and employers.
Resources: Funding is allocated in the annual college budget planning in the context of the whole school priorities and particular needs in the CEIAG area. The Careers Leader is responsible for the effective deployment of resources in consultation with the SLT line manager for Careers.

Staff development: Staff training needs are identified as part of the review of the CEIAG provision and individual CPD (continuing professional development) annual reviews. Funding for this is accessed from school funds and additional grants where appropriate.

This policy is linked to the Provider Access Policy (PAP).