At CLV, our Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme has been designed to provide our young people with the knowledge and skills necessary to make successful transitions to the next stage of their life. We believe that strong CEIAG helps to broaden horizons, challenge stereotypes and raise aspirations, providing a clearer idea of the routes to jobs and careers which are not only engaging and rewarding, but relevant in the current labour market.
Our CEIAG programme has been developed around the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s “Good Career Guidance” report which identifies eight Gatsby Benchmarks, defining a world-class standard of excellent careers guidance. The school has appointed a Careers Leader effective from September 2018 to ensure the leadership and coordination of a high quality careers programme, and who will work alongside the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) to build an employer engagement plan in line with the requirements of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks:
- A stable careers programme – Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers,governors and employers.
- Learning from career and labour market information – Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
- Addressing the needs of each pupil – Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
- Linking curriculum learning to careers – All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. STEM subject teachers should highlight the
relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths. - Encounters with employers and employees – Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and
the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes. - Experiences of workplaces – Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
- Encounters with further and higher education – All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
- Personal guidance – Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be timed to meet their individual needs.