Careers

Our Careers Programme

YEAR 7 - Enterprising and World of work

• Being enterprising and creativity

• Skills & qualities

• Employment and types of work

• Looking at local market information

• What it’s like to work

• Challenging stereotypes

• Exploring Unifrog

• Economic Wellbeing

Year 8 - Employability skills and Responsibilities

• Developing leadership

• Online communication

• Challenging stereotypes

• Aspirations

• Economic Wellbeing

Year 9 – KS4 Options

• Future careers and planning

• Post 14 and Post 16 routes into careers including apprenticeships and T-levels

• Choosing your future (linked to the options process)

• Skills and interests audit

• Local labour market information

• Using Unifrog to explore options

• The Nature of Work

Appointments are available with Mrs Hunt, our Independent Careers Advisor, to guide students through the options process. Please contact careers@holyrood.bep.ac to request a appointment or visit to a Higher Education provider.

Year 10 - Preparation for the workplace

• Work experience

• Post 16 and Post 18 futures options including technical qualifications and apprenticeships

• Using local and national labour market information to inform decisions on next steps

• Online representation and personal brand

• Interview skills

• Health and safety in work on the employment law point

• Transferrable skills

• Employment law

• Economic Wellbeing

All Year 10 students are expected to complete a week of work experience in the summer term.
They will also carry out a mock interview with a community leader to help build their interview skills.
There is also the opportunity to visit a college and a university in the summer term.

Year 11 - Preparation for Post-16

• Post-16 routes and Post-18 routes including technical qualifications and apprenticeships

• Applying for post-16 Sixth Form, FE and apprenticeships

• Employability skills

• Preparing for interviews

• Preparing CV’s and personal statements

• Time management

Every student in Year 11 is able to see our independent careers advisor, Philippa Hunt, to support and guide the student through their next steps.  Throughout Year 11, students are given opportunities for Sixth Form and college taster days and other information events.

Year 11 will take part in a KS5 taster day either at Sixth Form or at a college for those interested in vocational qualifications.

Recommended Online Resources

Unifrog - Parents also have access to this great resource where they can see their child's tasks and upcoming events, try student tools for themselves, find guides and events specifically for parents and carers such as online courses and guides. Parents and carers just need to go to the Unifrog sign in page and click create new parent account. They then enter their email address and they will automatically be linked to their child. Sign up here: https://www.unifrog.org/

Success at School – This is a key website for information about career choices, job advertisements, and information on apprenticeships of all levels, university, and advice on working life

Informed Choices – This Russell Group guide helps Post 16 students with their choices when deciding on further education options and pathways.

Somerset Careers Hub Parents Page - This helpful resource brings together local open day information, post 16 opportunities, careers events and much more all in one place for parents and carers of students in Somerset.

Careers in Sixth Form

Throughout a student’s time within Holyrood Sixth Form, they will be given opportunities to learn about their future careers development. This will be in the form of:

• Access to Unifrog’s talent pool and apprenticeship opportunities

• Trips to Higher education providers’

• Visits to Careers, Jobs and Higher Education fairs’

Once a week Next Steps Session in tutor time

Guest speakers from a range of Industries
• Compulsory 1 week work experience in Year 12
• Apprenticeships talks of all levels including degree apprenticeships
• Individual UCAS and University advice
• Guidance on how to write personal statements
• Progression courses through Russell Group universities
• University summer schools
• Career planning
• Work shadowing
• Student finance support
• Pre-university taster courses
• UCAS conference and convention

• Exeter Scholars programme
  • HE+ Cambridge
  • Holyrood Alumni
  • Gap year talks

 This is tailored to each student’s needs and bespoke career path, whether this be on to Higher Education or through an apprenticeship route.

We are extremely proud of the Personal Development Programme that students follow during their time at Holyrood Sixth Form and this equips students for their next steps. This is coupled with tutorials which are tailored to the students’ academic and future aspirations. We work hard at Holyrood Sixth Form to ensure that every student feels that they are ready for the next steps in their career.

Careers Guidance

The Career's Leader is Russell Back who can be contacted by email at rback@hoylrood.bep.ac

• The Senior Leadership Careers Lead is Elizabeth Hooper, email is ehooper@holyrood.bep.ac

• Philippa Hunt is our Careers Adviser and she is in school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and is based in the Careers Office. All students from Years 8-13 are legally entitled to request careers advice, this can be particularly helpful when choosing subject options or planning destinations after school. All students will receive an appointment by Year 11, however any students wishing to book an appointment at any other time, please email phunt@hoylrood.bep.ac

·         Our Careers Link Governor is TBC

·         We also have a business Enterprise Adviser(EA) Jonathan Taylor from Branston who is linked to our school and offers support from a business perspective on our careers curriculum.

·       We work in partnership with the Somerset Careers Hub to evaluate our provision on an ongoing basis against the updated Gatsby Benchmarks. OurEnterprise Co-ordinator is Louise Friend.

Careers Resources for Parents

The Somerset Careers Hub have a wide variety of great resources for parents and carers to support your child on their careers journey.

Website docs:

• Companies with Apprenticeships

• Choosing Post-14 Options

• Choosing Post 16 Options

• Choosing Post 18 Options

• Resources for Choosing Which Career

Information for Employers

Holyrood Academy actively promotes a working relationship with local employers. If you are an employer and would like the opportunity to come in and talk to our students then please contact our Careers Leader, Mr Back.

We really value the contribution that employers have within our community and can offer a variety of opportunities for us to work together. This can include PSHE impact days, assemblies, guest speakers or through supporting our Year 10 and Year 12 work experience programmes.

At Holyrood Academy, we are committed to ensuring that all students have a comprehensive Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Programme. This is from Years 7-13.

We are also committed to meeting The Gatsby Benchmarks, with Benchmark 5 encouraging all students to have encounters with employers. We would welcome contact from any employers who are able to support us with this.

Enterprise Adviser Network
Our school is part of the Enterprise Adviser Network where we work closely with both an Enterprise Co-ordinator and Enterprise Adviser. Their role is to work closely with Holyrood Academy to support our work on CEAIG, in particular, the Gatsby Benchmarks. 

The Enterprise Adviser Network connects schools with employers, to inspire and prepare students for the world of work. To find out more, or to get involved, visit the Careers & Enterprise Company website.

Holyrood Academy is supported by an Enterprise Co-ordinator, Louise Friend (louise.friend@somerset.gov.uk) and Enterprise Adviser, Jonathan Taylor (jtaylor@branston.co.uk). Jonathan is the General Manager for the SW site of Branston Ltd. He has a wealth of experience in the food sector and works closely with STEM networks too. We also have a STEM lead in school who is Mr Watson who co-ordinates the schools STEM provision.

Work Experience
Each year, both our Year 10 and Year 12 students participate in a week of work experience during the summer term. This allows us to introduce our students to the world of work, giving them the opportunity to gain and develop valuable qualities and skills, as well as gaining first-hand experience. 

All students are supported to find and contact possible placements through their PDP lessons and tutors and have Unifrog as a great tool to support them to explore their options. As part of the process, we require students to contact the employers to request a work experience placement with them.

Holyrood is committed to meeting the Government’s work experience pledge of two weeks of work experience by the time they leave Year 11. We are looking to develop more relationships with local employers to support more engagements in KS3. If this would be of interest please get in touch.

Further information regarding work experience can be found here

Somerset Education Business Partnership

The Somerset EBP is a free service, aiming to improve connections between employers and education providers throughout the county. Business-education collaboration enhances careers education, inspires learners, showcases career opportunities and fosters a future talent pipeline. Somerset EBP helps learners gain a better understanding of post-16 options and the workplace, alongside publishing local vacancies, including apprenticeships. To see how you can get involved please visit the website https://www.somerset-ebp.co.uk/

Somerset Education Business Partnership helps:
• Businesses to identify future talent
• Education providers to strengthen business connections
• Learners to develop employability skills
...so that residents and businesses in Somerset thrive

CEAIG Policies:
Please refer to our Provider Access Policy (via our Policy Page) and Careers Policy (via our Policy Page) for further details.

Careers Across the Curriculum

Our Careers curriculum, ensures that the key skills and essential knowledge permeate our curriculum from years 7 to 11, allowing our pupils to make links in their learning as well as develop the ability to think more deeply about what they are learning.

 All teachers include careers into their lessonsand develop student’s employ-ability skills. Staff have access to a wide range of resources to showcase careers in their subject lessons.

Teachers are encouraged to implement the below into the curriculum:

• Have a prominent display that links subject learning and skill development to different careers

• Develop links with businesses and organisations

• To invite alumni and other external speakers to come into school

• Where appropriate to organise external visits for students to local businesses

• Record careers learning opportunities for students in schemes of learning

• Take part in whole school careers events, such as Careers Fairs by actively engaging with the exhibitors, building links in their own curriculum areas.

• Consider the needs and interests of all students and ensure that information challenges career stereotyping including gender, race and disability

Our careers programme is structured around clear age related objectives which can be found here.