Careers

The vision for Careers Education at Holyrood Academy is to support students to progress into aspirational careers and futures regardless of their background.

Curriculum Intent

  • To help all students investigate the options and pathways available to them.

  • Every student to have independent advice and guidance. Careers education is tailored to individual needs.

  • To raise aspirations of the students within Holyrood Academy.

  • To meet The Gatsby Benchmarks - a series of benchmarks that set out best practices in the provision of careers guidance activities. This is measured by using the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Compass tool once a term.

  • To use local and national market data to help to provide the most relevant information to our students.

At Holyrood Academy, we would like all students, from Years 7-13, to have a purposeful careers education to fill them with the confidence, skills and knowledge to be able to fulfil their next steps.

Our Careers Programme

 

YEAR 7 - Careers 1: Skills & Enterprise

  • Being enterprising and creativity

  • Skills & qualities

  • Employment and types of work

  • Looking at local market information

  • What it’s like to work

  • Challenging stereotypes

  • Career Pilot

  • Economic Wellbeing

Year 8 - Discrimination – Rights and Responsibilities

  • Equality in the workplace

  • Challenging stereotypes

  • Aspirations

  • Economic Wellbeing

Year 9 - Careers 2 – Goals and Progress

  • Future careers and planning

  • Post 14 and Post 16 routes into careers including apprenticeships

  • Choosing your future (linked to the options process)

  • Skills and interests audit

  • Local labour market information

  • Using Career Pilot to explore options

  • The Nature of Work

Appointments are available with Mrs Higman, our Independent Careers Advisor, to guide students through the options process.

Year 10 - Careers 3 – Employability and Skills

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

  • Using local labour market information to see where there is growth

  • Online representation and personal brand

  • Interview skills

  • Preparing for work experience, including expectations

  • 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 - Careers 4 – Preparation for ROA and Statement

  • 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 CVs and Statements

Every student in Year 11 is able to see our independent careers advisor, Emma Higman, 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.

Encounters with Employers and Education Providers

Throughout the year, students will have access to different employers offering a range of industries, through a variety of different methods, including through PDP and assemblies. If you feel that you are able to support us with our Careers Education programme, please contact our Careers Leader, Mr Back, and refer to our Provider Access Policy (via our Policy page).

LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION
Careerometer: a tool to compare jobs
Use the Careerometer below to compare different jobs - salary, working hours, etc.
Click the first dotted square.
Type in the first career that you think you might be interested in and select from the drop-down list, then add your first and second choice to see the comparison.

Recommended Online Resources

 

Unifrog - All students have access to the Unifrog careers platform to help guide them through their next steps and explore a wide variety of career sectors and routes. Parents are also to create a free account to access the platform, simply contact careers@holyrood.bep.ac for more information.

Career Pilot – Career Pilot is a website which helps with choices for students aged 13, 16 and 18, including apprenticeships, further education and higher education. The website has a number of different tools available to help students with their individual choices.
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.

Universities and 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:

• 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.

Holyrood Sixth Form students are also able to make Careers Guidance appointments with our independent advisor, Emma Higman. These can be made directly through Emma Higman or through Lisa Knight.

Careers Guidance

 

Impartial careers advice and guidance is provided for students at Holyrood Academy by an Independent Careers Advisor, Emma Higman.

Emma is a Level 6 qualified careers adviser, with extensive experience of providing careers guidance to students in secondary schools. Emma’s expertise includes advising on options within further education, job seeking and apprenticeship opportunities, applications to higher education and labour market information.

Emma is available in the Academy on two days a week, Monday and Wednesday. She delivers information, advice and guidance to students both on an individual level and in groups. All Year 11 and Sixth form students are given the opportunity to have an individual careers guidance interview. Emma delivers presentations to students in assemblies, runs workshops and offers a regular lunchtime drop-in on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Learning Centre. She also attends parents' evenings for Years 9-13.

Appointments with Emma can be made via your child's tutor.

A great website to help students and parents/carers with career choices and Options guidance can be found here: www.careerpilot.org.uk

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 Pearce 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.

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 lessons and 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