Parkside Academy believes that the key elements of a good Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) Programme should be to develop the self-awareness, opportunity awareness, decision making and transition planning skills of its pupils. It should also look to raise aspirations, broaden horizons and break down stereotypes. It should help pupils to understand the purpose and benefits of education and it should aim to inspire them to greater achievement in their formal qualifications as well as successful progression into the next stage of their lives and their longer term career ambitions irrespective of their starting points.
With this in mind we have compiled a range of careers websites in order to support pupils and their parents in researching and planning their future careers.
General Careers Websites
www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk
http://www.wherestemcantakeyou.co.uk
Specific Careers Websites
www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk – For careers in engineering
www.ideasfoundation.org.uk – for careers in the creative industries
http://careers.abpi.org.uk/your-career/school-and-college-students/Pages/default.aspx – for careers in medicines/pharmaceutical research
https://www.medicalcareers.nhs.uk/considering_medicine/introduction.aspx – for careers in medicine
www.careerscope.uk.net – For careers in the Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality sectors
Thinking about University
Thinking about Apprenticeships
Careers in the Armed Forces
www.army.mod.uk – For careers in the Army
www.royalnavy.mod.uk – For careers in the Royal Navy
www.raf.mod.uk – For careers in the Royal Air Force
Parkside Academy CEIAG Programme
Parkside Academy’s CEIAG programme is designed to meet the needs of all students and is based on the government’s statutory guidance for schools (December 2017). The key elements of a good Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) Programme should be to develop the self-awareness, opportunity awareness, decision-making and transition planning skills of its students. It should also look to raise aspirations, broaden horizons and break down stereotypes. Parkside has a critical role to play in preparing young people for the next stage of their education or training and beyond. Expectations should be set high, including for the most vulnerable and those with special educational needs and disabilities, so that every student is stretched and acquires the attributes that employer’s value. This will help every young person to realise their potential and so increase economic competitiveness and support social mobility and future economic well-being.
A robust and inspiring CEIAG programme should also be an integral part of the whole school and should be embedded within a clear framework linked to outcomes for students rather than as an ad-hoc set of activities. The programme should reflect the school’s ethos and meet the needs of all students. Parkside’s CEIAG programme is incorporated into the school’s Inspire Day Programme as well as offering a whole suite of other opportunities linked to the students’ needs at different stages in their school life. All students in Year 7 to Year 11 have the opportunity to access information from a wide range of education and training providers on all the different routes available to them including technical qualifications and apprenticeship routes. We believe that the whole school staff have a responsibility for the ‘careers education’ of the students and, therefore, it is important that all staff maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the opportunities that relate to their subjects, encourage students to explore ideas and are happy to provide additional information to students, or to refer them to other resources/colleagues with a more specific knowledge.
In addition to the proposed CEIAG programme, we provide students with opportunities to experience the ‘world of work’ and to develop their key employability and enterprise skills throughout Years 7-11. This is achieved through their formal education as well as through extra-curricular activities both in school and outside of school.
Finally, we aim to continue to develop a range of different resources, including through the school’s website and VLE, in order to support the students and their parents in researching and planning their futures. We work closely with Durham County Council, the local Area Action Partnership, The North East LEP, Durham Education Business Partnership, and other relevant agencies in order to offer appropriate support irrespective of ability so that all our students can make successful transitions within, and beyond, the school.
