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Careers Information

Careers at Pedmore High School

The overriding objective of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) here at Pedmore High School is to develop the skills, attitudes and abilities of our students to enable them to make effective decisions about their future education, training, employment and life as an adult member of society. This Careers Strategy is to ensure that the CEIAG offer provides learners with high quality opportunities to prepare them for the next stage, transition in to positive destinations and long-term healthy career success. Careers is delivered through our PSHE programme, tutor time and bespoke careers assemblies, visits and events. It is also delivered through subject teaching, where students are given the opportunity to work individually and collaboratively, reflecting upon their performance and setting targets for improvement, in lessons which are linked to professionals in sectors which are directly linked to their curriculum area. This reinforces the importance of individual subjects and supports students to understand where success in each area could lead them in the future. Throughout their time at Pedmore, students will learn about the labour market, attend careers fairs both in and out of school, visit higher and further education providers, engage in sessions with professionals from a range of sectors and complete a 5-day work experience placement. In Year 11, they will have at least one 1-1 session with a careers advisor to further support their post-16 choices. We would welcome any parents / carers who would like to share their experiences, expertise, skills and work placement opportunities with our students to support our main aim; to inspire all of our students to be the very best that they can be; ambitious, focused and fulfilled.

At Pedmore we will:

Continuously review the impact of our CEIAG.
Increase careers advice and guidance to be an integral part of the school’s offer.
Strengthen strategic partnerships with employers, further and higher education institutions and apprenticeship providers
Ensure that the Gatsby Benchmarks are fully embedded in our CEIAG Programme

The careers programme at Pedmore High School aims to:

Encourage students to be self-reflective, ambitious, to broaden their horizons and explore their own career aspirations throughout their life at school.
Provide a wide range of experiences, support and guidance to help them make decisions about their future. This starts in Year 7 and supports students through to leaving us in Year 11.

The programme is based on evidence from the Gatsby Foundation and aligns with the recommended Gatsby Benchmarks. These are:

Benchmark 1: A stable careers programme
Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Benchmark 3: Addressing the needs of each pupil
Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers
Benchmark 5: Encounters with employers and employees
Benchmark 6: Experience in the workplace
Benchmark 7: Encounters with further and higher education
Benchmark 8: Personal guidance

Students leaving Pedmore will have the skills, knowledge and dynamism to reach their full career potential, to meet the needs of employers and to contribute to the economic growth of the nation.

Careers Programme

Unifrog Career Plan > Yr7 will complete their interests profile, which will be updated yearly; Year 9 will complete their skills profile; Year 10 will complete the work environments profile and Year 11 will complete the skills test

Students will also complete questionnaires on Compass+ to build their profiles during their secondary journey > Year 7 will complete the starting secondary school questionnaire; Year 9 will complete the transition from KS3 questionnaire; KS4 will complete the GCSE years questionnaire and Year 11 will complete the Future Skills Questionnaire

Year 7

The careers programme begins for all students in Year 7, where all pupils are encouraged to explore their different career paths. Students will register with Unifrog which is a one stop shop of resources to help guide them through the opportunities available to them. The particular focus for Year 7 students is matching their interests and personality to different career choices. Information is key and knowing the possible options available are important. The careers programme is delivered through the discrete PSHE lesson on Wednesday mornings, tutor time, subject lessons and external visits/external guest speakers. This first year of secondary school is all about building foundations to develop self-awareness and begin to broadly explore careers. Students will identify their interests, strengths and aspirations by completing the starting secondary school questionnaire on Compass+ and the interests profile on Unifrog. They will gain an awareness of a broad range of careers and develop their teamwork, communication and problem solving skills; all fundamental skills needed for any career.

Year 8

Year 9

Students in Year 9 will carry on exploring their career path but with a definite focus on which subjects they would like to choose for their options at Key Stage Four to support their future pathways. The careers work will be central to this and allow students to use Unifrog to guide them on all the possibilities in their field of choice; they will complete the transition from KS3 to KS4 questionnaire on Compass+ and the skills profile on Unifrog to support their choices. Each department will also discuss their subject and the different routes, be it further education, apprenticeships or the world of work. In addition to this, students will be encouraged to think about their choices at 16+ by attending taster events at local FE providers and private training providers and these providers will visit students in school-based activities / events. We also aim to continue to develop our students’ aspirations and as such they will be introduced to Higher Education through our Aspire to HE events and programmes. In the latter part of Year 9, students will begin the process for Work Experience, writing CVs, exploring options and securing placements ready for the 5-day placement in the spring term of Year 10. The careers programme is delivered through the discrete PSHE lesson on Wednesday mornings, tutor time, subject lessons and external visits/external guest speakers. Each student has access to Unifrog which is a one stop shop of resources to help guide students through the different career pathways and opportunities available to them. Information is key and knowing the possible options available are important.

Year 10

The careers programme is delivered through the discrete PSHE lesson on Wednesday mornings, tutor time, subject lessons and external visits/external guest speakers. The particular focus for Year 10 students is experience and engagement; matching their interests and personality to different career choices. Information is key and knowing the possible options available are important. Students will complete the work environments quiz on Unifrog to support their choices for their work experience placement. Students will have opportunities to work face to face with local employers, considering a wide range of career pathways taken by local companies, parents, teachers and ex-students, through taster/college days, work experience, employer in school events, apprenticeship events, subject specific employment events, FE/HE in school events in PSHE days and in curriculum time, development of their CVs and career counselling to refine career goals and pathways and support the development of a clearer vision of their future and the steps needed to achieve their goals.

One of the main aims of our careers programme in Year 10 is for each student to have the opportunity to complete a 5-day work experience placement

Work Experience dates for 2025 have been set as the week beginning Monday 7th April 2025. If you have any questions or can offer placements to any of our students, please contact our Work Experience Co-ordinator Mrs Guidotti on lguidotti@pedmorehighschool.uk

Year 11

The careers programme is delivered through the discrete PSHE lesson on Wednesday mornings, tutor time, subject lessons and external visits/external guest speakers. Each student has access to Unifrog which is a one stop shop of resources to help guide them through the different career pathways and opportunities available to them. They will complete the skills test on Unifrog and the GCSE years questionnaire on Compass+ to support their post-16 choices. The particular focus for Year 11 students is on their future planning, examinations and securing their place of Further Education/Apprenticeships. In the autumn term, students will finalise their CVs and applications to colleges and employers, they will have interview practice and all students will have the opportunity for 1-1 careers advice meetings with our independent advisers delivered by the Connexions Service. 1:1 careers guidance is offered to all students, with guidance on A-Levels, T-Levels, vocational courses and apprenticeships to support informed decision making about post-16 education and training. Throughout the year, we work closely with Year 11 to track their progress with college applications/apprenticeships and work with specialist agencies such as Connexions where necessary. It is expected that students and their parents/carers from all year groups attend parents’ evening events where the Connexions service and similar providers, such as Halesowen College and King Edwards VI Sixth Form College, will be available to provide information and guidance in respect to future pathways / careers / apprenticeships and colleges.

Information for Employers and Training Providers

We aim to give our students opportunities to engage with employers and training providers, including Further and Higher Education, throughout their time at Pedmore. Please read the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to students at the school for the purpose of;

giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.

Students are entitled to:

find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point
hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships – through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events, and PSHE days
understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses

Pedmore High School Careers Fayre 2025

We will be holding our next Careers Fayre at Pedmore High School during the school day on Thursday 13th March 2025. This will be open to all year groups to find information from different providers. There will also be the opportunity for students to drop-in with their parents / carers at the end of the school day, with providers being available until 4pm to offer advice and information.

If you are interested in being involved, please contact the Careers Lead, Mrs Tyson (Assistant Headteacher) on: rtyson@pedmorehighschool.uk or call the school on: 01384 686711

For help on creating your personal statement for college and sixth form applications, preparing for interviews and other useful sites linked to Post-16 options click on the links below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/groups/ckqd82k4m03t

https://www.jobcentrenearme.com

https://www.unifrog.org/

https://www.speakersforschools.org/

http://www.connexionsdudley.org/

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/

https://www.careersbox.co.uk/

https://careermap.co.uk/

https://icould.com/

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/

https://www.ucas.com/

The Pedmore High School Careers Challenge

Why not complete the 10 steps below to help you get career ready and boost your employability prospects?

Get some Careers Advice – talk to a fully trained professional who will guide you through all your options and what’s available. They are independent so will talk to you about Apprenticeships/Colleges/Further Education. They can also recommend support from an IMPACT Mentor if needed. https://connexionsdudley.org/ https://www.dudley.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers
Check out your Skills – find out what a skill is and what you may need to work on to get the job of your choice! Visit https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ then click on Skills Assessment
Get some work experience – sign up for some work experience; face-to-face or virtual opportunities are available on the Speakers for Schools platform or visit local companies to see if they can offer you anything https://www.speakersforschools.org
Find out about apprenticeships and colleges - see all the latest vacancies and what’s on offer. https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/
Get a CV ready - draw up your own CV (Curriculum Vitae)
Research jobs - Interview a parent, friend or neighbour about their job. Visit the icould site where you can watch videos of 100s of people in their jobs Icould is a national careers film library, a free resource showing hundreds of real people doing real jobs. Check out who they work for, what do they do, what skills they need and how they got into that role https://icould.com/
Volunteer and develop yourself - Volunteering – helps develop skills and confidence, meet new people and make new friends https://vinspired.com/
Find out about jobs where you live (LMI) Labour Market Information - Find out more about Local Labour Market information for example- what jobs and companies are in the local area Think sandwell.com has the top 50 employers in our area find out who they are and what they earn http://www.lmiforall.org.uk/explore_lmi/
Skills - Use the 5 Key employability skills (good communication skills, good time keeping, being a team worker, willing to undertake further training if required, being reliable and dependable) and think about what evidence you have to support each of these skills.
Interviews - Not many people enjoy applications and interviews so practice your interview skills www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/tags/znpwvk7/interviews/1

Good luck!

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