The Grammar School for Girls Wilmington

CAREERS EDUCATION
INFORMATION ADVICE AND GUIDANCE


Careers Education, Information Advice and Guidance, is an integral part of preparing students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. The process of personal and social development begins at home and continues through school into adult life. CEIAG can help prepare for the choices, changes and transitions affecting young peoples’ future education, training and life as adult members of society.


AIMS OFCAREERS EDUCATION

1 To help students:

• Recognise and understand their own developing skills, personal qualities, aptitudes and needs
• Make informed choices about their continuing education and training
• Explore possible career paths
• Develop high aspirations and exploit fully their potential within an equal opportunities context
• Learn to manage effective transition to new roles and situations

2 To promote:

• Knowledge and understanding of immediate, ongoing and long term training and career opportunities
• Awareness of the world of work and its link to education
• Key skills for employment
• Management of their own learning

3 To develop:

• Opportunities in vocational learning
• Partnership working within school, local schools and businesses
• Accessibility of information

These aims form the basis of the School’s Careers Education Policy and will promote personal and social development and challenge stereotyped attitudes to education, training and career opportunities.

The programme supports the agenda for Every Child Matters and aims to help students:

• Be healthy
• Stay safe
• Enjoy and achieve
• Make a positive contribution
• Achieve economic well-being

Every pupil is entitled to such guidance and our objective is to ensure that these aims are achieved by each and every pupil in school.




WORK RELATED LEARNING

THE PURPOSE OF ENTERPRISE AND WRL

There is a statutory requirement under Section 351 of the 1996 Education Act for the school to provide a balanced and broadly based curriculum which ‘prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life, which includes preparation for working life.’

The school recognises that:

• All students should have access to work-related learning opportunities and is committed to the development of a whole school approach which includes a learning entitlement for all students as a means for learning ‘about work’, learning ‘through work’ and learning ‘for work’
• Work-related learning has an important contribution to make to the education of all students in order for them to make an effective transition from school to adulthood and employment
• The school’s responsibility is to provide a comprehensive range of opportunities for pupils to learn ‘about’, ‘through’ and ‘for’ work in a range of contexts
• Work-related learning is concerned with those planned activities that use work as a context for learning or illustrate aspects of working life
• Innovative approaches to work-related learning need to be encouraged in order to motivate students and raise standards
• The accreditation of students’ achievements in work-related learning has an important role to play in supporting the school’s objectives
• The main purpose of work-related learning is to provide pupils with a range of activities as part of a balanced and integrated curriculum


AIMS and OBJECTIVES

The main objectives for work-related learning are:

• to raise levels of achievement for all pupils through high quality, work-related learning
• to develop a range of opportunities which enhance the curriculum
• to extend the range of appropriate and relevant activities which assist in raising all pupils’ aspirations
• to promote greater pupil awareness about the world of work, key skills for employability and economic well-being

Examples of current learning activities and opportunities provided by the school

• Work Experience in Year 11 – students are supported to find a two week placement and attain the Excellence in Work Experience Award
• Work Shadowing in Year 12 – students may find their own placement to shadow one person in a specific career for 2-3 days
• Work placements for Sixth Form students as part of the enrichment programme
• Mini-enterprise for Year 10 students
• Sixth Form Careers Event which provides insight from visiting speakers representing careers requested by students
• Curriculum projects and trips (eg Science visit to Littlebrook Power Station)