Aims
We know there is more to success than academic achievement alone. Education isn’t simply about passing exams; it’s about enabling students to learn the skills and qualities they need to be successful at university or in the career of their choice. To support this, our careers programme builds the habits and skills most desired by employers and universities, and guarantees access to experiences that help students to shape a vision for their own future and guide their decisions about the right path for them.
Introduction
Ark Alexandra Academy uses the Gatsby Benchmarks as a guide to plan our Careers Education programme. The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 guidelines about what makes the best careers provision in schools and colleges.
These guidelines are:
- A stable career programme
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each student
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
As part of our commitment to informing our students of the full range of learning and training pathways on offer to them, we provide several opportunities throughout the student’s journey that allow them to explore different career paths. We have developed a structured programme, which includes a wide variety of activities that is focused on providing high quality information and career guidance.
Here are some of the key adults that oversee careers within Ark Alexandra:
- Careers Lead - Helenswood Campus - Isobel Lambie
i.lambie@arkalexandra.org
- Careers Lead - William Parker Campus - Josh Reuter
j.reuter@arkalexandra.org
Ark Alexandra Academy proactively seeks to build relationships with partners as we plan our Careers Education activities. Providers have multiple opportunities to speak to students and their parents across years 7-13, to offer information on vocational, technical and apprenticeship qualifications and pathways. This is outlined in the policy statement for further education and training providers.
Careers Education Service
Our careers education service offers the following:
- Online resources about a wide range of career opportunities.
- A focus on choices for Year 9.
- A focus on choices after Year 11 and Year 13- further and higher education, sixth form, vocational pathways, apprenticeships and employment. Help with the application process and CVs.
- Support for individual students (and their parents) to discuss training and career possibilities and requirements.
- Careers Education, programme workshops, presentations and careers events with support from external organisations.
Careers Education Provision
At Ark Alexandra Academy we see careers education as a journey that the students take as they move through the school. Starting in Year 7 with an introduction to the world of work and as they continue their journey, we aim to prepare them to make informed decisions about their future paths.
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Autumn Term |
Spring Term |
Summer Term |
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Year 7 |
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Year 8 |
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Year 9 |
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Year 10 |
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Year 11 |
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Year 12 |
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Year 13 |
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Measurement of Careers Education Impact
The impact of the schools Careers Education programme can be measured through the quality of student destinations at both sixteen and eighteen. See the graphs below that details the destinations of our students for 2022 and for the past five years.
Careers Education is reviewed on a termly basis by the SLT to ensure that it is enhancing the students experience and improving the overall quality of destinations. The careers lead keeps up to date individualised records of each students’ engagement with the Careers Education programme. The school publishes the quality of its destinations on annual basis in September.
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Key Stage 4 Destinations |
2016/2017 |
2017/2018 |
2018/2019 |
2019/2020 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
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Ark Sixth Form |
16% |
12% |
20% |
22% |
26% |
16% |
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FE |
78% |
82% |
68% |
70% |
67.6% |
78% |
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Other establishment/ apprenticeship |
5% |
6% |
6% |
8% |
4% |
2% |
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Destinations known |
91% |
100% |
94% |
97% |
97.6% |
96% |
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Key Stage 4 Level of study |
2016/2017 |
2017/2018 |
2018/2019 |
2019/2020 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
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Level 3 |
56% |
69% |
72% |
63% |
62% |
65% |
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Level 2 |
31% |
26% |
19% |
32% |
26% |
27% |
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Level 1 |
10% |
5% |
9% |
2% |
9.6% |
8% |
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Unknown |
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3% |
2.4% |
3% |
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Key Stage 5 Destinations |
2016/2017 |
2017/2018 |
2018/2019 |
2019/2020 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
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Oxbridge |
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2% |
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Russell Group University |
13% |
15% |
24% |
16% |
14% |
13% |
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University |
66% |
61% |
46% |
54% |
37% |
33% |
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Apprenticeship |
11% |
10% |
9% |
2% |
0% |
4% |
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Employment |
10% |
11% |
2% |
10% |
11% |
23% |
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Year 14/Other HE |
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2% |
13% |
6% |
25% |
8% |
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Gap Year |
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2% |
6% |
12% |
11% |
23% |
Careers Plan
Feedback
In order to develop and improve on the quality of the careers provision, we constantly look to gather feedback from a variety of stakeholders. These include students, teachers, parents and visitors from a different companies or establishments.
If you would like to offer feedback regarding our Careers Education programme, please click on the link below and complete the survey. Further to this, if you have any specific questions or would like to offer your support, please contact Mr Morris.