Careers

Careers Education Overview

Intent

The intent of our Careers Education at Hope School and College is for all learners to achieve their potential in preparing for transition into their future life.

We aim to raise learner’s aspirations and improve social awareness of career choices by focusing on the development of employability skills and enhancing knowledge of labour market information to support access to meaningful careers pathways.

Through Careers Related Learning (CRL) we ensure that every opportunity is made to raise aspirations, broaden horizons, challenge assumptions, combat stereotypes and promote optimism about the future.

Underpinning our curriculum are our three core values of Achievement, Equality and Independence.

Implementation

 
At Hope School and College, our careers education follows a whole school approach and is embedded throughout all aspects of our broad and balanced curriculum. This ensures that career development is not limited to standalone sessions but is integrated across all subject areas and learning experiences.

Our careers education is tailored to meet the needs of all our learners, ensuring that it is accessible, meaningful and relevant, supporting our learners in understanding their strengths, exploring opportunities, and preparing them for adulthood.

Careers related learning is linked with different pathways and students’ individual abilities. This is done through activities of exploration of different careers through multisensory approach and role play experiences of job roles and responsibilities at a very young age. We provide employer visits to get a first-hand experience in approaching people and understanding their work roles. Educational and vocational visits are a vital part of our learning experiences in enabling our learners to broaden their horizons and encountering skills at the places of work.

We keep a strong link with local businesses and the community through various activities, including work experience, employer talks, and career fairs, to help our learners understand their career paths and develop workplace skills. Work experience provides students with opportunities to gain real world experience in different sectors through internships, placements or shadowing. Vocational taster days and links with post-19 providers through post 16 options enable our learners to make informed choices for their future.

Employer speakers are invited to share their career journeys, insights and ideas with students. They are signposted to organised events such as careers fairs to interact with employers, learn about job opportunities and network. Working collaboratively with local community and social enterprises offer opportunities in gaining skills.

Structured lessons on career exploration, goal setting and identifying skills are provided through employability and careers accreditation topics and the PSHCE curriculum. Resources are linked to various career paths and aspirations by attending the whole school careers week and transition events. Personalised career advice and guidance are delivered through life coaches and independent careers advisors.

Identifying interests, skills, strengths and aspirations are an integral part of our annual reviews, (PEP) personal educational plans and (EHCP) education and health care plans. From Early Years to Key Stage 5, CRL identifies opportunities for employment aspirations and awareness of the labour market information in the wider community. Through our cross-curricular approach the students are encouraged to think about the applicability of what they are learning in real life.

Impact

Our career’s related learning develops self-awareness resilience and confidence amongst learners, supporting them to recognise their skills and interests to support them in choices related to their future life. This sets the foundation for preparing for adulthood outcomes in identifying appropriate future pathways, developing skills for independence, participation in the community and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Careers Education

Learners at Hope School and College experience an understanding of careers as an ongoing process. It involves developing the skills and knowledge that equips them for the next stage of their lives. It enables them to make informed decisions about education, training and career choices.

At Hope School and College, we encourage our learners aspirations, nurture their thoughts to ensure real understanding and support choices. This includes activities through exploration, role play of jobs, employer encounters, educational and vocational visits, work experiences and life coaching.

The teaching of careers begins with an immersive practical and multisensory approach that develops as per the cohort of learners and individual needs. The aim is to introduce careers to learners at a young age and keep a consistent approach throughout their educational life in developing positive attitudes to work.

Alongside the PDS curriculum, the concepts of careers are embedded in everyday life at Hope School and College. We provide opportunities that enable learners to explore a range of attributes, skills and knowledge and leave them in the best possible position as they begin their transition to future life. These skills are developed through an understanding of the concepts of places of work, people who work there and experiencing work routines.

Our learners learn and communicate in a variety of ways. Careers education is embedded in our curriculum through appropriate activities and resources. It reflects the learning through objects of reference, role play, employer encounters, off-site visits, work experiences, life coaches mentoring and transition days.

We aim to have an approach to CRL that articulates how all year groups progressively engage in the wide range of experiences and have an exposure to education and transition to the world of work.

Careers Education at Hope School and College

Careers Education in our Complex Learning Pathway

Learners in our complex learning pathway access careers education through a multisensory approach which is embedded as part of their holistic experience of education at Hope School and College.

Careers Education in our Early Steps Pathway

Learners within the Early years and Key stage 1 follow the Birth to 5 matters curriculum. Learning opportunities are supported in ‘working and learning in the outdoors’ in Early years. Learners explore and learn how to look after our world and what is important in the outdoor setting. Early introduction into skills used for the jobs and industries-based outdoors are essential for learners to understand future opportunities in the world of work.

Activities like role play create an opportunity to dress up and set up areas of work, e.g. shop, construction areas and kitchen / café. They have visits from dentists, animal rescue workers and the police.

These foundation experiences develop future skills and spark interest in possible future careers.

Careers Education in our Semi-Formal Pathway

Learners within this pathway build upon the foundations of their pre-formal learning. Through the initiation section of the Engagement curriculum, they follow a thematic approach. Activities are designed for their learning, curiosity and thinking skills towards the working environment. They work on showing an understanding of people who help them and being part of the team.

Learners explore through different types of jobs that people do and where they work. They show an awareness of identifying what the clothes and equipment people use for their jobs. They can recognise when they complete a task and have achieved something for themselves.

Through participation learners develop the ability in social play involving imagined workplaces and carry out a delegated task. Opportunities of careers is introduced through organised visits and employer encounters. Learners can tell what the visitors say about their jobs.

Careers Education in our Formal Pathway

Learners in this pathway follow a thematic approach in Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. In Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 learning focuses on preparing for Adulthood. Careers Education is delivered through Personal, Social and Health Education, accreditated topics of Employability & Careers, Functional Skills including Maths, English and Digital, work experience opportunities, life coaching and future aspirations.

The learners work on the rationale of why people work and the different jobs they do. They have an understnding of their contribution to a range of activities that help them to become more enterprising and make connections between their learning, the world of work and their future economic wellbeing.

At Hope School and College we provide opportunities to our learners to enpower in planning their own future through personal goal setting and recognising expectations for themselves. Appropriate choices for careers and advice is provided. They are aware of different forms of voluntary and community activities and how they help individuals and the society. Our learners access and understand a range of information through conversations, employer engagement and appropriate resources. They are introduced to occupations through interests and strengths.