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Careers


Careers Strategy for The Queen Katharine Academy, Peterborough

 

Vision Statement

The Queen Katharine Academy inspires all students to raise their aspirations, achieve their goals and realise their ambitions -  Aspire, Achieve, Ambition

 

Careers and Employability

At The Queen Katharine Academy (QKA), we want all students to raise their aspirations, goals and ambitions through the careers education information and guidance (CEIAG) that we offer them.

Our aim is that all students are prepared for the next stage of their life and equipped with the skills they need to enter the world of work and embark on a fulfilling career.

The governments most recent careers strategy for schools, Dec 17 has 4 main aims. At QKA we will implement and adhere to a careers policy that supports these aims set out by the DFE.

  • We want all young people to understand the full range of opportunities available to them, learn from employers about work and the skills that are valued in the workplace, and have first-hand experiences of the workplace.
  • We want all young people in secondary school and college to get a programme of advice and guidance that is stable, structured, and delivered by individuals with the right skills and experience.
  • We want everyone to get support tailored to his or her circumstances at any time. All adults will be able to access free face-to-face advice with more bespoke support for those who need it most.
  • We want all students to obtain the information they need to understand the job and career opportunities available to them, and to understand how their knowledge and skills can help them in considering suitable career.

 

Monitoring and evaluating 

Since 2017 we have focused on the Gatsby benchmarks – these are the benchmarks that underpin the most recent government legislation and the Ofsted framework. They provide an excellent self-assessment and reference point from which to evaluate both our current provision and our development moving forward.

The programme will be evaluated half-termly by the careers lead and SLT link manager.  The views of students, staff, parents and external partners involved in the programme will be used to make changes and improvements to the programme on an ongoing basis.   Student feedback will be taken through an evaluation form (and on occasion a focus group also) after every CEIAG event. We will use this feedback to review events and ensure they continue to be effective and have maximum impact.

Destination tracking information and success rate at P16 interviews will also provide evidence of CEIAG impact, as will the annual online surveys of students. 

 

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion 

QKA undertakes its duty to ensure that students with special educational needs and learning difficulties are properly included in CEIAG programmes seriously. Our programme caters for the range of attainment levels of students and their diverse needs and requirements.  We will take the following measures to ensure we deliver an inclusive and flexible careers programme.

  • Focus groups will be used to test understanding by vulnerable groups of key CEIAG concepts and the support available.
  • Vigorous destination data will ensure that students do not leave QKA as a NEET and that all students have a further education placement or job offer.
  • SEN students can be accompanied to their careers guidance interviews if support is required, these interviews will take place prior to annual reviews for KS4 students so that next steps can be discussed in the review.
  •  Visits to local colleges will be arranged prior to SEN students making future choices.

Pupils, Parents, Teachers and Employers requiring additional information about the careers programme are invited to contact the Careers Leader via e-mail at  Damon.Lewis@qka.education or by telephone on 01733 383887.