Whilst at Woodfield School pupils are taught the skills and attitudes required to enable them to become as independent as they can be and to prepare for adulthood. We aim for pupils to have an enriched and stimulating curriculum to give them every opportunity to reach their full potential regardless of their gender, race, learning disability or physical disability.

Rationale and commitment to careers education, information, advice and guidance

At Woodfield School careers education, information, advice and guidance is at our forefront ensuring pupils’ leave with the right tools and values to help prepare them for adulthood. We support students to consider their future options, realise their potential and decide how their skills and experiences fit with opportunities in the job market. We prepare students for their preferred transitional pathway whether that is to continue with further education, employment, training or living independently and we use a person-centred approach in our delivery method. We are fully committed to our statutory and moral obligation to provide a holistic careers service to students identified in Year 7 onwards, highlighting the vocational and academic routes to their preferred careers path.

We ensure that pupils are inspired and motivated for the world of world, ensuring high achievable aspirations are considered for a range of careers available. Our Careers Strategy works in line with our PSHE delivery.

We work closely with the local authority due to the vulnerable nature of our students who all have special education needs and disabilities with Education, Health and Care plans in place, ensuring that we know of all the services available to support students, to access these and share this knowledge amongst our community. We all share the presumption that for many of our young people with special educational needs and disabilities are capable of sustaining paid employment with the right preparation and support. We regularly celebrate and showcase and promote the achievements of our students who are volunteering or in paid employment at every possible opportunity.

We provide a program  of careers guidance and planning which begins in Key Stage Three and continue on through to the end of Key Stage Five.

In conjunction with the Brent Connexions, our careers advisors Jane and Nadeline work with pupils, parents and Woodfield staff on site at Woodfield three days a week. The collaboration has meant we have:

• Provided learners, staff and external agencies the required resources and links that will enable them to make informed decisions about their future pathways.
• Established a program of observations and meetings with pupils KS3, KS4 and KS5 to compile profiles 
• Established links with parents/carers through parents evenings, PLP days and pre annual review meetings
• Delivered (though Connexions) impartial Careers Information Advice and Guidance that is independent of the School, thereby meeting the School’s Statutory obligations in accordance with the Education Act 2011.
• Established program of information events – Branching Out, What’s Next and Mentoring program post Woodfield School
• Established links and cohesive documentation with external agencies in the transition process – SENAS, CNWL TVS
• Provided learners the current and relevant information to career pathways in education, apprenticeships and the world of work
• Conducted One to One Guidance Interviews with leavers
• Written Transition plans where appropriate
   

  Information about our Careers planning can be found below:

  KS3

  Pupils should have the opportunity to learn:

• about their own identity as a learner, preferred style of learning and to develop study, organisational, research and presentation skills
• to identify own strengths, interests, skills and qualities as part of the personal review and planning process, including their value to future employability and strategies for further developing them
• different types of work, including employment, self-employment and voluntary work; that everyone has a ‘career’ which is their pathway through life, education and work
• about the laws and by-laws relating to young people’s permitted hours and types of employment and how to minimise health and safety risks
• about different work roles and career pathways, including clarifying their own early aspirations
• about the labour market (including the diversity of local and national employment opportunities and about self-employment); about learning options, skills, occupations and progression routes
• about the choices available to them at the end of Key Stage 3, sources of information, advice and support, and the skills to manage this decision-making process
• the benefits of being ambitious and enterprising in all aspects of life
• the skills and qualities required to engage in enterprise, including seeing opportunity, managing risk, marketing, productivity, understanding the concept of quality, cash flow and profit

• KS4

  Pupils should have the opportunity to learn:

• to evaluate their own personal strengths and areas for development and to use this to inform goal setting
• how their strengths, interests, skills and qualities are changing and how these relate to future employability
• about the information, advice and guidance available to them and how to access the most appropriate support
• to further develop study and employability skills (including time management, self-organisation and presentation, project planning, team-working, networking and managing online presence)
• about the range of opportunities available to them for career progression, including in education, training and employment
• about changing patterns of employment (local, national, European and global); about different types of business, how they are organised and financed
• to research, secure and take full advantage of any opportunities for work experience that are available
• about rights and responsibilities at work (including their roles as workers, and the roles and responsibilities of employers and unions)
• attitudes and values in relation to work and enterprise (including terms such as ‘customer service’ and ‘protecting corporate or brand image’)
• about confidentiality in the workplace, when it should be kept and when it might need to be broken
• to develop their career identity, including how to maximise their chances when applying for education or employment opportunities

• KS5

  Pupils should have the opportunity to reinforce or extend their learning to be able to:

• manage contracts; understand the process of renting items and accommodation; know who can support them if they need help
• plan their budget, especially when living away from home for first time
• understand savings options; know where to save, when to save and why
• match career to personal interests, attributes and skills; develop a life plan that identifies personal aspirations and sets compelling goals; balance ambition with realism; identify how the benefits offered by unattainable ambitions can still be met in realistic ways
• be enterprising in life and work
• understand and be able to access further and higher education options and training, including apprenticeships
• understand and manage health and safety in the workplace; understand the importance of following workplace
• understand and appreciate the importance of workplace confidentiality and security; understand the importance of following cyber-security protocols in the work-place and the importance of the data protection act in the work-place
• recognise and manage bullying and harassment in the workplace in all its forms; how to get support if they experience work place harassment
• recognise the different roles of human resources (HR) departments, trade unions and professional organisations; understand 'whistleblowing': what it is and when it is appropriate apply for future roles; ‘market’ themselves by promoting their personal 'brand', including personal presentation; identify their skills and talents; identify examples from their own lives that can evidence where they have demonstrated specific qualities sought by employers (including effective team working; working inclusively; creativity and problem solving; responding to change; respecting diversity; showing initiative; working independently and to deadlines; taking personal responsibility; working to direction); produce a concise and compelling curriculum vitae; prepare for and undertake interviews; understand the role of referees and references;

Careers is overseen by the Careers Leader Paul Talbot

Tel:02082051977

email: admin@woodfieldschool.co.uk

To view Woodfield School Careers Policy please click here
To measure and assess our careers development program the school has used the Compass Evaluation Toolkit, SEND Gatsby Benchmark Toolkit and is currently undertaking the Quality in Careers Standard

Curriculum delivery is based upon the follow areas:
Year 7

Introducing Careers

Within school teachers, teaching assistants, site agents

Jobs within the family

 ‘Crisp packet challenge’

Christmas Fair –Enterprise

School tour group

Places where people work

Schools, shops, emergency services, education, building

‘Who would work in a place like this’

Jobs people who help us – who do we go for help?

People who help us – community visits

Year 8

What I want to be           

Different types of jobs and the job industry

‘Crisp packet challenge’

Gender neutral jobs      

Informed career choices – where do I get information from

Is there more to the job than I see- e.g. footballers – ‘A day in the life of…’         

People who help us – community visits

Who provides us a service

Local shops, Dentist/doctors etc. religious places of worship       

Skillset – what employers are looking for?

 Interview skills

Communication skills

Year 9

Career pathways

Apprenticeships, Further education, job market              

Being ambitious

Route ways to meeting aspirations

Identifying own strengths

Personal profiling

How my strengths/interests are changing

Use of Voc Ed – who wears a uniform/what do they do

Charities – looking at fundraising event

Council workforce

Qualification pathways linked to individual journeys/pathways

Year 10

What is the labour market

Different work roles

LMI       

Different types of roles within a job

Who would work in a place like this?

Career progression -Structures

How can I progress         

Employability skills

About me

Financial education

Careers involving finance

Visiting speakers from financial background

Working with others

School mentoring

Internal experience of work

What is a job fair?

Year 11

Transition, what it means to me

My profile statement

6th Form v College v alternative               

Career identity

Mock interviews

Interview techniques

The law on permitted working

Career pathways next steps

Work Experience – Skanska leading

Looking at being an apprentice

Colleges that I can go to

Meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks
The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market information

3. Addressing the needs of each pupil

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experiences of workplaces

7. Encounters with further and higher education

8. Personal guidance

 

Meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks

The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market information

3. Addressing the needs of each pupil

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experiences of workplaces

7. Encounters with further and higher education

8. Personal guidance