Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Policy

Contents

• 1.0 School Vision
• 2.0 Policy Scope
• 3.0 Objectives
• 4.0 School Responsibilities
• 5.0 Governor Responsibilities
• 6.0 Provider Access
• 7.0 Monitoring, Evaluation and Review
• Appendix 1: Summary of the Gatsby Benchmarks
• Appendix 2: Careers programme
• Appendix 3: Arrangements for Provider Access

Adopted by the Governing Body: December 2024

Compliance Check: December 2024

Review Period: 3 Years

Review Date: Autumn 2027

1. School Vision

   1. At The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy, our Careers Education, Information, Advice, and Guidance (CEIAG) programme plays a vital role in preparing our students for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of life. This programme aligns with our Academy Improvement Plan and is underpinned by our core TALA values: Teamwork, Aspirations, Leadership, and Accountability.

      We are committed to delivering the best opportunities for our students to achieve their career goals, ensuring they are equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.

      Our CEIAG programme provides a structured and engaging programme of careers education throughout each student’s school journey, with targeted support at key transition points. This is achieved through collaboration with parents, carers, employers, external CEIAG providers, and local organisations, ensuring every student has access to impartial information and expert advice.

   2. The governing body have therefore adopted this policy in order to provide a clear commitment to and framework for Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

2. Policy Scope

   1. This policy covers Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance given to students in Key Stages Three and Four.
   2. The policy also applies to Year 11 students after they finish their examinations in June of their final year and before they start at their next place of education, employment or training. Though not necessarily in school regularly and attending lessons in July and august of Year 11, the policy is still applicable.<
   3. The policy has been reviewed in line with the recently published DfE guidance document ‘Careers guidance and access for education and training providers – Statutory guidance for governing bodies, school leaders and school staff. (DfE, January 2018)
   4. This policy accepts the 8 Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s benchmarks as set out in the DfE guidance. They can be seen in Appendix 1of this policy
   5. This policy covers the legal duty of schools to ensure that a range of education and training providers can access pupils in Year 7 to Year 11 for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.
   6. This policy refers to events and opportunities in both Key Stages and in all years and these events will impact upon all students at the school.
   7. All members of staff at The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy are expected to be aware of this policy and the importance of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) in the education of students; CEIAG is not the sole responsibility of the Careers Advisor.
   8. It is important therefore that students leave school aware of themselves as individuals, aware of the opportunities available to them and able to make some decisions about their own life. They should be prepared for the transition from full time education to the world beyond. It is to these aspects of personal and social development that this policy will contribute.

3. Objectives:

   1. The objectives of the Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance policy are as follows:
      1. To ensure that all students at the school receive a stable careers programme
      2. To enable all students to learn from information provided by the career and labour market
      3. The CEIAG programme should be individual and address the needs of each student
      4. To link the curriculum learning to careers learning
      5. To provide students with a series of encounters with employers and employees
      6. To provide students with experiences of workplace(s)
      7. To ensure that students have a series of encounters with further and higher education
      8. To provide each student with the opportunity to receive personal guidance

4. School Responsibilities

   1. The school has a series of statutory duties:
      1. All registered pupils at the school must receive independent careers advice in Years 7 to 11
      2. This careers advice must be represented in an impartial manner, showing no bias towards a particular institution, education or work option
      3. This advice must cover a range of education or training options
      4. This guidance must be in the best interests of the pupil
      5. There must be an opportunity for education and training providers to access pupils in Year 7 – Year 11 in order to inform them about approved technical qualifications or apprenticeships. Cf. Section 6 of this policy
      6. The school must have a clear policy setting out the manner in which providers will be given access to pupils. Cf. Section 6 and Appendix 3. This policy and these arrangements must be published
   2. The school will base its careers provision around the Gatsby Benchmarks. A summary of these can be seen in Appendix 1, and they cross reference with the objectives of this policy cf. Section 3
   3. The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy believes that good CEIAG connects learning to the future. It motivates young people by giving them a clearer idea of the routes to jobs and careers that they will find engaging and rewarding. Good CEIAG widens pupils’ horizons, challenges stereotypes and raises aspirations. It provides pupils with the knowledge and skills necessary to make successful transitions to the next stage of their life. This supports social mobility by improving opportunities for all young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities.
   4. The school will continuously monitor its CEIAG offer and seek further improvement. This will be done by the personnel involved in the design and delivery of the programme as well as by external stakeholders who assess the work of the school (eg. School Improvement Partner or Ofsted)

5. Governor Responsibilities

   1. The governing body will ensure that the School has a clear policy on Careers Education, Information and Guidance (CEIAG) and that this is clearly communicated to all stakeholders. They should ensure that this policy is:
      1. based on the eight Gatsby Benchmarks
      2. meeting the school’s legal requirements
   2. The governing body will ensure that arrangements are in place to allow a range of educational and training providers to access pupils in Years 7 – 11.
   3. There will be a member of the governing body who takes a strategic interest in CEIAG and encourages employer engagement

6. Provider Access

   1. Introduction - This section of the policy sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to pupils at the school for the purpose of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.
   2. All pupils in years 8-11 are entitled:
      1. To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;
      2. To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships – through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events;
      3. To understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.
   3. For pupils of compulsory school age these encounters are mandatory and there will be a minimum of two encounters for pupils during the ‘first key phase’ (year 8 to 9) and two encounters for pupils during the ‘second key phase’ (year 10 to 11).
   4. The school will then work with providers in order to identify the most effective opportunity for them to share information about education and training opportunities
   5. Appendix 3 shows the way in which education and training providers should get in touch with the school in order to gain access to pupils and/or parents to inform them about further opportunities

7. Monitoring, Evaluation and Review

   1. The Headteacher will ensure that:
      1. the work of the Careers Advisor and CEIAG events are supported and monitored
      2. a member of the Senior Leadership Team has an overview of CEIAG work and reports regularly back to the team
   2. The effectiveness of this policy will be measured in a variety of ways:
      1. Feedback from stakeholders through mechanisms such as the student voice and surveys
      2. Feedback from external visitors to the school
      3. the number of students who are NEET in October having left the school in the previous summer. This figure can be compared to national figures as well as against the equivalent figure from similar schools both nationally and within the county.
   3. The governors of The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy will review this policy every three years.

Appendix 1: The Gatsby Benchmarks

1. A stable careers programme

Every school should have an embedded programme of careers education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents and carers, staff, governors, employers and other agencies.

• Every school should have a stable, structured careers programme that has the explicit backing of governors, the headteacher and the senior management team, and has an identified and appropriately trained careers leader responsible for it.
• The careers programme should be tailored to the needs of pupils, sequenced appropriately, underpinned by learning outcomes and linked to the whole-school development plan. It should also set out how parents and carers will be engaged throughout.
• The careers programme should be published on the school’s website and communicated in ways that enable pupils, parents and carers, staff and employers to access, and understand it.
• The programme should be regularly evaluated using feedback from pupils, parents and carers, teachers and other staff who support pupils, careers advisers and employers to increase its impact.

2. Learning from career and labour market information

All pupils, parents and carers, teachers and staff who support pupils should have access to good-quality, up-to-date information about future pathways, study options and labour market opportunities. Young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers may require different or additional information. All pupils will need the support of an informed adviser to make the best use of available information.

• During each Key Stage, all pupils should access and use information about careers, pathways and the labour market to inform their own decisions on study options or next steps.
• Parents and carers should be encouraged and supported to access and use information about careers, pathways and the labour market to inform their support for pupils in their care.

3. Addressing the needs of each student

Pupils have different careers guidance needs at different stages. Careers programmes should help pupils navigate their concerns about any barriers to career progression. In addition, opportunities should be tailored to the needs of each pupil, including any additional needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils, young people with SEND and those who are absent.

• A school’s careers programme should actively seek to challenge misconceptions and stereotypical thinking, showcase a diverse range of role models and raise aspirations.
• Schools should keep systematic records of the participation of pupils in all aspects of their careers programme, including the individual advice given to each pupil, and any subsequent agreed decisions.
• For pupils who change schools during the secondary phase, information about participation and the advice given previously should be integrated into a pupil’s records, where this information is made available. Records should begin to be kept from the first point of contact or from the point of transition.
• All pupils should have access to these records and use them ahead of any key transition points to support their next steps and career development.
• Schools should collect, maintain and use accurate data for each pupil on their aspirations, intended and immediate education, and training or employment destinations to inform personalised support.
• Schools should use sustained and longerterm destination data as part of their evaluation process and use alumni to support their careers programme

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

As part of the school’s programme of careers education, all teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. Subject teachers should highlight the progression routes for their subject and the relevance of the knowledge and skills developed in their subject for a wide range of career pathways.

• Every year, in every subject, every pupil should have opportunities to learn how the knowledge and skills developed in that subject helps people to gain entry to, and be more effective workers within, a wide range of careers.
• Careers should form part of the school’s ongoing staff development programme for teachers and all staff who support pupils.

5. Encounters with employers and employees

Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment opportunities, including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes, and could include pupils’ own part-time employment where it exists.

• Every year, from the age of 11, pupils should participate in at least one meaningful encounter with an employer.

6. Experiences of workplaces

Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of workplaces to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks.

• By the age of 16, every pupil should have had meaningful experiences of workplaces.

7. Encounters with further and higher education

All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them, including academic, technical and vocational routes. This should incorporate learning in schools, colleges, independent training providers (ITPs), universities and in the workplace.

• By the age of 16, every pupil should have had meaningful encounters with providers of the full range of learning opportunities, including sixth forms, colleges, universities and ITPs.

8. Personal guidance

Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance meetings with a careers adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These meetings should be available for all pupils whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be scheduled to meet their individual needs. The careers leader should work closely with the careers adviser, SEND coordinator (SENDCO) and other key staff to ensure personal guidance is effective and embedded in the careers programme

• Every pupil should have at least one personal guidance meeting with a careers adviser by the age of 16. Meetings should be scheduled in the careers programme to meet the needs of pupils.
• Information about personal guidance support and how to access it should be communicated to pupils and parents and carers, including through the school website.