We have a strong and stable careers program that takes students from Year 7 to Year 13. This includes a wide array of opportunities for students to engage with employers, have one to one careers interviews and a whole range of fairs within school looking at careers. We also aim to embed our careers information into the curriculum and faculty areas are working to do this.

When students join us in year 7 they will start their careers journey with us.  This will commence with their transition from primary to secondary school and how they feel that transition went and the skills they have learnt so far.  They will then set up their Unifrog accounts which is a careers platform designed to showcase the huge variety of careers available.

Through our PSHE programme year 8 look at their personal strengths for employability, adaptability skills, the importance of communication and problem solving.  Alongside these topics  Year 8 will continue to access Unifrog to research the pathways that are of interest and have contact with employers.

In year 9 students focus on their transferable skills and how they can utilise these with different professions. They look at the jobs, how to use local labour market information to identify growth areas of employment.  Unifrog assists with this, breaking down each career path giving an overview of the required qualifications, routes in, expected salaries and progression.  This assists the students in making their choices of GCSE’s at the end of year 9.  We have assemblies with employers showcasing jobs and opportunities they offer getting students to think about their future pathways.

Year 10 sees students continuing to investigate and identify careers of interest and also learning about how to present themselves for employment.  They learn about the structure of a CV, compile their own along with a covering letter in preparation for the mock interview day.  Each year 10 sits a mock interview with an external professional to practise the techniques they have been learning about.  They are building the skills required for future engagement with employers.

Year 11 students continue to build their CV’s and look at the different pathways available to them at 16+.  Students hear from a variety of local providers of further education including local colleges.  Students are offered a careers interview with our qualified Futures leader to assist reviewing the options open to them.   

If you would like any information about our careers program please contact:

Mrs Helen Smith (Futures Leader) – hsmith@sackvilleschool.org.uk or 01342410140

Gatsby Benchmarks and Policies

The Gatsby Benchmarks are the criteria set out by the Gatsby Foundation and is how the careers programme within schools is measured.  At Sackville we are working to meet all the Gatsby Benchmarks to provide our students with a good understanding of  their next steps, equipping them with knowledge of all the options available so that they can make informed choices.  
 

The 8 Gatsby Benchmarks 

The complete Gatsby Report is here.

Provider Access Policy

This policy statement sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to 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.

Pupil entitlement

• All pupils in years 8 to 13 are entitled:

• to find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point.

• 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.

• to understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

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 10-11).  For pupils in the ‘third key phase’ (year 12 – 13), particularly those that have not yet decided on their next steps, there are two more provider encounters available during this period, which are optional for pupils to attend.

In previous terms/years we have invited the following providers from the local area to speak to our pupils:

Crawley College

East Surrey College

Plumpton College

Numerous Universities

Apprenticeship providers

Sussex Apprenticeship Bootcamp

Gatwick Airport

SRE Rail

Work Experience

Year 12 are released for a week's work experience at the end of the summer term.  Students are encouraged to find their own placements in industries that are of interest but do have contacts with local businesses that have welcomed students in the past.  Work experience helps students to get an insight into their chosen profession and can help confirm this is a pathway that they want to pursue. 

In the past students have secured placements in many different fields from schools, care homes, the NHS, RAF, Police, a zoo, many local businesses to the Houses of Parliament.  The vast majority are in this country but through family connections some have traveled to France, Germany and Israel. 

Students find this experience extremely beneficial, opening their eyes to what is available, using the experience to write personal statements for university or as added experience on their CV’s.  Whichever route students are planning on taking, work experience is a valuable experience and one that we encourage students to fully engage with.