Employability & Careers
Schools Careers Leader and Advisor:
Louise Needham is the school’s named Careers Leader and her email contact is:
emma.mcmanus@newbridgegroup.org
jennifer.waft@newbridgegroup.org
The Government’s careers strategy aims to make sure that all young people in secondary education get a programme of advice and guidance that is stable, structured and delivered by individuals with the right skills and experience.
At Key stage 3 & 4 careers forms part of the school curriculum and is taught as a discrete lesson to all pupils, through their EHCP and RSE lessons.
Pupils at Key Stage 4 have opportunities for tailored work experience placements and vocational opportunities build on our effective careers programme.
Addressing the needs of each student, students have different amounts of career guidance at different stages of their time with us.
Opportunities for advice and support are tailored to the needs of each student and our careers programme promotes and supports equality and diversity considerations throughout.
Careers Programme
Young people today face a complex and rapidly changing landscape when preparing for their future careers. At Heywood Academy, our ambition is to ensure that every student becomes self‑confident, skilled, and fully career‑ready.
We deliver this through a comprehensive, progressive programme of carefully planned activities that support students as they grow, understand themselves, and make informed decisions about the pathways that are right for them beyond school. Our aim is for every young person to reach their aspirational destination and feel equipped to thrive in adulthood.
Our careers programme runs from Year 7 through to Year 13 and is built around the nationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks.
Read more about our Careers Programme here:Careers-Programme
Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers
Posters linking curriculum learning with careers are displayed in school. All subject teachers and staff are keen to highlight the relevance of their subjects for future career paths
Real-life career videos and ideas for your future
Option choices: pick the future you want
Alumni & Destination Champions
With high expectations for all our children and young people, aspirational destinations are identified early to support children and young people achieve their full potential and reach their desired destinations, such as:
• Being Independent
• Working with support in my community
• Volunteering in my community
• Playing a part in my community
• Taking control
• Taking part
• Being involved
Here are a few Destinations Champions videos and alumni stories from our sister school, Hollinwood Academy:
Encounters with Employers and Employees
At Heywood Academy we invite employers and employees into school to deliver workshops and talks to our students. We also organised a range of trips for our students into a variety of workplaces and careers events to meet employers and employees.
Enterprise activities are also embedded into our KS3 curriculum and our Vocational curriculum in KS4 and KS5.
Past students are invited to talk to our current students about moving on, careers choices and life experiences since leaving Heywood Academy.
Take a look at what Heywood Academy has been involved with:Encounters-with-Employers-and-Employees
Encounters with Further and Higher Education
Our careers programme is designed to ensure that all students understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
Take a look at what Heywood Academy has been involved with:Encounters-with-Further-and-Higher-Education/
Information on Apprenticeships
What is an apprenticeship?
Matt Leigh from ASK explains some of the features of an apprenticeship, click here to access the video.
Virtual Apprenticeship Week: There are a series of recorded sessions and events from the event held last year:
https://gmacs.co.uk/news/virtual-apprenticeship-week-12th-21st-august
Introducing T-Levels
T Levels are an exciting new offer for students, offering a valuable alternative to A Levels and supporting progression to either an apprenticeship or full-time university.
In September 2020 the first three T Levels were launched; by September 2021, a further 10 subjects will be available and more to follow the year after. Video explanation for parents: Minister Keegan Explaining T Levels for Parents. TLevels website: https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/ Useful links for researching careers and labour market information
iCould – aims to help you to make the most of your potential by showing how others have used theirs, take the ‘Buzz’ personality profile quiz:
Amazing Apprenticeships –useful information to help you understand the opportunities available within the apprenticeship scheme:
https://amazingapprenticeships.com/
GMACS (Greater Manchester Apprenticeship and Careers Service) – a ‘one-stop’ shop for anything careers related for young people in Greater Manchester:
Apprenticeship website – register, search and apply for Apprenticeships via this website:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
National Careers Service website – useful information and a wealth of labour market information if you click on ‘explore careers’:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
Not going to Uni:
https://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/
Careermag:
https://careermap.co.uk/careermag/
How to write a CV:
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/getting-job/building-cv
How to write a cover letter:
https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/cover-letters
Start Profile: investigate careers, watch videos and get great advice, find out about employers and work experience opportunities in your area
Go Compare:
https://www.gocompare.com/life-insurance/uk-riskiest-jobs-report/
LMI for All: information about careers and skills for particular careers:
https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/widget/
The intended audience for this document is staff. All students have an equal entitlement to high quality Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance at Heywood Academy that helps to prepare them for choices and transitions affecting their future education, training and employment.
The government has created a framework of guidelines that as a school we should look to implement. These are known as the Gatsby Benchmarks, a framework of 8 guidelines that define the best careers provision in schools and colleges. The Careers Strategy is built around them, and they make a great place to start for planning or improving your programme.
The eight Gatsby Benchmarks are:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each student
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
Click here for more information:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/schools-colleges/understand-gatsby-benchmarks
For our local employers:
As an employer, what is your average employee age? How stable is your workforce over the next 10-15 years? Do you find it difficult to recruit qualified staff? How do you recruit apprentices? If any on these questions are on your lips as an employer, then you need our help as much as we need yours.
Working together with schools is now much more than simply meeting corporate social responsibilities, you need our children to develop the skills required to solve your industry challenges. Heywood Academy are keen to develop links with employers and would welcome any enquiries. If you feel you may be able to support our careers programme please use the email below. Any employers who have worked with our school and have any feedback about our careers programme, please email:
For our families:
Heywood Academy welcome feedback from students and their families. If any students, parents or carers have any feedback about our careers programmes please email:
For our teachers:
Please look at all the useful information about Careers on the school website, including the Aims & Objectives, Careers Curriculum (which has a link to the Careers Programme), CDI Careers Framework, Gatsby Benchmarks, Responsibilities, Useful Careers Resources & Websites and Work Related Learning sections.
The Useful Careers Resources & Websites section may be of particular interest in helping you to link careers to your subject area, as Careers is a whole school responsibility. There are links to the Careers software packages that school purchases each year. To access many short videos linking your subject to different careers you may also find the listed icould website useful, as this allows you to search by subject area and view the available career options:
More information on how Heywood Academy prepares students for Preparation for Adulthood and Employment can be found here:
https://heywoodacademy.org/Employment/
We welcome regular feedback.
Labour Market Informations
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