Our vision is to empower students to make inspirational, independent, impartial decisions by imparting knowledge of all future options, within the confines of Career Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG). We aim to provide an effective careers programme that offers students advice, experience, and contact with employers so that they aspire, make good choices and understand what they need to do to reach and succeed in their chosen career. Our support is designed to prepare students for the next phase of education, training or employment, so that their transition is positive and successful.
Careers education is delivered both discretely within lessons and within our pastoral programmes, with students being asked to reflect on careers experiences on a regular basis. Working with business mentors, local employers, and our HE partners through the Kent and Medway Progression Forum, our young people have many opportunities to explore different pathways in order to be informed about options and onward destinations. The impact of our Careers Education has seen a strong and consistent number of young people secure their preferred onward pathways at the end of KS4 and KS5.
All students in Years 8 to 13 will have opportunities:
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;
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.
In line with updated legislation on Provider Access we will ensure that all students have:
Two encounters during the ‘first key phase’ (year 8 to Module 3 in year 9)
Two encounters during the ‘second key phase’ (year 10 to Module 3 in year 11)
Two encounters during the ‘third key phase’ (year 12 to Module 3 in year 13). Mandatory for the school to put on but optional for students to attend.
These provider encounters will be scheduled during the main school hours and the provider will be given a reasonable amount of time to, as a minimum:
share information about both the provider and the approved technical education qualification and apprenticeships that the provider offers
explain what career routes those options could lead to
provide insights into what it might be like to learn or train with that provider (including the opportunity to meet staff and students from the provider)
answer questions from students.
Careers Education
During their education pupils have access to careers education, information, advice and guidance. Each academy follows a structured careers programme which supports pupils to develop skills and attributes to prepare them for their future lives.
Pupils will:
Gain knowledge and understanding of career opportunities and future career pathways
Develop personal skills and qualities
Explore, develop and manage their own future career aspirations
First set up in 2009, we have been working in partnership with NCS since 2016. NCS is a fantastic opportunity for young people (aged 16-18) to engage, unite and feel empowered to make a positive contribution to their local communities and go ‘Beyond their Qualifications’. It is a great chance for young people to boost their CVs and employability. Through their programme, NCS seek to build your confidence so young people can go out there and achieve their dreams, no matter what their background is.
The NCS programme is made up of three stages: social cohesion, social mobility, and social engagement and can run in both the summer (Year 11 and 12) and autumn terms. Post 16 at Wilmington Academy students are able to access this opportunity free of charge as part of their induction programme. For further information, please click on this link.
My Careers Options at Wilmington Academy
My Careers Options is a free resource available to students and parents at Wilmington Academy.
My Careers Options is a series of questions which builds a unique personality and skills profile, based on students responses. A report can therefore be generated by students and parents which suggests the Top 10 careers that most appropriately fit that profile. The aim of this resource is to help young people achieve a more rewarding career and provide career conversation starters for parents and schools.
All students at Wilmington Academy have free access to this resource and can begin building their profile by using their academy login details. To find out more information about My Careers Options or begin your profile, please see the videos below.
Unifrog
Unifrog is the complete destinations platform, a one-stop-shop for whole-school careers guidance.
It’s impartial, user-friendly platform allows students to explore pathways throughout school, evidence key activities and competencies, and draft and collate feedback on Personal Statements and CVs to submit the strongest possible applications.
Unifrog at Wilmington Academy
All students in Years 7 – 13 will have access to this website and be given login details. Our aim is to provide students with outstanding careers guidance and tailored support when choosing their next step after school. Students in years 10, 11 and Post 16 will follow a tailored careers programme of study during form time, with years 7-9 following a programme of study during their morals and ethics lessons, using the Unifrog platform.
Unifrog is a whole-school platform for KS3, KS4 and KS5 which allows teachers to track their pupils’ progress and keep a record of their research and careers interactions. It makes it easy for teachers to collaborate with students on finding their best next step for them. They’re able to provide feedback on applications such as CVs or Personal Statements as well as writing their subject references.
The Careerometer widget provides access to a selection of headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects.
The data are organised by occupation: simply type in the title of the job you are interested in and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you.
There will be students who have considered university from a very young age. You may have chosen a career that you can only do if you have studied at university. Some students may look into university as one of the possible options following Post 16.
Students who successfully graduate will earn more in the main than a student who has chosen not to go to university.
There are in excess of 50,000 degrees so it is important that you choose the right degree.
Unable to decide what course to study? Have a go at…
To research into the different courses with links to the universities look at www.ucas.com. If you have decided on going to university but cannot decide on a course, try the Stamford test on the UCAS site.
You can also try the Course Finder questionnaire on www.ukcoursefinder.com. This is another free test which may help you choose your degree subject. There is additional information which may help you with your university decisions.
To discuss university courses in greater depth book a careers’ guidance interview with the Trust Careers Advisor. Email jas.mato@latrust.org.uk or contact your Head of Sixth Form or administration to request an appointment.
Useful websites
Having selected a number of universities you should now be considering visiting them. It is important to visit the universities as you will be spending three years or maybe four years in your chosen location. University is about Higher Education but it is also about you experiencing different environments and you must be happy with all of your five choices that will appear on your UCAS application form. Some universities like you to book their open days so it is important that you plan for your future.
Open Days – check out the dates of university open days
BestCourse4Me – offers students the opportunity to link different degree courses and salaries that they may achieve in the future
Push – an alternative guide to researching universities
Studying Abroad
Following the rise in tuition fees a number of students are considering combining a gap year with their studies by studying abroad. Certain European countries teach their university courses in English so it is a real possibility to spend three years in a foreign country while gaining a degree. University fees for some countries are considerably cheaper than studying in the United Kingdom.
Students can choose to study at a British university and spend a year abroad. Look into the different programmes of study on www.ucas.com. These foreign courses are four year degree programmes with the third year in a foreign university.
Useful websites
Fulbright – for students looking to apply to an American university
Study in Europe – for students interested in European universities
Students who have chosen some of the competitive courses like Medicine, Veterinary, Law and Dentistry may choose a gap year as they may feel that they require additional work experience would enhance their personal statement. It is sometimes hard to complete all of the relevant work experience when you require a number of A grades at A level to be considered for a course.
Students who have aspirations of Cambridge and Oxford will have their grades before making an application if they have chosen to take a year out. Cambridge and Oxford look for the top academic students and as it is competitive students with guaranteed results may be selected over and above students without their results.
Students choose a gap year if they would like to gain some work experience. This may be to help finance their time at university or they may have chosen to gain some valuable experience in an industry which will ultimately help when they have graduated.
Students could choose a gap year to travel, either for a short period or maybe for the whole year giving themselves the opportunity to experience different cultures and meet new people.
Talented sport students may choose a year out to compete before committing themselves to full time study.
You have some important decisions to make in terms of what will occur after Year 11. It is important to make the right decisions as the next three years of your education could shape your whole career path and working life.
Due to the raising of the participation age you will have to stay in education / training until your 18th birthday. Information can be found here.
Some things you may want to consider when looking at the options and possible future decisions:
What are your strengths and areas for improvement?
What do you enjoy?
What are your expected grades?
Are these grades realistic?
Do you have a career idea in mind?
Are you considering university in the future?
It helps to start planning and researching into some of your ideas at the end of Year 10 so you are prepared to make these decisions at the early stage of Year 11. Talk with your parents / carers, teacher, tutors and other students.
Always consider a back-up plan. You have the opportunity of applying to more than one Post 16 scheme of learning. For example: if applying for an apprenticeship, you should apply to college / school as a back up. If you are applying for a Level 3 course either at College or in Sixth Form, looking into the Level 2 courses if you are at risk of not achieving the entry grades.
Starting My Own Research
When considering different careers it is critical to find out further information as some careers may require specific qualifications which you have not considered.
Here are some of the important questions to consider when deciding on different career paths.
Do I need to go to university?
What subjects do I require?
What other entry routes are there to my chosen career?
Is it a growth area or is it a declining industry?
To research into different careers please find below links to a number of relevant websites:
National Careers Service – job profiles, entry requirements, training routes, salary and labour market information.
First Careers – Using this website you can get behind the scenes of some of the UK’s most interesting jobs and find what’s right for you. Search through over 150 job profiles and discover career opportunities, inspiration and advice.
icould– offers you the opportunity of starting with a simple psychometric test to establish more about your personality and will suggest some different career areas which you can research into. You will be able to watch numerous videos on different career areas. This website also includes the required entry routes, salaries and local labour market information.
UCAS– some careers will specify that you will need a university degree. To research into different degree areas look at the University College Admission Services website. You will have the opportunity to establish which subjects you may require for certain degrees but also some of the grade boundaries that different universities are looking for.
How we measure and assess our careers provision
At Wilmington Academy we believe that it is important to assess the impact of our careers programme on our students in order to make sure that it is the best that it can be. We do this in a number of ways.
Recording Year 11 and Year 13 Destinations
First, we identify and analyse the destinations of our Year 11 and 13 students taking into account their prior attainment. For Year 11 students, we record pathways including:
Level 2 courses
Level 2 apprenticeships
Level 3 courses
Level 3 apprenticeships
We conduct analysis of sector based outcomes to ensure our advice is relevant to the jobs available and to ensure that we promote equality of opportunity. We also record the proportion of students going onto Level 3 courses or apprenticeships.
For Year 13 students we identify and analyse whether students:
go onto higher education and the range of courses being studied and the universities/colleges being attended
go onto an apprenticeship and whether it is at Intermediate, Advanced or Higher (degree) level
Data stored made anonymous and graphical representations of the data can be found on our website to indicate typical destinations our students go on to.
Student feedback
We are very keen to get the views of students on the Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) they received during their five or seven years at Example school. We ask a random sample of students to complete an on-line survey to find out their views on individual elements of the CEIAG programme and their overall assessment of the programme. In addition, we meet representative groups of students to find out more about what they liked and disliked about the careers programme and ways they believe it can be improved.
Parental feedback
We also value the views of parents on how well we have helped them to support their child or children make rational informed career decisions. This is done using an online survey and parents are invited to take part in forum discussions at least three times throughout the academic year.
Business feedback
We work closely with the Careers & Enterprise Company and our Enterprise Coordinator to ensure that our provision provides excellent opportunities for students to prepare for the next stage of their chosen career pathway. We also ask business volunteers to provide feedback on each individual careers events that they take part in, such as careers talks, a speed networking session or mock interviews.
Entitlements and Timescales
During your time at Wilmington Academy you are entitled to:
A careers’ education programme: lessons, workshops, external speakers, work-related learning or taster days.
Regular feedback on your academic progress and how to improve so that you can achieve your goals.
Support to develop better self-awareness so that you can recognise your own strengths, areas for development, skills, motivations, and abilities.
Assistance when accessing and understanding information on open days, jobs, colleges, universities and apprenticeships.
Independent information, advice and guidance on your future career when you leave Leigh Academies Trust.
An understanding of the opportunities that are available and how to access them, so you can make positive decisions for your future.
Access to Independent and Impartial Guidance so that you can make choices and plans that are best for you.
A Careers Action Plan, so you can plan for your future with our help.
Access to comprehensive, user-friendly web-based information to help you when making decisions.
Support with letters of application, filling in forms etc.
Help with choices in years 9, 11, and 13.
Who can help? There are a variety of avenues in the academy where students can obtain careers advice, including Form Tutors and mentors, College Teams including Student Services Managers, Teachers and other staff, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and SEND team, Careers Adviser and The Librarian
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