Careers Education and Guidance

Careers Programme Information

At Saxon Hill Academy, we are committed to supporting all our pupils to successfully transition from school which for most will be when they have completed Year 14. We also usually provide a highly informative and personalised annual Transition Event, with representation from local and regional colleges, workplace and social care providers. 

A prospectus has been compiled (see link below), of local and other suitable post-19 providers in order to better inform young people, parents and carers about what is on offer once they leave Saxon Hill. This may support you to make an informed choice about what would be the best, appropriate option for your child post Saxon Hill.

Who to Contact

If you would like to discuss careers, post-19 provisions or next steps for your child please contact one of our 'Careers Leaders' via the school reception on 01543 414892.

        

Careers Programme 

Our Teachers plan a bespoke, exciting and innovative programme of careers for our learners, ensuring students have the opportunities to experience, participate and learn about the opportunities available to them when they leave school. The next review for our careers programme will be July 2024.

The Gatsby Benchmarks underpin all of our careers learning at Saxon Hill Academy

Finding their Motivation

From the first September they join Saxon Hill, young people are involved in discussions about their individual aspirations for the future and for after they leave school. These are updated with the young person and documented annually during our person-centred planning sessions and are referred to as their 'North Star'. This provides teachers with a young person's guiding light and we do all we can to provide opportunities and teach them to prepare for following this path. Each year young people will revise this North Star and as they mature, they gain greater experience and their aspirations become more refined and realisable. Sometimes it is not the career itself that excites them, but some aspect of it that becomes realistically accessible to them. By experiencing these career related opportunities, their aspirations refine into realistic career expectations.

The Careers Curriculum

In each of the age-phase departments children learn about the jobs that people do in school and in the wider community and gain a wealth of experience to help them decide which path they wish to choose when they leave school. As part of our LEADERS Curriculum an annual  topic anchor is 'A Day in the Life of...' where children will learn more about specific jobs and roles within the community. All young people need to know they can contribute to their community in some way whether it be in paid employment or by a regular voluntary placement in their locale.

Adventurers Department Students KS3/4

Adventurers students experience jobs through enterprise activities within school such as running the weekly Tuck Shop, organising cake sales, making and selling crafts. Many students are involved in work for many charities e.g. Blankets for Babies appeal, Dun Roamin dog rehoming charity, Water Aid and they join Rotakids and Rotaract to actively support the local community and raise money for a whole range of local charities.

The work based learning opportunities are wide ranging and teachers select the most appropriate access points to these vocations for each of their pupils to devise a bespoke programme of careers education.

All progress in these areas is recorded on their Evidence for Learning profile at Rainbow or Jewels level depending on the level of their achievement.

Towards Independence Students KS4/5

Towards Independence students build on this excellent foundation and in addition, compile evidence files to contribute towards their final accreditation in these work related skills.

Study Programmes designed and delivered to be a relevant, pathways specific, life skills and work-related learning for every student, all abilities. 

Bespoke programmes are designed for specific needs e.g. 1 student too ill to attend school has a programme delivered at home, another student of Level 2 ability is working on units at Level 3 in Mentoring to support her chosen career path.

Every student is accruing progressively higher-level accreditation towards Certificate and Diploma qualifications at pre-Entry Level through to Level 1, dependent upon ability. Qualifications include the following suites of relevant units: AQA Unit Award Scheme, AIM Skills for Living and Work, AQA Certificates in Maths, English and Science as well as some chosen Level 1 Units with Pearson.

Pupils regularly access our work experience opportunities, including a Community Café, a Foodbank Collection Centre, a local Garden Centre and the Lichfield Craft Barn shop and Community Farm. All are used to provide excellent accredited, work based learning opportunities for all Towards Independence students. For more information on our work experience opportunities, please click here. The skill set able to be developed at each work experience opportunity has been analysed to create a comprehensive bank of Task Analyses for each venue, ensuring the learning experiences and progress at each one are maximised.

Pupils also regularly visit post-19 provisions and colleges, access the community and local facilities as well as undertake travel training opportunities.

Measuring Impact

School Progress

We use the SEND Gatsby benchmarks for guidance and to measure the progress students make in their careers education. We have evaluated our own progress on these benchmarks and set ourselves subsequent targets. To see our areas of strength and for development, click here to see our progress on the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Pupils' progress and achievements during these sessions are tracked on Evidence for Learning using Task Analysis that have been created for each opportunity. Please click here to see an example Task Analysis for Travel Training. 

View a sample of how we track individual student engagement with work experience opportunities as part of our PfA Preparing for Adulthood programme.

Help Develop our Range of Career Opportunities

We are always looking for employers who could offer us work experience opportunities, so if you have any links please get in touch. Opportunities to establish other employment links would always be welcomed.

Our younger pupils also need to learn about different jobs and the skills needed to do them. If you have a job that you think that would be of interest to us, we challenge you to create us a 'Virtual Assembly' where you can share this information with us, it would be really beneficial. 

Parents, students and teachers all have access to our Careers Information. Parents can discuss careers with their child’s class teacher at any time.