Information

At The Billericay School, we aim to help every student develop high aspirations towards their working life. We will challenge stereotypes and consider a broad and ambitious range of career options and aim to empower and enable all students to make informed choices about their career options.

We do this by use of the Gatsby Benchmarks (see Appendix 1 in our Careers Policy)

Careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) will be delivered to all students through a variety of methods including:

  • Specific Careers Education units within the Personal Development curriculum
  • Collapsed timetable events and days, including an Interview Skills Programme for Year 11 students
  • Assemblies, academic monitoring and learning conversations with form tutors
  • The opportunity for a face-to-face interview with a qualified independent and impartial careers professional
  • Interviews with senior members of staff at key transition points (ages 14, 16, 18)
  • The embedding of the Key Competencies of problem solving, working with others, discussion, research and presentation in the wider curriculum
  • The provision and upkeep of a staffed and resourced Careers library within the RBLC
  • Access to events such as the Careers Convention, Year 9 Options events, Higher Education Fair, Apprenticeship Roadshow
  • Continued and developing links with employers and employer organisations including current STEM projects for smaller, specific cohorts
  • The continued embedding of ‘every teacher is a teacher of careers’ and the provision of relevant continued professional development for members of staff

 

Monitoring, evaluation and review

  • CEIAG is currently led by Mr P Cass, assisted by Mrs K Mapp.
  • The school holds the Recognition of Quality Assurance Award, a nationally recognised award mapped against industry standards.  This ensures a rigorous cyclical programme of self-evaluation and review. The school has been successfully re-accredited in every 3 year cycle and previous inspection reports have mentioned careers provision favourably
  • Employers and exhibitors provide evaluation forms and student views are obtained by survey after Year 9 options events and Year 11 Interview Skills Programme.  CEIAG is also an area commented on in the Kirkland Rowell survey undertaken periodically by the school.
  • CEIAG policy and practice is compliant with all other school policies, including and especially its commitment to equal opportunities
  • Destination data is collected as both intended destinations and actual sustained destinations and this is used to both provide accountability and to review provision

Resources for students include:

  • access to a staffed careers library within the RBLC
  • access to a qualified careers professional (Mrs Mapp) and an independent service currently provided by Southend Connexions