Transition & Careers Advice
Careers Programme Information 2021-2022
Careers overview
The Meadows School aims to equip all pupils with the skills needed for increased independence during their school years and into the future. The school acknowledges the importance of a careers education programme for pupils who may have the opportunity to go on to seek paid or voluntary work within their local community. The Meadows School values the importance of this in bringing increased independence for our pupils, and in learning valuable life and social skills to prepare for adulthood. The school is committed to providing meaningful employer encounters and work experience for pupils where appropriate for the individuals’ ages and needs.
Secondary School
The school’s career programme begins as pupils enter in year 7 and being looking at life-skills for the future. In years 10 and 11 this provision focuses on access to a variety of careers lessons, workplace visits and enterprise projects, which allow them to develop key skills for the world of work and teaches them about the type of work available in the local job market. These encounters are supplemented by additional classroom based sessions to learn about how to access the world of work and cover, amongst other topics, interviews, health and safety and CV writing.
Sixth Form
Once a pupil enters the Sixth Form at the Meadows they will belong to one of three pathways which determines the type of careers education they will receive; learning for life, learning for independence, or learning for employment. Students will have the opportunity to experience a work placement based on their personal interests and abilities. This may take place over the course of a week, or as a one day a week provision over a longer timeframe. It is supported by a workplace coach initially, with a view for as many pupils as possible to access the placement independently towards the end of their placement. They will also access careers lessons, enterprise projects, community volunteering placements and functional curriculums.
Record keeping and assessment of careers provision
- The school keeps a record of meaningful encounters over the pupils’ time at The Meadows using an online account they can access from home.
- Students will keep a diary and logbook when undertaking a work placement.
- Some students will also be awarded a qualification relating to employability, such as within their ASDAN modules, through The Prince’s Trust Achieve Award, or a stand-alone employability skills qualification.
- Destinations for students are supported with transition action plans, Annual Reviews and Parent feedback which is ongoing and formalised at Annual Reviews, Parents Evening and Careers interviews.
- Students are further supported with future destinations, careers aspirations and planning by Entrust, who work with the school and through the Careers Advisor to feedback and track students on their transition/careers pathways.
- All students in years 11 and 13 will have access to independent careers advise from our careers advisor, Clare Atkinson, and will be issued with an action plan following this interview.
The school’s designated Careers Lead is Lowri Thorburn, who is contactable via the school office.
Please select the relevant individual tabs for more information. A link to our full careers policy can be found here.
The published information here will be reviewed annually.
Pupils
During your time at The Meadows you will gain experience of the world of work and the type of jobs and pathways open to you when you leave school. You will start learning about work and jobs early on in your learning journey at school through PSHE and life-skills lessons which will teach you about the jobs you see people doing around you.
When you get to Key Stage 4 and above you will start to access careers lessons, which will give you more information on future pathways, and what options are available to you after year 11 and sixth form.
You will start visiting different work places so you can see the different types of jobs people do in different workplaces, looking at your ambitions, skills and qualities that can be used in the work place, and understanding how to apply for jobs. You understand what jobs there are in your local area (North Staffordshire) and be able to ask questions to people who do these different jobs day to day. Going to these different work places will give you a better understanding of what you might want, or not want, to do in the future.
Once you enter the sixth form you will be working towards your future and complete a lot of work around careers and pathways. During your time at school you may also be able to do a work experience placement which will be working in a job that interests you and is suited to the things you like to do. You might do this with a member of staff, members of your class, or completely on your own. You will also have volunteering projects to work on over your time in the functional department, and visit careers fairs and events to understand more about the world of work. To help your understanding of money and how this is connected to work you will also get the chance to start up your own mini business as part of an enterprise project, which means you will be responsible for trying to make money by selling a product or service to the public.
Staff
Staff should be introducing pupils to the world of work as early as possible with exposure to jobs we see being done around us, who helps us, and jobs we see friends and family doing in our day to day lives. Opportunities should be offered cross-curricularly to embed the importance of work in the world around us, and through role play and independent play. As pupils progress through the school this exposure should continue and be built on in line with the individuals’ abilities and interests. The careers leader at school is Lowri Thorburn. If you need more support on how to implement careers into your curriculum, please speak to her regarding this.
Parents
The careers programme at The Meadows School aims to equip your child for life after school by offering them information about the local job market and routes into paid and unpaid employment. Employment is an important aspect of life and gaining independence, and The Meadows School supports pupils to discover more about the role of work in peoples’ lives, the type of jobs we see being done in the world around us, and any opportunities we can offer to experience work places, different job roles and work experience. The school recognises the importance of both paid and voluntary work and offers a curriculum based around exposing pupils to jobs and workplaces where appropriate.
During their time at The Meadows your child may have opportunities to go on work place visits, undertake voluntary work in or around the school community, and arrange a work experience placement. If you would like more information on the careers provision offered at The Meadows, please contact the careers lead as outlined in the careers overview.
Employers
The Meadows School is always looking for local companies and employers who can offer work place visits and work experience placements to expose our pupils to the local job market and understand more about the type of work and jobs in different environments and settings.
Work place visits
Work place visits are about showing our young people the range and types of jobs available in the local community. They are an opportunity for our pupils to visit different work places such as factories, retail environments, office building and warehouses, and allow them to see the work done and the jobs offered in different settings. Work place visits are an invaluable way of pupils seeing sectors of employment they may not be aware of or know exist first-hand, enabling them to form opinions of careers paths they may be interested in pursuing in the future.
Work place visits are typically done on a weekday morning and take a few hours to complete. They usually involve an introduction to the work place and the services on offer, a tour of the workplace, and a question and answer session about the work involved in the setting.
Work experience placements
Work experience placements are usually led by the pupils’ interests and ambitions. They are tailor made packages which assess the pupils’ interests, needs and abilities and aim to match these with a suitable local employer for a work placement that may last over a week block or longer. These can be undertaken by individuals on a 1-2-1 basis, or in a small group based on the pupils’ needs and interests.
If you are a local employer who is disability friendly and could offer work place visits or work placements, please contact the school’s careers lead, Lowri Thorburn, on 01538 225050.