This website is designed to give parents information about how we support your child in their future life choices, provide information on our Work Experience procedures and useful links for you to look at yourself. We really hope that this is useful for you and will help you support your child when they're making their big decisions for after Dame Allan's Schools. 

If you have any questions please get in touch with us on our world of work email address - wow@dameallans.co.uk 

Follow us on Twitter @CareersatDAS      Connect with us on LinkedIn

Mrs Whitehouse - Head of Careers

Mrs Rodrigues - Sixth Form  and Careers Administrator 

There are many insights offered into education and employability opportunities at Dame Allan’s Schools. Involvement at every age group from play level to A Level means that our students understand the benefits of learning and are very well prepared for university life and the world of work after Dame Allan’s:

Juniors - Careers Ideas with JED First

Yr 7&8 - Careers Explorers with JED / PSHE Living in the Wider World

Yr 9 - Careers Aspirations with Morrisby

Yr 10 - Careers Investigations, Morrisby Psychometric Assessment & Careers Profile

Yr 11  - Career Mapping with Morrisby & Work Experience

Yr 12 & 13 Future Ready with Morrisby, Unifrog, UCAS & FutureLearn, Work Experience, Community Service and Volunteering

Students are informed of the many exciting opportunities on offer and how they should colour their lives with as many rich experiences as possible. The following initiatives summarise the Higher Education and Careers Education, Information, Advice, Guidance (CEIAG) and opportunities at Dame Allan’s Schools – 

• Hello Future! - Find Your Future #FutureReady monthly themed focus in Form Time , with special focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• National Careers Week annual events including Day in the Life of parent talks at DAJS & Futures Festival events at Seniors School

• Biennial Futures Fair for Years 7-13 

• Years 7-9 self-awareness and career workshops 

• Years 9  Workshop - GCSE choices and join Morrisby Aspirations , build Learner Passports  (students record their  Co-curricular Activities and Goals)

• Life in the Middle School - Year 9 Making GCSE Choices information evening

• Years 10/11 Morrisby Psychometric Assessments, Interests Questionnaire, Guidance Report and follow up individual Careers Guidance Consultations with Mrs Whitehouse

• Year 10 & 11 Dame Allan’s Future Ready & Employability Workshops- applying for Work Experience (real and/or virtual)

• Life in the Sixth Form - Year 11 Making A Level Choices information evening and Year 11 ALevel Taster Day

• Year 10-11 Self Understanding - skills and strengths. Employability Skills- Researching career paths, CV and letter of application writing. Find Your Future Form Time activities linked with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Year 11 Apply for work experience. Recommended summer after GCSEs. Mock interview in spring term. Preparation for Work Experience- Health & Safety / Rights Responsibility & Confidentiality / Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Year 12-13 Recruitment training- applications, interviews, assessment centres, LinkedIn. UCAS application training and registration . HE & Careers insights. Work Experience, Community Service and Volunteering opportunities

• Year 11-13 Personal Development Profile celebrating Co-Curricular, Employability Skills, Enterprise, Active Citizenship

• Year 11-13 Work Experience, Work Shadowing, Community Service eg at well established local links and the Inspire Programme (Junior/Senior School links)

• Year 12/13 Unifrog Degree/Degree Apprenticeships Matching and Research Tool

• Year 12/13 UCAS Training- registration, personal statement writing and preparation for interviews

• Life-long access to Morrisby - Results, Research and Careers Guidance

• Allanians - Return and Inspire events and Mentoring

Dame Allan’s Schools employs a professionally qualified careers guidance practitioner, Head of Careers - Mrs Whitehouse and a Sixth Form, Careers Administrator. 

Students will have access to a range of careers support delivered through a variety of ways such as interactive workshops, drama productions, careers fairs, employer talks, guest speakers, business mentoring and trips to colleges and universities.  All students will have a one to one careers consultation with Head of Careers. Mrs Whitehouse. Students can request a guidance appointment at any time throughout their academic life and students will be offered extra support at key transition points such as Year 9 options, Year 11 and Sixth Form.  

For further information, please see Dame Allan's Schools' CEIAG Provision Juniors to Seniors  (DAS students' sign in) or contact:

Head of Careers, Mrs Whitehouse on bj.whitehouse@dameallans.co.uk 

Mrs Whitehouse is a Registered Careers Development Professional with the CDI (Careers Development Institute) and as such abides by their code of ethics ensuring that the guidance she gives is impartial. She joined Dame Allan's in 1996 teaching English and Drama and started her role as Head of Careers in 2000.

Dame Allan’s Schools has been recognised for its excellent work in careers guidance. Mrs Whitehouse was shortlisted as one of the top 3 CDI’s Careers Educators of the Year in 2017 and has delivered presentations on best practice careers guidance at the National Westminster Forum in London and at regional conferences. Dame Allan’s piloted the Gatsby Good Career Guidance Benchmarks with other northeast schools and we achieve great success in all 8 Benchmarks. Mrs Whitehouse has also written articles for professional careers guidance publications eg The Careers Development Institute's- CareerMatters and Morrisby.

In 2018, the government released a new careers strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges. It put an increased focus on using the Gatsby Benchmarks as a framework for best practice around which we can build our own careers provision. The eight clear benchmarks are as follow:

1.       A stable careers programme

2.       Learning from career and labour market information

3.       Addressing the needs of each pupil

4.       Linking curriculum learning to careers

5.       Encounters with employers and employees

6.       Experiences of workplaces

7.       Encounters with further and higher education

8.       Personal guidance

Please click on the following link for further information about the Gatsby benchmarks.

Further advice, use the main tools we buy into for support (student sign in required):

• Jobs explorer Database (Demo mode) (JED)

• Morrisby 

• Unifrog

• InvestIN Education Free Parent Events (Code DAMEALLANS10 gives 10% off student events for Dame Allan's students)

• National Careers Service  National support- free government service for all to use / phone 0800 100 900

Careers Journey Campaign - calling all alumni and businesses!

If you are an Allanian Alumnus or a business and would like to support our school with our careers provision, please complete the following forms and we be in touch.

Allanian Alumni - Memories and Moving On Form

Companies / Parents - Career Journey

If you are a college, university or FE provider please also get in contact to see how you can support the students.

We are always looking to further develop our CEIAG programme and engage with more employers and parents/carers.  Here are some ways in which you could get involved:

• Return and Inspire!

• Talk in assembly (08:35-08:55)

• Run a workshop about your career journey / job

• Talk to students taking a subject that links to your career

• Mock interview

• Offer work placements / insights

• Offer a Virtual tour of your workplace

• Set a project/competition linked with your career

• Take students on a tour of your workplace.

Add your company to our continually updated  Virtual Futures Fair

Research -

For further advice, use the main tools we buy into for support (student sign in required):

• My Great Future (student log in required)- Dame Allan's students' HE and Careers website

• Jobs explorer Database (JED- student sign in on school account)

• Morrisby  (Parents can sign in if students add parent email addresses)

• Unifrog

Parental Support -

Volunteers at Dame Allan's Juniors and Seniors, please complete this form - Careers Volunteers 

National support- free government service for all to use-  

National Careers Service or phone 0800 100 900

Success at School- Career Advice Article

Success at School: Advice for parents- Sign up to the Success at School newsletter 

See our guidance and procedures here.

Our world or work/work experience email- wow@dameallans.co.uk  

Work Experience is compulsory in Year 11 (end of June or holidays) 

Work Experience is highly recommended  in the holidays in Year 12.  

Parents or carers who have any queries, or would like further information about the work experience programme, please contact our Sixth Form and Careers Administrator, Mrs Rodrigues  wow@dameallans.co.uk 

“Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks”. 

Gatsby Good Careers Benchmark 6, Careers strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents December 2017

“By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have. By the age of 18, every pupil should have had one further such experience, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.” 

Gatsby Good Careers Benchmark 6, Careers guidance and access for education and training providers Statutory Guidance for governing bodies, school leaders and school staff January 2018