Our Curriculum
We are proud of our careers provision which meets the Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance but we believe we go further; that our entire school curriculum focuses on the six learning areas described in the CDI’s Career Development Framework.
Our curriculum considers that all education is careers education, and we deliver this across our school. We achieve this through an extensive personal development & character education offer in The FSGBacc, incorporating our new FSGAmbassadors scheme, opportunities through GoLD journals & personal statements for regular self-reflection culminating in The Ivy House Award post 16 and a future focussed academic curriculum, going far ‘beyond the specifications’ to look at the big issues of our time
How is the quality of our CEIAG evaluated?
CEIAG education at the Folkestone School for Girls is regularly evaluated with feedback from students, parents, school/college staff and employers as part of the evaluation process.
Students are given the opportunity to reflect on their career-related knowledge and skills through the Future Skills Questionnaire. This annual tool is used to inform continuous improvement and impact evaluation.
Parents and other Stakeholders are regularly given opportunities to feedback on the CEIAG curriculim through survey and questionnaire.
The Careers and Enterprise Company evaluate the quality of CEIAG every term in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks. These eight benchmarks are recommended for successful and impactful CEIAG provision.
Provider Access Policy at Folkestone School for Girls
Introduction
This policy statement sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to the school for the purpose of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997 and reflects the latest Statutory guidance for schools and guidance for further education colleges and sixth form colleges, published in January 2023.
Quality Assurance
CEIAG at the Folkestone School for Girls is evaluated externally each term in cooperation with an Enterprise Coordinator from the Careers Enterprise Company. As part of this evaluation, the Careers Leader and the Enterprise Coordinator will evaluate the effectiveness of CEIAG provision against the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, highlighting effective provision, and identifying opportunities for improvement. CEIAG provision is evaluated annually in conjunction with the SLT member in charge of CEIAG provision and the elected Board of Trustees member with responsibility for CEIAG.
Last evaluation: April 2024
Next evaluation: July 2024
Pupil entitlement
All pupils in years 8 to 13 are entitled:
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.
For pupils of compulsory school age these encounters are mandatory and there will be a minimum of two encounters for pupils during the ‘first key phase’ (year 8 to 9) and two encounters for pupils during the ‘second key phase’ (year 10 to 11). For pupils in the ‘third key phase’ (year 12 to 13), particularly those that have not yet decided on their next steps, two more provider encounters are available during this period, which are optional for pupils 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 pupils from the provider)
answer questions from pupils.
Meaningful provider encounters
One encounter is defined as one meeting/session between pupils and one provider. We are committed to providing meaningful encounters to all pupils using the Making it meaningful checklist. Meaningful online engagement is also an option, and we are open to providers that are able to provide live online engagement with our pupils.
Previous providers In previous terms/years we have invited providers from the local area to speak to our pupils, including Eurotunnel, Kent Police, SwissRE, Border Force, DFDS Shipping and SAGA, as well as national companies such as PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Management of provider access requests Procedure
A provider wishing to request access should contact Mr. Michael Kennedy, Careers Leader, via the school. Please use the dedicated Careers inbox at FSGCareers@folkestonegirls.kent.sch.uk
Premises and facilities
The school will make the main hall, classrooms or private meeting rooms available for discussions between the provider and pupils, as appropriate to the activity. The school will also make AV and other specialist equipment available to support provider presentations. This will all be discussed and agreed upon in advance of the visit with the Careers Leader or a member of their team.
Meaningful online engagement is also an option and we are open to providers that are able to provide live online engagement with our pupils.
Providers are welcome to leave a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature at the Careers Resource Centre, located in our Sixth Form.
Complaints
Any complaints with regards to providing access can be raised following the school complaints procedure or directly with The Careers & Enterprise Company via provideraccess@careersandenterprise.co.uk
Safeguarding
Our Safeguarding and Child Protection outlines the school’s procedure for checking the identity and suitability of visitors and is available from the School Website for scrutiny. Education and training providers will be expected to adhere to this policy.