How we Assess and Measure the Impact of the Careers Programme

At Smithdon High School our careers programme is based on the foundation of the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks. These include:

·         A stable careers programme.

·         Learning from career and labour market information.

·         Addressing the needs of each pupil.

·         Linking curriculum learning to careers.

·         Encounters with employers and employees.

·         Experiences of workplaces.

·         Encounters with further and higher education.

The effectiveness of our provision is reviewed termly by the Careers and Enterprise Company using the Compass Plus Tool. This tool is used by schools and colleges in England to support the analysis and evaluation of careers activity against the eight benchmarks of best practice. This ensures the development of our Careers strategy is ongoing.  

This careers programme is evaluated by key stakeholders every year to assess its efficacy and areas for improvement. Students, employers and teachers provide feedback on their participation in activities via questionnaires throughout the year.

Smithdon High School collects Destinations data annually which shows the institutions and level of qualification that all students have progressed to. To an extent, this reflects the effectiveness of the Careers Programme in informing students about the full range of post-16 options available (although destinations are most strongly influenced by students’ academic outcomes).