Our Careers Programme

Aims

At Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form, our Careers Programme helps learners, through careers and work-related activities and employer interventions, to be able to:

• Understand themselves and develop their capabilities in relation to future learning and employment opportunities;

• Learn about, and experience, careers and the world of work;

• Develop an understanding of the range of opportunities available at 14-, 16- and 18-years-old;

• Raise student’s self-esteem and encourage them to have high aspirations that allow them to achieve personal and economic well-being;

• Support students in making informed and realistic career decisions, developing their career management and employability skills;

• Help students manage transitions through education and into work.

Rationale

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) helps prepare students for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult working life and, as such, makes a vital contribution to the school’s aims of working closely with employers, Further and Higher Education providers and the local community to support students in making the most realistic choices about their next steps and future employability.

Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form uses relevant frameworks to ensure that careers provision takes account of statutory guidance and meets the needs of the students. In particular, the following guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted, is adhered to: 

DfE (2025): 'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' (Link)

The Ofsted Inspection Framework: Inspection Framework 

The Government Careers strategy and its adoption of the Gatsby Career Benchmarks, calls on secondary schools to have a curriculum that has/is:

1. A stable careers programme;

2. Learning from career and labour market information;

3. Addressing the needs of each student;

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers;

5. Encounters with employers and employees;

6. Experience of workplaces;

7. Encounters with Further and Higher Education;

8. Personal guidance.

For more information about the Gatsby Benchmarks and the website: Gatsby – Good Career Guidance