Careers Overview:
Atherton High School is committed to providing outstanding and unbiased Careers and Enterprise Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) for all pupils. The world of work and employment is changing rapidly and we aim to prepare pupils for their adult lives, to develop skills and qualities they need to flourish in future employment.
Our school values, Respect, Responsibility and Ambition underpin our Personal Development Education and careers programme: we encourage pupils to consider a broad and ambitious range of careers, to enable individuals to make informed choices to succeed in the careers to which they aspire.
The careers programme is designed to meet the needs of all pupils. It is inclusive and personalised to ensure progression through activities that are appropriate to the pupils stage of career learning, planning and development.
Learning Goals: To enable all pupils to:
- Secure the skills, knowledge, and attitude to make well-informed, realistic decisions.
- Plan their future choices and understand how to access CEIAG.
- Understand how educational achievements are linked to maximising their potential future choices.
- Access external sources of information on the full range of education and training options.
- Access information from training and education providers, to inform pupils of technical education and apprenticeships; to ensure every pupil is well informed about their future options.
- Make an informed choice about an academic option for those aspiring to go to university; and a technical route, including T levels or an apprenticeship, for those seeking to progress to the highest levels of skilled employment or technical education and training at Levels 4, 5 and 6.
As a pupil at Atherton High School you will benefit rom Careers Advice, Information and Guidance from when you join us in Y7 all the way through to the end of Y11 when you will move on into further education or training.
You will be supported in a variety of ways including:
- Ambitions week
- “Who works here?” school wide workplace initiative
- Bespoke assemblies
- Apprenticeship talks
- One to One support from our career advice team
- Visits to College
- External speakers
- Employer Engagement
- Curriculum links to careers
- In-house work experience days
- Visits to higher education providers
- College drop-in sessions
- Visits from professionals during lesson time
- Displays around the school and in department areas
| Year | PSHE | AHS Personal Development Awards | Calendared Events |
| 7 | •Linking skills to possible careers
The importance of teamwork and communication |
|
•Ambitions Week
•Introduction to Xello •National Careers Week Activities Industry Week – Global Citizen Award |
| 8 | •Employment and equality in the workplace
•Setting goals and working towards them |
|
•Ambitions Week
• Exploring Xello •National Careers Week Activities •Industry Day – Exploring Xello |
| 9 | •GCSE options and post-16 pathways
•Making informed choices •Building employability skills |
|
•Ambitions Week
•Matchmaker Xello •National Careers Week Activities •Industry Day – Business Planning |
| 10 | •Strengths and weaknesses
•Developing your weaknesses into strengths •Challenges in the workplace – preparing yourself for difficulty |
|
•Ambitions Week
•Xello – Next steps •National Careers Week Activities •Industry Day – Post-16 provider experience and apprenticeship workshop |
| 11 | •Setting targets
•Writing a CV, personal statements and interview techniques |
|
•Ambitions Week
•Xello – Post-16 applications •National Careers Week Activities •College application guidance •One to one careers meeting |
Summary of our Careers Programme
Useful Links:
https://www.sportsleaders.org/qualifications-programmes/personal-skills-programme
The Gatsby Benchmarks
We use the Gatsby Benchmarks to assess the impact of our careers programme and to review the CEIAG provision. The Gatsby Benchmarks are:
- 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 work places
- Encounters with Further and Higher Education
- Personal Guidance
Our Gatsby Scores are listed below.
| Assessment | BM1 | BM2 | BM3 | BM4 | BM5 | BM6 | BM7 | BM8 |
| March 2020 | 88% | 100% | 81% | 62% | 25% | 25% | 95% | 0% |
| July 2022 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 95% | 100% |
| July 2023 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 75% | 100% |
| July 2024 | 100% | 100% | 90% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Measuring Impact
The school will assess the impact of the careers programme by completing an annual student survey and analysing destinations data for 3 years after leaving as per Gatsby recommendations. In addition, the views of students and parents will be surveyed after key events such as GCSE Workshops, Form Time Careers Support, and Industry Days.
Destinations
| Year | Remaining in full time Work, Education & Training |
| 2020 Leavers | 95.8 % (LEA) |
| 2021 Leavers | 96.6 % (LEA) |
| 2022 Leavers | 96.4% (LEA) |
| 2024 Leavers | 86% (LEA) |
