Careers Education at Greenacre
Greenacre School views the careers curriculum as a means to break down barriers and make careers education relevant and accessible for all learners. The SEND Code of Practice states that ‘with high aspirations, and the right support, the vast majority of children and young people can go on to achieve successful long-term outcomes in adult life’. Furthermore, it adds that education providers and their partners should work together to help children and young people to realise their ambitions in relation to:
Higher education and/or employment – including exploring different employment options
Independent living - enabling people to have choice and control over their lives and the support they receive, their accommodation and living arrangements, including supported living
Participating in society – including having friends and supportive relationships, and participating in, and contributing to, the local community
Being as healthy as possible in adult life
Careers Education is embedded within our bespoke Independence and Futures Curriculum and delivered to all pupils from Early Years through to Key Stage 5. A Careers programme of study has been developed based on The Career Development Institute’s ‘Career Development Framework’ (2021) with an emphasis on Six Learning Areas
Grow throughout life
Explore possibilities
Manage Career
Create Opportunities
Balance life and work
See the big picture
There are also a number of careers events throughout the year including assemblies, enterprise fairs and the ‘Greenacre Futures’ event where a range of employers, further education providers and external agencies attend school to support Greenacre students and their families.
The Greenacre WorkSmart programme supports Key Stage 5 students to apply for paid work opportunities within Greenacre, for example animal care or working at the parents coffee shop.
Greenacre also manages The Makery, an offsite Cafe in the local community, where pupils can gain work experience and employability skills in a real life setting with a number of students being employed here. Furthermore, students from Key Stage 4 onwards will gain independent living skills at Victoria Road, a house within the local community.
Qualifications
In addition to the Careers Programme of Study a number of students will access a range of relevant qualifications
Key Stage 4: some students will complete an ASDAN PSD (Personal & Social Development) course, Entry 1 to Level 1, which includes the unit ‘Preparation for Work’.
Key Stage 5: some students will complete the NOCN qualification in ‘Using Employability Skills’, Entry 1 to Level 1.
The Targeted Information Advice & Guidance Service (TIAG) attend annual reviews from Year 9 onwards to support students and families and give impartial careers guidance, encouraging, supporting and enabling young people to have high goals and reach their potential.
Key Stage 4 and 5 students are participating in the SEND Regional Enterprise Programme in collaboration with the Young Enterprise Partnership and The South Yorkshire Careers Hub. This seven month programme is designed to aid young people’s transition from education into independent living and employment; the programme develops confidence and life skills through working as a team to set up and run an enterprise.
Gatsby Benchmarks & Baker Clause
Greenacre measures progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks via the termly completion of the Compass+ evaluation and this information is shared with the Local Authority. The Gatsby Benchmarks were a recommendation from the Good Career Guidance report by John Holman and have been widely adopted nationally following the DfE’s Careers Strategy in 2017 which recommended all schools work towards the benchmarks. The 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
Experience of workplaces
Encounters with further and higher education
Personal guidance
Greenacre is fully compliant with the Baker Clause and all students from Year 7 onwards have at least one employer/workplace encounter and one further education/apprenticeship encounter each year. Greenacre continues to work with local employers to ensure that work experience and encounters are appropriate and meaningful. Careers Leaders are working with Angela Dakin, IKIC champion and Enterprise Coordinator, and the Local Authority to lead change and innovation in the area of careers provision for pupils with SEND.
We are always looking for local businesses that want to inspire and educate our students about the world of work and expand our careers programme. If you think you could help us to deliver talks/presentations, activities, workplace visits or work experience, please contact our Careers Leaders.
Our Provider Access Policy Statement can be found on the Policies and Procedures page. The Careers Leaders at Greenacre are Beth O’Hara and David Fallis