The Progressive Careers Programme at Kingshill School

Rationale:

At Cirencester Kingshill School, we all work to help fulfil our mission statement of ‘shaping greater futures’ for our students. Our rates of progression for students’ transition into further education, employment and training are consistently high, as evidenced in the annual Activity Survey reported by GCC.

Strategy:

This is achieved through a carefully planned careers programme which develops students’ understanding of future progression and employability skills alongside maximising their opportunities to engage with employers, employees and workplaces. Throughout all of this, they are supported through 1:1 meetings with a highly skilled full-time Careers Advisor who offers personal guidance that addresses the needs of each student.

Students are supported in learning from careers and labour market information and as an 11-16 school, we pride ourselves on offering guidance regarding post-16 progression that is completely impartial.

Within the curriculum, teachers promote the relevance of students’ learning and transferable skills, making clear and explicit links between the subject and future progression, including post-16 study and the world of work. Since March 2025, we have a centralised record where each Faculty logs curricular activities and events that support the links between the curriculum and careers (Gatsby 4).

We actively engage with our local Careers Hub and the Chamber of Commerce to develop our links with employers within the community and always strive to identify new opportunities to develop our students’ understanding of the world of work.

Students’ interactions with events that develop their understanding of future progression and careers are logged through Compass + which we use to support our compliance with the Gatsby Benchmarks during regular meetings with our Careers Hub Enterprise Coordinator. In this way, we use the data that is generated to help review our current provision and enhance our future planning and delivery.

Our Provision:

It is our aim to provide all students with meaningful experiences of the workplace and/or encounters with employers. These encounters and experiences take place as part of curriculum lessons and through a wide range of targeted events and opportunities.

Our careers programme is delivered throughout Years 7 to 11 through a wide range of events and opportunities, some of which are regular, and some of which are targeted as bespoke events designed to address the needs of a particular group. As an example, these include:

• All students in Year 7 through to Year 11 can request a one-to-one meeting with our qualified careers adviser, Mrs Hicks.
• Annual Careers Convention with representation from over 60 local and national companies as well as apprenticeship and education providers.  All students and parents from Year 8 to Year 11 are invited to this event.
• Regular talks from industry professionals – whole year group or subject specific invitations.
• During Year 9 Options Day, students research career opportunities across a range of labour markets as well as challenging stereotyping in careers.  This is followed by Year 9 Options Evening which is attended by post-16 education providers.
• School assemblies that focus on careers education issues and speakers are also invited from higher education providers. 
• Y7 ‘Meet the Staff’ event, where they are involved in interviewing non-teaching staff to learn more about their roles in school and their own career pathways.
• Employability Day for Year 10 students
• Work Experience placements and CV writing workshops for Year 11 students and extended opportunities in Year 11 where appropriate.
• Year 11 mock interview day – students are interviewed by professionals from local businesses.
• Annual ‘Taster Day’ at a Further Education provider to explore post-16 education opportunities.
• Post-16 Information Evening for Year 11 students and parents to help plan future steps.
• Careers education, provided in PSHE lessons at Key Stage 3 and in Respect lessons at Key Stage 4.
• Clear and explicit links between subject learning and careers with an active log of such activities being maintained since March 2025.
• At the beginning of Year 10 and Year 11, students complete their ‘Planning your Future’ feedback forms which we use to identify individual need and plan interventions.
• Follow up one-to-one meetings with career advisor Mrs Hicks.
• Our Provider Access Policy outlines our offer of welcoming in visiting employers and education providers:
• Provider Access Policy

 Provision Overview:

Year 7

Around the time of their induction day, we send a survey to be completed by students and parents which helps us to establish an early insight into their interest and future ambitions. In their first term at Kingshill, they engage in a ‘Meet the Staff’ event where, through a speed-dating format, they interview a wide range of non-teaching staff. This helps them to recognise the wide range of jobs involved in a school and begin developing their understanding of transferable skills and progression routes. They are introduced to some of the employment and qualification opportunities available to them in later life. They complete the Future Skills Questionnaire early in Year 7 to help inform us of the needs of the cohort.

Year 8

Year 8 students begin to look at the skills that will be valuable to them in employment. They look at their relationships and the network of people they have around to support them and extend their understanding of the range of employment opportunities available to them. They engage in careers education in PSHE sessions investigating different types of jobs alongside curriculum lessons linking subjects to career opportunities and STEM related assemblies highlighting career opportunities.

Year 9

Year 9 students choose their Key stage 4 courses during Year 9. This process runs throughout the spring term and includes Y10/11 students who present to them on their reflections of the process and who work with students in tutor times to offer informal advice. Our Careers Advisor is able to meet with both students and their parents to help inform their choices before they make their final choices. Our PSHE lessons make explicit links to careers and employability

Year 10

Year 10 begins the process of looking at post-16 options and preparing for work experience in Y11. Students complete college visits during the summer term and also engage in an employability day where they are supported in reflecting on their transferable skills and readiness for employment.

Year 11

This is a crucial year for students as they apply for post-16 places. In England, students are required to stay in some form of training or education until their 18th birthday. The options are:

• Full-time education e.g. at a school or college.
• An apprenticeship, T-levels or traineeship.
• Part-time education – as well as being employed, self-employed or volunteering for 20 hours a week or more

Our aim is to ensure that all students have appropriate places that will prepare them for their chosen careers so it is vital that they think carefully about their applications. Support is provided with writing applications, producing CVs and personal statements, interview techniques and selecting courses. Our students go onto a wide range of local providers and are well informed through our post-16 Information Evening, 1:1 meetings with our Careers Advisor, assemblies from local providers and the development of their CVs and preparation for our mock interviews in the spring term. 

Assessing the impact of our provision:

• Evaluation of our careers programme is designed to enable us to examine what we do, consider how we can improve it and provide stakeholders with a summary of this. At 3 points each term, we complete a review of our compliance against the Gatsby Benchmarks, in consultation with our Careers Hub Enterprise Coordinator.
• Our careers programme is regularly reviewed and we welcome feedback from students and parents to help improve the service. 
• This includes gathering information from the students about how they feel about their experiences in relation to the careers programme. All students complete the Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) at multiple points during their school career.
• Published destinations data also supports the evaluation of our careers programme over time.
• In between times, if you have comments or suggestions, please email our Careers Lead, Jeremy Morland, at jmorland@cirencesterkingshill.gloucs.sch.uk

Signposting towards further support:

Useful resources include Careers Companion and the ECLIPS careers education programmes. All stakeholders, including students can access additional information form this link on our website: Related Websites - Cirencester Kingshill School

Other Useful Links

Career's Impact Data 2023

Y11 Post 16 Evening 2024

Provider Access Policy