60 Minute Mentor Sessions – Southchurch Benchmark 2 & 4 (Throughout Academic Year)
Eight students in Year 8 have been selected to participate in the mentoring programme, which is to be held over a 7 month span and has been commission by Southend Borough Council. Volunteers from the local business community are mentoring our students by facilitating two group sessions and two one-to-one sessions for our students.
The programme aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge required help them reach their full potential by discussing career choices, GCSE option choices and their impact, providing local labour market information and helping students create and tailor their own CV – Year 8
Connexions Meetings – Southchurch Benchmark 3 (Throughout Academic Year)
All students receive a slot with our Connexions advisor (Miss Scott) to either discuss their next steps, intended destination, skills and personality or goals and ambitions, depending on their tear group an individual needs. We have created a sub-strategy for ‘Connexions’ to harmoniously run alongside our whole school Careers strategy – All years
‘Action Jackson’ Assembly – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (October 2016)
Motivational speaker extraordinaire ‘Action Jackson’ the founder of Fix Up Seminars, gave a fast paced and inspirational assembly on goal setting and strategies to succeed. All students were fully engaged and were talking about the assembly for days after, it was enjoyable for all (staff and students). The session was then followed up in tutor time when students were asked to write 3 of their own personal goals to help them focus and realise the importance of these final, but integral, years left in school – Year 10 & 11 Students
Career Ready Ambassador – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (October 2016)
Lanre Mebude, an intern from Freshfields and Microsoft UK HQ, gave a real life account into the life of a student and what the world Post 16 looked like to him. He shared his struggles and accomplishments through his time as a student and encouraged our students to persevere with their ambitions – Year 8 & 9
SEC College Taster Days – Southchurch Benchmark 2 (Nov 2016 – Jan 2017)
Student visits to various open days at South Essex College (Southend and Thurrock campuses) were facilitated by our careers team. Students had the chance to participate in a day at college, on a course of their choice, to get a feel of college life and help them to make a better informed Post 16 decision/application – Year 11 Students
Plotr Sessions – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (December 2016)
Students have been given sessions in a computer room to create a profile on Plotr, a specifically designed careers programme, which matches their interests and skills to potential career options – Year 11
‘Year In Review’ Sheet – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (January 2017)
All students have the opportunity to review the previous year and set goals for the next, in a bid to raise aspirations and allow students to focus on their goals. These sheets are affixed in their planners and are easily accessible for students, to remind themselves of their achievements and their aspirations, but also to parents and teachers too – All Years
Motivational Assembly – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (February 2017)
Richard Murrell (Lead Director for BBC News) presented an uplifting and motivational assembly to our Year 10 students. Our guest speaker gave a talk to our students about the exciting life at the BBC and how he reached his position. He spoke of the careers available in the media industry and showed our students some behind the scenes footage at the BBC. This was an interactive presentation, one student even came out to the front of the assembly to read from an ‘autocue’! Richard is very passionate about wanting to see young people reach their potential and he took the time to express how important determination and perseverance are in helping to achieve our goals – Year 10
Connexions Apprenticeship Assembly – Southchurch Benchmark 2, 4 & 5 (March 2017)
A representative from Connexions gave an assembly to our students detailing exactly what an apprenticeship is, the vast spectrum of companies (local and national) that offer apprenticeships, the qualifications that can be earned and how to access the government run apprenticeship ‘careers board’. This is to help equip our students with the most up to date knowledge in training, whilst in education. Apprenticeships are becoming highly sought after and have changed and improved significantly. There are also now ‘high end’ apprenticeships, as well a whole range of options, in which young people have the opportunity to study and train in fields, in which gaining qualifications for were previously only thought of as being obtainable via university, such law and accountancy degrees. Employers, and the government, are becoming increasingly invested in apprenticeship schemes as students are gaining valuable work experience in addition to the necessary qualifications. – Year 10
National Apprenticeship Show – Southchurch Benchmark 2, 4 & 5 (March 2017)
Students were given to opportunity to attend a trip to Sandown and meet over 70 + businesses showcasing their own apprenticeship schemes. Students were extremely positive about the trip to the National Apprenticeship Show and engaged fully in the abundance of activities and exercises being offered there. This trip was a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn more about what an apprenticeship is and what the benefits in becoming an apprentice are, in addition to understanding why a business would be so invested in a potential candidate. They were also able to learn more about what apprenticeship opportunities that are available to them locally and nationally – Year 10.
One of our Year 10 students was quoted as saying:
‘’After the trip, I was more certain on what I wanted to do and I bought back a lot of information to use in the future. P.s- The freebies were great!”
Post 16 Application Sessions – Southchurch Benchmark 2 & 3 (March 2017)
Students who have not yet completed any form of Post 16 application have been given the opportunity to apply online in small group sessions supported by our Connexions representative – Year 11
Career Ready Workshops – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (March 2017)
Three volunteers from the local business community ran interactive workshops which gave our students the opportunity to explore work and employability skills from an employer’s perspective – Year 10
60 Minute Mentor Presentation – Southchurch Benchmark 4 (March 2017)
Southend Borough Council representatives Ben Woolfe and Natalie Scarsbrook gave a talk to our Year 10 Business Studies students about their career journeys so far. Natalie studied filming at university and now runs her own successful business – Blatella Films. Ben is a budding entrepreneur who has built and also runs his own successful business; a game search software company. Students advised they found these sessions interesting and insightful into the world of business – Year 10
Amazing Apprenticeships Assembly – Southchurch Benchmark 2, 4 & 5 (May 2017)
An informative assembly designed to educate our students on the world of apprenticeships and the careers available to them through this pathway – Year 10 & 11
In the Careers pipeline… Mock Interview sessions for KS4, Skills to Succeed workshops for all years, University talks/visits.