Careers Department

The aims of the Careers Department are to:

• Provide careers education as part of the PSHE programme.
• Provide impartial careers information and guidance.
• Help to encourage pupils to fulfil their potential.
• Encourage pupils to investigate a broad range of opportunities and career options and make informed choices appropriate to their personalities, interests and aptitudes.

Our objectives are to:

• Complete the Morrisby Profile and interview process for Year 10/11 pupils.
• Provide work experience to Sixth Form pupils whose parents elect to undertake it.
• Ensure Lower Sixth pupils attend the Careers Fair and talks.
• Arrange a series of career specific twilight workshops targeting jobs that are not directly linked to syllabus subjects.
• Arrange a series of careers-related lunchtime talks during the year.

There are two part-time members of the careers team and a further eight teachers deliver the Careers Education programme as part of the PSHE curriculum. This begins in Year 10 and the programme up to Year 13 includes the nature of work, possible career interests, Morrisby profiling and follow-up interviews, help with the preparation of CVs, job applications and targeted careers events. Sixth Form pupils are encouraged and supported to undertake work experience.

Resources

The Careers Department is situated on the first floor of the Kelvin Building with a computer resources area and seating for 12. The careers office adjoins the open plan area, a space that is regularly used for informal meetings with pupils and careers seminars. The Careers Department purchases a number of on-line licences that give access to careers profiling and advice.

Morrisby Careers Profiling

Parents are invited to enrol their children in the Morrisby Profile and interview process at half-term in the Summer Term of Year 10, with at least 99% take-up since introduction. The online assessment is conducted en masse in three PSHE lessons and the results are immediately available in the form of a personalised report and web site, to which pupils have life-time access.

At the beginning of the Autumn Term in Year 11, the pupils are interviewed by an external Morrisby careers adviser using the report generated from the profiling sessions. The findings of the assessment are discussed and pupils agree a research programme to investigate potential careers. Pupils are encouraged to make continued use of the resources that come as part of the Morrisby Online service, to investigate different careers options and understand the educational pathways that are involved. The profile is augmented in the early part of the Lower Sixth to enable more detailed use in the preparation for life after School.

Careers Forum

A Careers Forum is organised and takes place on the first Saturday in March each year. The Lower Sixth are expected to attend and other years are encouraged to visit the exhibition which showcases a range of potential careers opportunities and include companies offering apprenticeships and gap year experiences as well as traditional professions, jobs and institutions.

Careers Workshops And Talks

A series of career specific skills workshops designed to cover jobs that are not directly linked to syllabus subjects are organised. These twilight workshops, covering professions including medicine (surgical skills and medical ethics), law and accountancy, are organised in partnership with professional institutions and local businesses. A keynote speaker talks about routes into the profession and professional development which is followed by practical workshop sessions where pupils have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of skills required for the profession. There are networking opportunities during these events as well as a plenary Q&A. A wider invitation is extended to Year 11-13 pupils from all Cambridgeshire secondary schools and colleges.

In addition, a programme of careers-related lunchtime talks is organised at The Leys, aimed at small groups of Year 11 to Upper Sixth pupils. Speakers are sought from a range of jobs with a sound understanding of the structure and progression in their chosen area, as well as the ability to enthuse and inspire their audience with their own experiences and anecdotes.