Careers

Careers Overview

INTENT (What are we trying to achieve?)

Our Work-Related & Careers curriculum is designed to:

Empower students with the skills, knowledge, experiences, and accreditation they need to succeed after leaving Pathfield.
Help students and their families make informed decisions about their future.
Develop students’ voice, self-advocacy, decision-making, and transition skills.
Experience a range of careers and work experience opportunities in a supported way.

IMPLEMENTATION (How will we achieve this?)

Pathfield’s Careers & Work-Related curriculum is flexible and tailored to each student’s abilities, needs, and goals. The table below highlights the activities students can access as they move through the school.

At the start of school, students learn about work related activities by taking on classroom responsibilities and gaining confidence by exploring the school environment and seeing the different jobs that adults do. As students move into KS2 & KS3 there are opportunities to take on further responsibilities and see the wider community through class trips and external visitors. Students also learn about money and spending through enterprise projects in KS2 and above. The Pathfield Careers Month is a two-year rolling programme where students learn about ‘People who help us’ and ‘Local Jobs’. This could involve visits to employers or emergency services along with those coming into school.

From Year 10 onwards, each student has a Destination Pathway document, which informs the creation of a personalised learning plan with appropriate accreditation to prepare them for their desired outcomes when they leave Pathfield School, including education, work, and living skills. Please see the links below for a student following our pre-formal route and another student on a more formal curriculum.

NEW DESTINATION PATHWAY 2023 – Pre-formal Route

NEW DESTINATION PATHWAY 2023 – Formal Route

The young person’s voice is central to this process. Students in the 6^th Form will participate in annual mock interviews with support from North Devon Council HR and the Careers and Enterprise Company. Whilst those in KS4 will have mock interviews with the careers team in school who are more familiar to them.

Pathfield is creative in its delivery of work-related learning. From Year 10, each student has at least one work-related target linked to their EHCP. These targets are embedded across the curriculum and reviewed termly. Students in Year 10 can take part in either an internal or external work experience placement based on their individual interests and needs. In the 6th Form, students who are able to, have the opportunity to access individual work experience placements within the community. Others access internal placements within the school or group placements with outside providers, such as the National Trust or Barnstaple in Bloom. In addition, 6th Form students run two community cafes based within the Barnstaple Library. Our school ‘Champions for Change’ created a short film so that students could share their experience of working at the ‘Library Café’ and snack trolley in school.

Pathfield regards enterprise education as a fundamental part of work-related learning.

Students are involved in making items for a pop-up shop on site, as well as running stalls in the local Pannier Market and most recently Dunelm Mill in Barnstaple.

To help students and their families make informed choices about their future, Pathfield provides support from Careers Southwest and helps students transition to future providers. Students regularly visit Petroc as part of their supported travel training program. Parents and carers are invited to an annual transition event at the school. At the Transition Event, parents and young people can meet and talk with a range of external providers including further education providers, supported living, respite facilities and financial advice for the future. There will also be opportunities to listen to parents whose children have left Pathfield and gain an insight into the process from their point of view. At Pathfield Careers Education not only focusses on our students gaining a future as an employee but also being an employer in their local community.

The careers team meet regularly with the Devon Careers Hub to ensure that the school is meeting the Gatsby benchmarks. The Gatsby Benchmarks were developed on behalf of the Gatsby Foundation by Sir John Holman. They define what world class careers provision in education looks like and provide a clear framework for organising the careers provision at Pathfield School.

The 8 Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance

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 workplaces
Encounters with further and higher education
Personal guidance

Gatsby Benchmarks | The Careers and Enterprise Company

Please click on the link below to see our most recent results.

Results | Compass (careersandenterprise.co.uk)

IMPACT (Measuring engagement, progress, and achievement)

Successful transition to the 6th Form or other FE providers: Students will have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed decisions about their future and to successfully transition to their next stage of education or training.
Wide range of opportunities: Students have had access to a wide range of opportunities to explore their interests and develop their skills, so that they are best placed to make informed decisions about their future.
Employability skills: Students have developed the skills needed to be employable, whether that is voluntarily or paid, or to have a choice in their leisure time as an employer.
Value of work and commitments: Students understand the value of having work and commitments in their lives, and the benefits that this can bring.
Contribution to society: Students will know that they have a valued and important part to play in the world in which they live, and they will be motivated to contribute to society in a way which best suits their interests and skills.
Support and advice: Students have had access to the right support and advice to choose their next steps.

Work Related Learning Team:

Anthony May– Deputy Head (Curriculum)

Karen Goodwill – 6^th Form Department Lead, Careers, Accreditation

Julian Credgington – Pathways Careers Lead

Sarah Locke– CSW Advisor for Pathfield School

Beth Priscott – Pathfield Careers Governor