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Careers

Careers 7 11

Mission Statement:

Giving students the knowledge and skills required to recognise, seek and seize opportunities to enable them to succeed, now and throughout their lives.

At Coundon Court, our careers programme is geared around one word – Opportunity. Opportunities will be available to students throughout their lives, some they will encounter and others they will need to pursue. We equip students to be able to capitalise on these opportunities throughout their lives.

Intent:

Our careers provision aims to empower all Coundon Court students to make confident, impartial, and informed choices about their future career options. Regardless of background, our approach focuses on providing purpose, direction, and opportunities to all our students. Enabling them to flourish as individuals, become highly employable, and achieve personal and economic wellbeing throughout their lives in modern Britain. Each year group has a specific focus for their careers programme:

  • Year 7 – Discover professions
  • Year 8 – Experience higher education
  • Year 9 – Investigate pathways
  • Year 10 – Develop competitive edge
  • Year 11 – Realise potential
  • Year 12 – Discover, Experience and Investigate Post-18 options
  • Year 13 – Realise potential

Implementation:

Students will follow a stable careers programme built into their tutor time. Each half term, students will participate in 5 30-minute sessions dedicated to careers and character education. These programmes will explore themes including:

  • Character education – development of character traits (leadership, organisation, resilience, initiative, communication) and their place in the world of work
  • Options and Transition – exploring GCSE options (Year 9), sixth form, college and apprentice applications (Year 11), UCAS and apprenticeship applications (Year 13)
  • Pathways - understanding the range of pathways including further education (FE), higher education (HE) and apprenticeships
  • Job sectors and LMI – identifying popular, growing and changing job sectors and how to use Labour Market Information (LMI)
  • Types of employment – examining and reflecting on the pros and cons of part-time, full-time, flexi-hours, jobs for young adults and training in the workplace
  • World of Work – understanding the difference between minimum wage and living wage, unions, and protected characteristics
  • Careers and Professions – exploring a range of careers and apprenticeships across job sectors e.g., the services, forces etc.
  • Volunteering – reflecting on the value of service for others, the opportunities available in school and beyond, and how this can be beneficial in applications

Super-learning days, trips and visiting speakers also form part of our wider provision to ensure students have encounters with a range of employers during their careers journey in Coundon. All students will have the opportunity to visit a university, attend careers fair, experience guest speakers from a variety of background, one-to-one careers interviews and have a mock interview. Bespoke support is also available for students who are applying for challenging courses and destinations, such as Oxbridge, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, through our various partnerships such as the Elephant Group and In2MedSchool.

Impact: Coundon Court measures and assesses the impact of its careers programme through student surveys, destination data, Unifrog Charts, and the COMPASS+ tool each term to reflect on progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks (see page 3). We provide parents the opportunity to feedback

on the programme and obtain employer feedback after all employer engagement activities.

Gatsby Benchmark

  1. A stable careers programme
  2. Learning from careers and labour market information
  3. Addressing the needs of each student
  4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
  5. Encounters with employers and employees
  6. Experiences of workplaces
  7. Encounters with further and higher education
  8. Personal guidance

Contact

Are you an employer or an alumni of Coundon Court?

If you would like to visit our school and share your experiences of your company/careers, please get in touch via this link:

Information for Students

We are committed to helping you prepare for the world of work.

Careers Tutor Programme

Digital Resources

Unifrog is an online platform which can help you compare every university course, every apprenticeship and Further Education courses. There will be designated time in the year to access Unifrog in school, but we encourage you to also access this platform at home to help explore your career options.

To login in to Unifrog for the first time:

  1. Click on ‘Forgot Password’
  2. Enter your school email address.
  3. Check your emails.  If you cannot see an email from Unifrog, check you junk email.
  4. Set a new password.  [Online Safety reminder: Do not give your password to anyone].
  5. Go back to Unifrog website and log in with your email address and new password.

 

To log into Unifrog, go to: Sign In - Unifrog and enter your username and password to access your personal profile.

Useful links

Apprenticeships

Year 12/ 13 students

Student Apprenticeship Guide

General Careers Research -

Inclusive Employers

 

Oxbridge Application

For any of you who are considering applying to Oxford or Cambridge, it is important to begin your preparation early in your careers journey. In Year 12, work will need to be well underway regarding your personal statements, academic portfolio and finding suitable references. 

UCAS applications to Oxbridge (Oxford or Cambridge) is earlier than other universities, with an October deadline, and a thorough application process. For a snapshot of the Oxbridge application process, see below.

Oxbridge Application Process

To find out more about the early entry process, click here: The Student Room – Uni Guide

Pathways

  • Download

    Future You
    a handbook to help Coventry young people (14-18) to take their best next step, published by Coventry Careers Hub.

Skills Tests and Early Entry

Subject Specific Research

T-Levels

University Preparation

Work Experience (WEX)

Our Year 12s have an opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge of the world of work when they complete work experience in the Autumn Term.  Work experience is important because it allows you to find out more about yourself.  Discover your strengths, values, motivations and interests.  You can build your network of contacts and gain an insight into how an organisation works.   Spending a week in a workplace gives you extra examples to discuss in future interviews, or to add to your CV,

Springpod - https://www.springpod.com/

Information for Parents/Carers

Your child will receive a comprehensive programme of careers lessons through the tutor programme. Alongside this programme, they will have several opportunities to meet professionals and employers from a wide scope of job sectors, talk to apprentices, develop employability skills and experience mock interviews.

A significant aspect of your child’s careers programme is learning about different pathways available at post-16 and beyond. To find out more about different pathways, explore the links below:

Apprenticeships

  • Amazing Apprenticeships – For a selection of useful downloads and ‘quick read’ guides, find out more about apprenticeships in the Parent Zone.  Click here for link: Parent Zone.
  • Amazing Apprenticeships Magazine – Try their revamped ‘Choices’ magazines which provides parents and carers with up-to-date information and guidance to understanding apprenticeships and technical education. Download here: Amazing Apprenticeship Choices Magazine
  • Amazing Apprenticeship Podcast – If you are on the go and would prefer to listen to hear the perspective of fellow parents and carers, you could subscribe to Amazing Apprenticeships podcast: The Parent Perspective Podcast.

What are T-Levels?

University and University Finance

Quick Downloads

Subject Specific Apprenticeships - provided by The National Apprenticeship Service 8 facts you need to know about apprenticeships, brought to you by Amazing Apprenticeships.

 

Information for Staff

The Coundon Careers curriculum is an integral aspect of our Personal Development programme.

We believe it is the responsibility of all staff to ensure the success of the Coundon Careers curriculum.

Staff Careers Roles

Information for Tutors

Tutors are essential to high-quality delivery of the stable careers curriculum (GB1) through tutor time. There are five Careers sessions every half term.

Careers Tutor Programme

During the Careers QA process, tutees may be asked to articulate:

  • Do you know which careers you are considering in the future?
  • Do you know which subjects/ grades you might need for this career?
  • Do you know the range of pathways/ most suitable pathway into your chosen career?
  • What do you learn in your Careers lessons? Are these lessons valuable for young people your age?  Can you explain why?

 

Important Dates for Careers Diary

Coundon’s Careers Fair

  • 3rd week in October – Refer to whole school calendar for specific date.

National Apprenticeship Week – 10th – 14th February 2025

To find information to raise the profile of apprenticeships linked to your subject visit:

National Careers Week – 1st week in March [3rd -8th March 2025]

To find out more information to raise the profile of careers in your subject visit:

 

Former Students/Alumni

We are always keen to welcome our former students back ‘home’ to Coundon Court.  Being a Coundonian, it is an exciting prospect for our current students to hear from you and to see what prospects and opportunities could also unfold for them when they complete their journey at Coundon Court. 

There are many ways you could support the Coundon Careers Programme.

Alumni Opportunities

If you would like to be part of our alumni network, please click on the link and fill out the online form.

Information for Employers and Higher/Further Education Providers

We are always keen to welcome new apprentices, employers and representatives from Higher Education and Further Education Providers. There are several opportunities for you to support the Coundon Careers Programme.

Employers Opportunities

:     

Labour Market Information (LMI)

What is Labour Market Information (LMI)?

LMI stands for Labour Market Information.  It provides information about the job market and is a useful tool to use when considering when deciding which career path to take, or considering a change of career in the future.

There are two types of LMI:

  1. National LMI      – Discover employment trends across the country.
  2. Local LMI             – Explore sectors near you have the most vacancies (jobs available).

 

For a quick summary of LMI, watch this video produced by The Shaw Trust.

What else can LMI tell you?

Employment trends

  • Skills gaps in different sectors.
  • Which jobs will be available in the future.

Progression routes

  • Which transferable skills will be needed.
  • Learn what pay to expect for specific job roles.

Help to make informed decisions

  • Where to look for the job/ career you are interested in.
  • Which new jobs are becoming available in your area.
  • Where to find reliable sources for recruitment.

Coventry Labour Market Information

Click on the PowerBI dashboard produced by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

Useful websites to find out more about LMI and careers:

  • LMI For All - A comprehensive portal providing high-quality data. Click here: LMI For All
  • National Careers Service - With over 800 job profiles, investigate the average salary, typical duties, working hours and pathways into the profession. Click here: National Careers Service
  • I Could - With videos and real-life personal stories from young people, ICould uses LMI data from LMI For All to provide practical advice and support. Click here: ICould
  • Office for National Statistics (ONS) – An interactive link which helps you search for skills desired by employers in your area. Click here: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Measuring Impact

Our Careers programme is aligned with the eight Gatsby Benchmark. For ‘Good Careers Guidance’ and complies with the Department for Education’s Statutory Guidance for Careers.

Coundon Court measures and assesses the impact of its careers programme through:

  • student surveys (universal) and student voice focus groups (targeted).
  • KS4 and KS5 pupil destination data.
  • Unifrog Charts.
  • COMPASS+ tool each term to reflect on progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks.
  • Pupil evaluation forms following careers event.
  • Parent evaluation forms.
  • Volunteer evaluation forms.
  • Staff evaluation forms.
  • Governor and SLT scrutiny of the Careers Improvement Plan.

The Careers programme is reviewed annually and amended in accordance to the needs of our students.

Careers Related Policies & The Baker's Clause

The updated provider access legislation (PAL) has now been enacted. It specifies schools must provide at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all their students:

  • Two encounters for pupils during the ‘first key phase’ (year 8 or 9) that are mandatory for all pupils to attend
  • Two encounters for pupils during the ‘second key phase’ (year 10 or 11) that are mandatory for all pupils to attend
  • Two encounters for pupils during the ‘third key phase’ (year 12 or 13) that are mandatory for the school to put on but optional for pupils to attend

Coundon Court's Provider Access Policy.

Coundon Court’s Careers Policy‘What is the Baker’s Clause’,(provided by www.amazingapprenticeships.com)

Useful Careers Vocabulary

When you are reading about Careers, there is a lot of Careers-specific vocabulary.  You can download a useful vocabulary sheet to help you understand these key terms.

Careers Key Terms

Coundon Court School Northbrook Road Coventry CV6 2AJ

Contact

Mr C Heal
Principal
Mrs W Denton
SENDCO

Useful Links