Inspiring Students

Throughout the year we provide activities  for different year groups including:

• Careers-related lessons relating to labour market information, opportunities and personal growth
• Visits to and talks from further and higher education establishments
• STEM events encouraging students to investigate careers in science, technology, engineering and maths
• Employability skills sessions
• Enterprise activities 
• Employer encounter workshops 
• Industry influencer talks by employers and alumni

Where can students find more information

All students have access to career related resources in the library and any notifications of external events or useful information will be shared via the student bulletin. From Year 9, students have an account with Unifrog, the online destinations platform, which provides a range of tools designed to support learners in making informed decisions about their futures. For any career or higher education related questions, Mrs Twigg, our Careers Lead is in school on Tuesday - Friday and can be contacted by email at school.careers@st-bedes.surrey.sch.uk.

Can you help to inspire our students?

We are keen to expand our involvement with businesses to help us inform and educate our students about the world of work and provide networking opportunities for the future.

If you are an employer, a parent and/or one of our alumni and would be willing to help with the development of the future of our students by coming in to present at careers events, provide networking opportunities, work experience, mentoring or would be happy to share your career experiences and talk about the choices you made in order to get to where you are today, please contact Mrs Twigg at school.careers@st-bedes.surrey.sch.uk.

Please join our alumni network here. We also have an alumni group on our official LinkedIn page.

Support for Parents

For parents, it can be difficult to know how to guide your child through their next steps and remain impartial while putting aside your own personal interests and experiences. 

If you are unsure about how to approach the topic of careers with your child or would like some guidance on what is available, some of the following resources may be helpful.

Many young people and their parents/carers can find the different post-16 options and the different qualifications difficult to navigate. Throughout their time at St Bede's our students will be provided with a full and impartial view of the opportunities available to them.

We have included a number of links below to information that will help inform you of the options available and support conversations with your young people.

Next step options

Year 9 options
Choosing your GCSE options
How to choose your exam subjects with BBC Bitesize

Post-16 pathways
What are my options after Year 11?

The Parents Guide To What's Next - this comprehensive booklet outlines all the options available to students post 16 and 18.

How can I support my child with Post-16 decisions?

Apprenticeships

For information including, what is an apprenticeship, finding the right apprenticeship, browse current apprenticeship vacancies. View the links below.

Understanding Apprenticeship Levels

Apprenticeship Snapshot

Amazing Apprenticeships

University

The Parents Guide to University 2024-2025

Career choices

Click here to download the Parents & Carers Guide from J.P.Morgan

Unifrog

In keeping with our commitment to provide students with outstanding careers guidance and tailored support when choosing their next steps, we will now be encouraging students to use Unifrog; an online destinations platform. Unifrog is the universal destinations platform and is designed to support learners in making the most informed decisions about their futures and has a range of tools that are suitable for all year groups. Parents can set up an account for themselves and will be able to research careers, attend webinars delivered by employers and universities to learn more about the opportunities, and compare pathways so you can support your child in making an informed decision about their next steps. 

If you would like a sign-up code, please contact Mrs Twigg on school.careers@st-bedes.surrey.sch.uk.

Podcasts

The Parent Perspective - A Careers Podcast (audio only)

The Parent Perspective is a podcast hosted by BBC presenter Rachel Burden, and created to help parents and carers support their children in making more informed career decisions with greater confidence, knowledge and understanding. Each episode shares experiences of navigating career conversations with children and provides insights into how the world of work is changing from trusted experts, organisations and employers already working with young people today. 

The Bitesize Careers Podcast

If you’re asking yourself ‘What job can I do?’ listen to The Bitesize Careers Podcast. Katie Thistleton, inspiring young guests and career experts will help you find the answers.

Year Group Career Programme

Every academic year we strive to extend our careers provision to each year group. The overview below is supported by a more detailed plan, available to view here.

Year 7 and 8 

In Year 7 and 8 during Citizenship lessons, students are encouraged to think about their strengths, the transferable skills they already have, their interests and the world of work. We introduce students to the world of work by inviting employers to talk to students about their role, industry and personal career journey.

Year 9

In Year 9 we focus on the students' option choices. Students receive lessons on what to think about when exploring their options, more talks from further education providers and are introduced to Unifrog, the universal destinations online platform designed to support learners in making the most informed decisions about their futures. This is also the year when students take part in an Enterprise challenge to introduce them to employability skills. 

Year 10 

Year 10 is a time for students to develop their skills and research their next step options in more detail. Each student is tasked with writing a CV and takes part in a mock interview. Employees, universities and apprenticeship providers support students with aspirational talks throughout the year. An Oxbridge and East Surrey College taster day is also available.

Year 11 

In Year 11 students explore their post-16 options with talks from further education providers, and look at where their chosen further education route could lead. At this stage students are encouraged to make one-to-one career appointments in order to create an action plan.

In August, a results day clinic is available for students requiring immediate advice. The careers adviser will be in school on results day and appointments can be made via reception.

Sixth Form

Year 12 is a busy year for our students with more aspirational talks from employers, universities and apprenticeship providers. Students are encouraged to attend an organised taster day at a local university which provides an insight into what university is all about. A taster day at an Oxbridge campus is also available for those looking at an early-entry UCAS application.

Futures Day is a dedicated day of workshops relating to higher educational options, future life skills and employability. The workshops are run, in the main, by external providers who are experts in their fields.

Work Experience takes place every June for one week. This allows students to develop their employability skills and experience the reality of the workplace. This is independently arranged but must be authorised by the school and follow the school's process. 

In Year 13, students update their CVs and participate in another round of mock interviews. This, along with support with writing personal statements, applications for universities, apprenticeships or work and improving on their employability skills, are all sessions provided with the intention that every student leaves St Bede’s ready for the road ahead.

For more information on Sixth Form careers and higher education advice and guidance, please click here. 

It is important that every young person has access to careers education, no matter what their background or circumstances. We ensure that each student has access to careers advice and is provided with tailored resources and training where needed. Along with the SEND department we ensure all students understand their future options and hear from relevant departments in further and higher education providers.

Please see below some resources to help students and parent/carers with next step decisions. 

https://www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk/young-people/preparing-for-adulthood/booklet

https://www.surreychoices.com/what-surrey-choices-does/employment-support/employment-support-for-young-people/

Our careers education partner, Innervate has created some resources to help students prepare for their careers guidance appointments. 

Student video - Designed for students to watch before their meeting, giving them a clear idea of what to expect and how to make the most of the session

Video aimed at parent/teacher - A slightly longer version aimed at parents and teaching staff, explaining the purpose of the meeting and how they can encourage and support students in preparing.

​Before the meetings, students are encouraged to download and complete the pre-meeting forms, one for Key Stage 4 and one for Sixth Form. These forms are designed to help students start thinking about their next steps and options.

You can also refer to these notes about preparing for a guidance meeting.

College-Interviews.pdf - how to prepare for your college interviews

Careers Guidance Appointments

An Innervate Careers Service Adviser is in school every week to offer impartial one to one guidance to students. They are happy to advise on any aspect of careers whether it is advice on options, university, apprenticeship or job applications or "what can I do with a specific subject?" 

These appointments are only open to students. Students can book an appointment via the 'St Bede's School Careers Appointments' system. These appointments are open to all students, but the main focus being on Year 11 and above. 

All students will be sent an action plan after their appointment. This will include a summary of what was discussed, actions to be taken and links to a number of websites which will help with further research.  

These appointments are popular, so book today!

Provider Access Requests

A provider wishing to request access to St Bede’s to promote careers education should contact Mrs Twigg

Email: school.careers@st-bedes.surrey.sch.uk

Any opportunity to broaden our Careers Education programme with information, advice and guidance is welcome. Providers are also encouraged to send a copy of their prospectus, relevant information about courses, apprenticeships or technical job opportunities.

These will then be shared with these students either in the careers library, through the student bulletin or in our weekly sixth form careers and higher education bulletin. 

St Bede’s endeavours to ensure that all students are aware of all routes to higher skills and are able to access information on technical options and apprenticeships (In line with the Department of Education, July 2021 “Baker Clause”: supporting students to understand the full range of education and training options, and the Provider Access Legislation, January 2023).

Provider Access will support the St Bede’s policy for Access to other education and training providers to achieve the following:

• To develop the knowledge and awareness of our students of all career pathways available to them, including technical qualifications and apprenticeships.
• To support young people to be able to learn more about opportunities for education and training outside of school before making crucial choices about their future options.
• To reduce the drop out from courses and avoid the risk of students becoming NEET (Young people not in education, employment or training).

Evaluating the Careers Education at St Bede’s

At St Bede’s we recognise the importance of monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the careers provision for students. Every term, we use the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Compass tool to evaluate how our careers programme performs against the Gatsby Benchmarks. 

We regularly ask students, staff, parents and external providers for feedback via questionnaires and surveys after careers-orientated events and activities which are then evaluated to ensure any required improvements are identified and actioned.

Useful careers websites

www.firstcareers.co.uk

www.successatschool.org

www.allaboutschoolleavers.co.uk

www.ucas.com

www.careersadviceforparents.org

www.theuniguide.co.uk

Apprenticeship, Internships and Jobs

www.careermap.co.uk - Search and Apply for apprenticeships, graduate schemes & jobs

www.notgoingtouni.co.uk  - Search apprenticeship and other options

www.apprenticeships.org.uk - Government apprenticeship website

www.amazingapprenticeships.com - Find out about T-Level and other apprenticeship options

The-Parents-Guide-to-National-Apprenticeship-Week-2023.pdf - This 2023 guide is still relevant and has lots of useful information that is still current. 

Your-step-by-step-guide-to-applying-for-an-apprenticeship.pdf

Government Resources

www.gov.uk/further-education-courses - government resource

www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk