At College Park School we are committed to providing all our students in years 8 to 14 with a comprehensive programme of careers education, information, advice and guidance and work related learning.  

Work related learning consists of workplace encounters including visits, work experience and workshops delivered by external professionals; and careers learning embedded within the curriculum. We work with a range of employers such as Hilton Hotels, Planet Organic, Project Choice/NHS and invite organisations, groups and specialist freelancers to deliver workshops to enhance the career learning that is delivered within Life skills lessons. Students are also supported to discover potential prospects within Further Education and Supported Internships.

Our careers education, information, advice and guidance programme aims to:

inspire, inform and guide students
place individual students and their needs at its centre
be integrated into the students’ experience of the curriculum as a whole
encourage all students to consider their career throughout Key Stage 3 and 4
support pupils to develop decision-making skills
provide all pupils and their families with high quality, impartial advice
raise aspirations and promote equality and diversity

 

Careers Roles:

Head of Careers, Simon Bennett s.bennett@qe2cp.westminster.sch.uk

Careers Leader and Post 16+ teacher Pam Williams p.williams@qe2cp.westminster.sch.uk

Governor for careers: Carole Melson

The Careers programme at College Park School:

Autumn Term	Careers Assembly and/or Careers Workshop Class group opportunities – for employability skills
Spring Term	Careers Week Enterprise Coffee morning Learning for workplace encounters
Summer Term	Careers Assembly and/or  Careers Workshop (Gold Class and Post 16+) Work experience (Gold Class and Post 16+)

The Careers Programme at College Park supports students to understand different career pathways, and enables them to gain the skills, knowledge and experience they require to achieve their career goals.

Exploring aspects of the world of work and developing life skills that are transferable to the workplace i.e. employability skills, therefore forms the basis of the School’s careers programme; and the aim is for the inclusion of such skills to be embedded across whole school curriculum planning.

To read the full careers policy, please read our Employability Plan linked below. 

As outlined above, secondary pupils will take part in the following activities each year:

Careers Week - pupils have the opportunity to engage in virtual and class learning activities as part of the National Careers Week or Creative Careers Week.

Careers assembly - where a different professional/business is invited to talk about their job – either in person or virtually. Students are given the opportunity to present/share their careers learning and encounters.

Careers workshop - where a different professional/business presents an activity (in school or offsite) that provides students with interactive, hands on learning about a role in industry.

Enterprise Coffee Morning - for parents to learn more about the way in which careers learning is delivered and the projects students are working on. Local businesses are invited to attend.

College Park School believes in giving FE, HE and training providers the opportunity to talk to pupils at the school.  Please see the Provider Access Policy and Provider Access application form linked below. 

Career Education

For an overview of how careers related learning is delivered at College Park School, please see our Learning for Work pathways by using this  link:* 

KS3/KS4: students will create Careers Passports that record all encounters with employers, the work place and any work experience gained; as well as evaluations of such along with evidence of classroom-based careers learning.

Students following the formal curriculum may work towards gaining GCSEs; Functional Skills exams Entry Level 1, 2, and 3 in Maths and English; Arts Award – Bronze. They also have the opportunity to acquire functional skills accreditations or qualifications e.g. ASDAN, OCR Life Skills.

KS5 Post 16+: Careers Passports will be maintained throughout Post 16+ in order to build a portfolio that demonstrates and evidences students’ career education and workplace skills acquired; with the intention of forming a CV.

A semi-formal curriculum is followed in our Post 16+ provision. Students may work towards taking Functional Skills exams Entry Level 1, 2, and 3 in Maths and English; Arts Awards - Discover and Explore ; functional skills accreditations or qualifications e.g. ASDAN, OCR Life Skills.

As part of their Life Skills lessons students will practice basic interview skills with the SaLT team; learn to complete application forms or to communicate their personal information.

Career Guidance

KS3: all students in Year 8 (Indigo/White classes) and their families will have a 1:1 meeting with an independent Careers Adviser. This is to prepare for setting outcomes for adulthood in Year 9 Annual Reviews, which will include specific targets related to future careers.

KS4: all students will have a 1:1 meeting with an Independent Careers Adviser in preparation for Post-16 and Post-18 decisions.

The Career Information, Advice or Guidance given is independent and impartial. The focus is on the choices, qualifications and options for when students leave College Park School.

College and Supported Internship Visits: students will have the opportunity to visit different colleges/supported internships and take part in taster sessions.

Meetings re college and Post 16: all parents and students will meet with Head of Careers to help with their post-16 and post-18 choices and applications.

Transition: students will work with the Head of Careers, Careers Leader, class tutors and SaLT team to prepare for their move to their placement beyond College Park School. This is supported by opportunities for weekly sessions at their setting of choice throughout the spring or summer term.

Work Experience
Work Experience takes place in Gold Class and Post 16+ (KS4/KS5). We are working with Project Choice and a range of local businesses and organisations to try and find placements that are linked to the future aspirations and interests of the individual student.  More detailed information will be shared with pupils and their families when placements have been found.

Parents/Carers
Parent and carers are encouraged to play an active part in supporting their child in making decisions around their future careers. Here at College Park the aim is to help families understand what career options are possible, with the right support, for their son/daughter. 

Parents and carers are always welcome to contact the Head of Careers, Simon Bennett: s.bennett@qe2cp.westminster.sch.uk or Careers Leader, Pam Williams p.williams@qe2cp.westminster.sch.uk  to seek advice and ask any questions they might have regarding careers pathways. They can be contacted on the school phone number 0207 221 3454.

The School will assess the impact of its careers programmes on students by completing an annual student survey and analysing destinations data in line with activities that they have taken part in at school. In addition, the views of students and parents will be surveyed after key events e.g. the Careers Assembly, Careers Week. 

Useful links

Westminster Kingsway College

Kennet West

Supported internships 

National Careers Service – a comprehensive careers website with job profiles, outlining: the skills required, main tasks, pay levels and career prospects for hundreds of different jobs. In addition, valuable guidance on the different stages involved in getting a job. 

 

***If you would like a printed version of this information or any of the documents linked below, please contact the school office 0207 221 3454/admin@qe2cp.westminster.sch.uk