Careers & Further Education

We are highly committed to providing our students with information, advice and guidance relating to their future decisions and careers. In order to do this we are following the 8 Gatsby benchmarks

All students in Years 7-11 are entitled to

  • Access to a planned careers programme relevant to their year group.
  • Access to a qualified, impartial and independent careers adviser for personalised guidance.
  • Access information about the world of work and labour market.
  • Access information and guidance about Higher Education, training and employment opportunities.
  • Develop personal and enterprise skills to improve their employability.
  • Find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme, which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point.
  • Hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships, through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events.
  • Be informed about how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.
  • Access to a curriculum rich in information about careers and the world of work.
  • Access a programme of CEIAG which challenges stereotypes and discrimination, and promotes equality and diversity in training and in the workplace.

Throughout a student’s education at Hartford Church of England High School, we will support them to develop the key skills required to make a successful transition into Higher Education/degree level apprenticeships/employment.

Careers Lead

Contact: Mr J Ingman
Email: jingman@hartfordhigh.co.uk

If you are an employer or parent and would like to see our current careers provision in more detail:


Click on a section below to expand:

Careers Programme

The central aim of our career provision is to provide effective careers education for all our students. Through a well-structured and highly effective programme, we believe that we will develop students who are equipped with the knowledge, skills and experience to make ambitious, informed choices at every step on their path to individual success.

Download our careers programme

Careers Newsletter

Welcome to our Careers Newsletter for Parents and Careers! We will produce a newsletters every half term to provide our students and parents with the best careers guidance.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Miss Sutcliffe, our Careers Adviser msutcliffe@hartfordhigh.co.uk

Download October 2022 Newsletter

Departmental CEIAG provision

To promote the career learning, development and wellbeing of students, we teach careers education ‘as a subject’ but also ‘through other subjects’. As part of the teaching of their subjects, all teachers aim to link curriculum learning with careers.

Start Programme

As part of our commitment to prepare students for a rapidly changing world, we are delighted to announce that we are using an innovative online resource called Start during tutor time. Start will help your child to connect with their future career potential, develop their employability and help them to explore future career and study options at school or at home. It will also allow them to see what the labour market information is like in their chosen career and how that will change in the future. We will be asking Year 7 students to create their own account for Start at school in the next few weeks, but it is accessible anytime on computers and compatible mobile and tablet devices. Your child will personalise their profile on Start with details about their skills, qualities, interests and work preferences. This provides a starting point for them to explore information matched to their personal preferences and interests. As they update their profile, Start will personalise this information, helping them to navigate the thousands of jobs, courses, providers and opportunities available. Start will help students to understand where they are on their journey and what’s important as they make their choices at GCSE, post-16 and post-18.

Years 8-9 will continue their Start journey, fine-tuning their searches from last year. We encourage you to use Start with your child at home. Encourage them to rate jobs, qualifications, colleges or universities so that we can see their preferences in order to support them better. Parents can also use Start to find out more about jobs, training and study opportunities for themselves. Please do not log in using your child's user details and instead register yourself using the steps outlined below, creating your own username and password. For more information on Start or the support available for your son or daughter, please contact Ms Sutcliffe.

How to Register: Parent Guide Welcome to Start

These instructions explain how to register for Start.

To create your own username and password, please follow the simple steps below.

  • Go to www.startprofile.com and click Register. Enter your first name, surname, email address, postcode, date of birth and gender. Tip: if you forget your username or password we will use the email address you provide to send you a reminder.
  • Choose a memorable username and a secure password.
  • Tick to agree to the Privacy, Cookies and Terms of Use policies and click Get Started.
  • Click Login and enter your username and password.
  • Click Login: The first time you log in you will be required to complete the following: Select "I am a Parent and would like to use Start with my children." You’ll be sent an email. Click on the link in the email to verify your email address.
  • The link will take you to a new page, click Start.

Careers Learning Journeys

Some of our career provision is delivered as part of the Pastoral Learning Journey.

Download Learning Journeys

Careers library

Further information regarding careers advice can be found in our Careers Library which is located in the Library.

For a library of videos on a wide range of careers from accountancy to animal care, visit icloud

Labour Market Information for students, carers and staff

When someone receives good labour market information (LMI) that leads to a good decision, it benefits the individual, the employer and the economy.

LMI can help people identify the skills they might require in the future. Even within familiar occupations, job tasks and job titles change and develop as products and technology change and develop.

People need to be aware of how easy or hard it will be to get into their chosen career. They also benefit from accurate LMI about pay levels, job security and local prospects which they need to consider if they are to make realistic and informed career decisions. LMI can help people broaden their aspirations to include similar occupational areas in the event that their first choice not possible or not available in their area.

It’s important for people to recognise the discrepancy between unrealistic aspirations and the likely outcomes. LMI can be used to set out the realities of the job market and allow people to avoid wasting time in areas where they are unlikely to be successful.

Please read through the attached document from the National Careers Service, which details LMI in the local region and around the UK.

There are many career websites available that contain LMI, here are a selection:

Cheshire and Warrington LMI

Visit website

Students and parents can explore Cheshire and Warrington’s Start webpages to find out about local employers, careers and study routes.

Cheshire and Warrington LEP Opportunities

Visit website

This portal is updated with live jobs in the region every 30 minutes. Everyone can use the site to find out about jobs in local growth sectors and how to retrain or upskill.

National LMI

Visit website

A good website for young people and their family to explore. Take the Buzz Quiz, find out about a huge variety of jobs and watch inspirational career story videos.

First Careers

Visit website

This website is great for younger students to explore how their favourite subjects can lead to a range of careers and discover work experience opportunities with well-known employers.

Prospects

Visit website

All students can browse one of the most comprehensive lists of job profiles giving information about the role, qualifications, salary and the skills required. There are also tips for gaining work experience in each career.

UCAS

Visit website

This is more than just a universities website. Young people and their families can find out about different careers, apprenticeships, going to college as well as university.

Key 6 Sectors Employers in Cheshire and Warrington

Download report

Labour Market Information 2020

Download report

Working Futures 2014-2024

Here at Hartford Church of England High School, we believe it is important for students to understand the labour market and make informed choices about their career. Below is a document which provides information about different sectors, their future projections and looks at the demographics within these.

Download report

For more information, go to: www.gov.uk

Apprenticeships

In Year 10, we start to introduce the ideas of apprenticeships, which continues into Year 11. Here is an overview of what an apprenticeship involves:

Apprenticeships combine practical training in a job with study.

As an apprentice you will:

  • Work alongside experienced staff
  • Gain job-specific skills

Apprenticeships take 1 to 5 years to complete depending on their level.

Levels of apprenticeship

Apprenticeships have equivalent educational levels.

Name Level Equivalent educational level
Intermediate 2 GCSE
Advanced 3 A level
Higher 4,5,6 and 7 Foundation degree and above
Degree 6 and 7 Bachelor’s or master’s degree

Some apprenticeships may also give you an additional qualification, such as a diploma.

Who can apply

You can apply for an apprenticeship while you are still at school. To start one, you will need to be:

  • 16 or over by the end of the summer holidays
  • Living in England
  • Not in full-time education

How to apply

There are 3 steps to applying for an apprenticeship.

  • Search for an apprenticeship via companies directly
  • Contact a local apprenticeship provider such as Total People

The National Careers Service has advice on writing applications and what to do at interviews.

As a carer there are many ways you can support your child to apply for an apprenticeship. For guidance on how to help your child, please read the information available in the Parent's Pack.

Information from: www.gov.uk/become-apprentice

Careers advice

We believe that every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a Careers Advisor, which should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. Providing structured personal guidance time within the school enables students to focus on their future dreams and to set goals to achieve them. Access to independent and impartial professional career guidance is strongly valued by students and parents and is a recurring feature of good provision.

Our Careers Advisor is available on Fridays, and students are able to make appointments through their Form Tutor, Head of Year or Careers Coordinator. Unbiased, impartial advice may be given on anything they wish to discuss about their future career progression, from apprenticeships to gap years. Our Careers Advisor is provided to us by an external provider - MPloy Solutions.

Visit the MPloy Solutions website

Destination report

Click here to see our destination data summary report

View Destinations - Key stage 4

Annual Activity Survey 2022

Annual Activity Survey 2021

Annual Activity Survey 2020

Annual Activity Survey 2019

Application for Provider Access

Introduction

This section sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to pupils at the school for the purpose of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.

Pupil entitlement

All pupils in years 7-13 are entitled:

  • To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;
  • To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships - through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events;
  • To understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

Management of provider access requests

Procedure

A provider wishing to request access should contact M. Sutcliffe
Tel: 01606 786000
Fax: 01606 783941
Email: msutcliffe@hartfordhigh.co.uk

Opportunities for access

The school offers a comprehensive Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance programme and an overview of this programme can be seen in the School’s Careers Charter which is on the school website.

Please speak to our Careers Advisor to identify the most suitable opportunities for you.

The school will make a suitable space available for discussions between the provider and students, as appropriate to the activity. The school will also make available ICT and other specialist equipment to support provider presentations. This will all be discussed and agreed in advance of the visit with the Careers Advisor or a member of their team.

Providers are welcome to leave a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature with the Careers Advisor so that they can be displayed in the Careers Section of the school library.

Feedback survey reports from events (students/parents/employers)

Feedback survey reports from events will be coming soon.

Links with Employers

At Hartford Church of England High School we pride ourselves on having excellent relationships with a wide host of businesses and Universities, who support us in so many ways: through mock interviews, careers fairs and carousels, workshops, assemblies and as guest speakers. We welcome any opportunity to work with our local and national businesses and institutions.

The introduction of the Gatsby Benchmarks allows us to use these links with employers to work together in creative ways to ensure students are aware of the opportunities around them and are work-ready. We are now able to provide each year group from 7-11 one or more meaningful encounters with an employer, so ‘a student has an opportunity to learn about what work is like or what it takes to be successful in the workplace.’

If you would like to participate and support us in any activity, please email me at msutcliffe@hartfordhigh.co.uk. Our provider access policy can be found in the careers section of the website, under the ‘about us’ tab or by clicking here. We embrace the opportunity to form links with new employers. Below are the logos of some of the organisations with which we have links.

Aldi, Army, ASK, Cheshire College, All about STEM, Cheshire Constabulary, Dove, Chester Zoo, University of Chester, Edge Hill University, Reaseheath College, The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool John Moores University, Morrisons, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool

Websites

There are a whole host of free websites that can help students obtain the information they require. Here are just a few of the ones we think are useful: