Contact Us 01946 692275
Contact Us 01946 692275

Careers

Careers Contacts in School:

School SLT: Lead Karen Kelso
E-mail: admin@st-benedicts.cumbria.sch.uk
Tel: 01946 692275 (Ext 2043) 

Employers wishing to support our Careers Programme are welcome to contact Mrs Kelso our Senior Leader for Personal Development by emailing  admin@st-benedicts.cumbria.sch.uk

Link Governor: Neil Robinson 

Enterprise Advisor: Gary Martin 

Enterprise Co-ordinator: Rachelle Poyntx

Progress towards the Gatsby Benchmarks:

12345678
July 2024 100%100%90%100%100%100%95%87%
March 2024100%100%90%100%100%100%95%87%
December 2023100%100%90%100%100%100%95%87%
% of Schools Nationally meeting this benchmark (July 2023)66%81%54%76%80%64%52%75%

What are Gatsby Benchmarks? Click here 

Full Careers Plan 2024 – PDF Download

Summary of the Careers Plan:

 

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Year 12

Year 13

Employer / University / Alternative Provider Talks

 

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Team Building

Activities

Y

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

World of Work Day

 

 

Y

 

 

 

 

Careers Interviews

 

 

Y

Y

Y

Y

 

Work Experience

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

Mock Interviews

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

Dream Placement

 

 

 

 

 

Y

 

Jobs in the NHS Roadshow

 

Y

 

 

 

 

 

CVs and letters of application

 

Y

 

Y

Y

Y

 

University Visits

 

 

Y

Y

 

Y

 

STEM club with ambassadors

 

 

 

Y

 

 

 

Hairdressing and Beauty Club

 

 

 

Y

 

 

 

Science Roadshow

Y

Y

Y

 

 

 

 

Futures Evening

 

 

Y

 

 

 

 

Key Stage  Information Evening

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

Hello Futures Workshops

 

 

 

 

Y

Y

 

Introduction to Unifrog

Y

 

 

 

 

Y

 

Careers Library Treasure Hunt

Y

Y

Y

 

 

 

 

Logging Activities and Skills on Unifrog

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Unifrog skills – Teamwork

Y

 

 

Y

 

 

 

Unifrog skills – Listening

Y

 

 

Y

 

 

 

Unifrog skills Leadership

 

 

Y

 

 

 

 

Unifrog profiling

Y

 

Y

 

 

Y

 

Career Terminology

 

Y

 

 

 

 

 

Entrepreneurship

 

Y

Y

 

 

Y

 

Smashing The Glass Ceiling

 

 

Y

 

 

 

 

Using Unifrog to help with choices

 

 

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Digital Footprint and Employment

 

 

Y

 

 

 

 

Right and Responsibilities of Employees

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

Steps to achieve my Careers Aim

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

LMI

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Apprenticeships Day

 

 

 

Y

 

 

 

Well-being in the Work Place

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

 

Having a plan B

 

 

 

 

Y

 

 

Is AI a Threat to our jobs?

 

 

 

 

Y

 

 

Lakes College Careers Fair & Taster Days

 

 

 

Y

 

 

 

Balancing Workload

 

 

 

Y

 

Y

Y

Role of the union

 

 

 

 

 

Y

 

Professional Behaviours

 

 

 

Y

Y

Y

Y

Workplace confidentiality and Cyber Security

 

 

 

 

Y

Y

 

Activities

½ termly meetings with the Enterprise Advisor and Co-Ordinator 

Termly review and update of the Careers plan 

Engagement with area CEIAG network on a termly basis 

Regular updated to the school leadership team. 

Middle leader briefings and updates 

Subject leader curriculum annual audits 

Heads of Year CEIAG annual audits 

Gaps identified in and links to performance in GB audited termly 

Measuring & Assessing the Impact of the Careers Programme

It is hard to evaluate the success of any careers programme however we use 3 methods: 

Published data: The Department for Education publishes a range of data on pupil destinations at 16 and 18 and we compare our school with others in west Cumbria and all schools in England. 

Compass Tool: We are using the Compass Analysis tool to measure the progress of our careers education against the Gatsby Benchmarks. 

Evaluating activities: We try to evaluate the success of each activity by asking our students for feedback on the impact of the activity. In some cases we try and see what the longer term, rather than just the immediate, impact is. 

Summary of the Careers Programme

Careers Education is an integral part of our curriculum and tutor periods. St Benedict’s has the support of Inspira for independent careers advice and provides careers education and opportunities for all students. We try to expose the students to a wide range of career/study pathways in as many ways as possible from school delivered sessions, external providers and external visits and nationally recognised programmes. By developing a cohesive programme of CEIAG from primary onwards we can form young people with employability skills, academic qualifications and the confidence to make informed choices about their future. 

Employer Assemblies 

Aspirations Assembly 

Finance Workshops 

BAE Roadshow 

Team Building Activities – Employer Led 

Key Stage 3 Information Evening 

Unifrog 

Progress Evenings 

Careers Work Books 

Subject Related Careers 

Employer Assemblies 

Aspirations Assembly 

Finance Workshops 

STEM Club with Ambassadors 

Science Museum Roadshow 

Marine Engineering Workshop 

Animal Me Workshop 

Why Care? 

Unifrog 

Progress Evenings 

Subject Related Careers Activities 

Choices Assembly 

World of Work Day 

Employer Mentoring 

Finance Workshops 

University Visits 

Hello Futures Workshops 

Sixth Former for a Day 

Progress Evenings 

Careers PSHE sessions in all Years in both tutor Time and Drop Down Days. 

Subject Related Careers information 

Team Building Activities – Employer Led 

Apprenticeships Workshop 

CV Writing 

Aptitude Test Workshops 

Mock Interviews with Employers 

Interview Preparation 

Careers interviews 

Work Experience 

School Skills Workplace Skills  

Progress Evenings 

Motivational Speakers 

What our students aspire to be

Accountant 

 

Actor 

 

Architecture 

 

Astronaut 

 

Astronomer 

 

Business Administrator 

 

Charity work campaigner 

 

Clothes designer 

 

Computer Science related careers, maths and engineering 

 

Counsellor 

 

Dentist 

 

Doctor 

 

Economist 

 

Engineer 

 

Environmentalist 

 

Epidemiology 

 

Financial Engineer 

 

Football, sports, physiotherapy, anything to do with sport 

 

Forensic Computing Engineer 

 

Geographer 

 

Hairdresser 

 

Health care Professional 

 

History Lecturer 

 

Information Technology 

 

Journalist 

 

MP 

 

Makeup Artist 

 

Maths teacher 

 

Mathematician 

 

Mechanical engineer 

 

Motor Vehicle Engineer 

 

Nurse 

 

Nursery Assistant 

 

Paramedic 

 

Performing Arts School Teacher 

 

Pharmacist 

 

Police 

 

Primary School Teacher 

 

Psychiatrist 

 

Psychlogist 

 

RAF Pilot / Engiineer 

 

Rugby Player 

 

Scientist 

 

Scientific Biologist 

 

Sellafield, police officer 

 

Social Worker 

 

Solicitor/ Barrister 

 

Sport /fitness professional 

 

Street artist 

 

Teacher 

 

Teacher in the armed forces 

 

Vet 

Zoologist 

You can find out more about these careers on Unifrog www.unifrog.org

and through the National Careers Service at https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ 

 

We use this list to help decide on the careers we include in out PSHE programme.  

Useful Links & Documents

Parents Guide – What’s Next 2023 – 2024

Link to find out more about the UCAS application process: Click here

To find out  more about the Gatsby Bench Marks and good careers guidance:  Good Career Guidance | Education | Gatsby 

PREPARING FOR AN INTERVIEW

See the documents below for some useful tips on preparing for interviews, both online & in person.  

Preparing for an online interview  

Preparing to answer questions in an interview  

YOUR CV

Use the CV builder on UNIFROG and get advice on how to ace your CV in the know how library  

Icould – Careers Ideas and Information for your future – Click here

Student Ladder – Click here

All about School Leavers – Click here

Finding an Apprenticeship – Click here

You can also log into UNIFROG and filter careers by the subjects you enjoy. Don’t forget to save your favourites.  Unifrog provides a one-stop-shop where students can explore their interests, then find and successfully apply for their best next step after school. 

For more information visit their website: www.unifrog.org 

Not going to Uni website – Not Going To Uni: Apprenticeships & Work Experience in the UK

National Careers Service – Careers advice – job profiles, information and resources | National Careers Service

Hello Futures – Hello Future – Supporting young people across Cumbria to progress to higher education 

Online Platform for School Leavers – Step Up Cumbria | Cumbria’s Family Information Directory 

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Studying Medicine PDF – Medicine-Work-Experience-Flyer.pdf (st-benedicts.cumbria.sch.uk) 

CareerMag – https://careermap.co.uk/careermag/ 

Health Careers – https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/compare-roles 

Future Learn – University and Your Future: Career Planning and Making the Most of Your Degree Course – https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/career-planning-and-your-degree 

Careerometer (LMI for All)