Careers

Careers Information, Education, Advice and Guidance

Welcome to the official webpage for Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG) at Tottington High School.

Within these pages you will find useful information for both students of Tottington High School and their parents/carers.

We are committed to providing quality and impartial careers education, information and guidance (CEIAG) ensuring students are able to make informed and aspirational choices about their future routes.

CEIAG is delivered through form time, assemblies, individual subject’s curriculum and in Personal Development lessons. The Gatsby Benchmarks are clearly mapped out in all we deliver.

How we measure and assess the impact of the careers programme on pupils – 2021-22

We continually evaluate the careers programme at Tottington High School in a bid to improve its effectiveness against the learning outcomes described in the CDI Framework for careers, employability and enterprise education (March 2018).

We subscribe to the eight Gatsby benchmarks of good IAG and use these as a foundation when planning our Careers Strategy. We also receive support from and meet monthly with the Enterprise Advisor for Bury who provides networks that link us with employers enabling students to get a true understanding of the working world.

The effectiveness of our provision is inspected and audited each year by the Careers and Enterprise Company using the Compass Careers Benchmark Tool. Following this evaluation, we review the objectives of the programme with a focus on outcomes for learners looking into a range of evidence such as:

• Attainment
• Progress
• Options pathways
• Destinations data
• Feedback from students e.g. their understanding of different careers and pathways​

This ensures the development of our careers strategy is ongoing to ensure best practice.

We measure the impact of the careers programme on pupils through regular feedback about activities via questioning of stakeholders which we then use to adapt the programme so it meets our objectives. As part of our evaluation cycle we review the ‘careers plan’ termly. This helps us to assess the suitability of our programme leading to continuous improvement.

The school’s next strategic review of the Careers information published is: Autumn Term 2021.

Tottington High School careers provision aims to:

• Enable students to develop a knowledge and understanding of education, training and employment through investigating opportunities available to them at a local, national and international level.
• Support students in developing and implementing action plans so that they can take ownership of their own future at and beyond Key Stage 4.
• Provide opportunities to develop enterprise and employment skills.
• Promote equality of opportunity, challenge stereotyping and support inclusion.
• Help students develop an understanding of themselves and others.

Introducing our careers advisor, Kevin Welch

I am extremely passionate about supporting and helping people to make informed realistic choices about their future plans. Choosing a career is not an easy thing to do. I feel that people can be supported through the careers guidance process to enable them to have an understanding of how their aptitude, skills and qualifications link to their hopes and ambitions.

I completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Careers Guidance in 2003 and began working as a Personal Adviser for the Connexions Service in Bury. I supported young people between the ages of thirteen and twenty five who had a wide variety of different needs. My role progressed to Team Manager which gave me further insight into the careers service wherein I worked closely with various agencies, supported staff and planned and worked on several projects linked to young people.

The variety within my careers work has allowed me to develop a wealth of experience working with young people and adults. I have completed this work in a range of different settings including secondary schools, youth centres, colleges, training providers and SEND provision.

I now manage Realistic Choices which delivers support, advice and guidance to students in the Bury area. My work in schools has included one to one careers guidance, group work, careers events and option choice support.

Kevin Welch B.A PG.D.C.G
Registered Careers Manager – Realistic Choices

The careers provision is composed of the following elements:

• Careers advice: We work with Kevin Welch at Realistic Choices to provide impartial careers advice and guidance to students. During their school career all students will receive an individual interview and have the opportunity to book additional interviews should they be needed. We also run group sessions on different aspects of further study (e.g. post 16 pathways – what apprenticeships are and how to apply) and careers (e.g. job sector requirements – what subjects and experience are needed to become a dentist).
• Curriculum foci: Careers knowledge, skills and experiences are developed in lessons. Topics and individual lessons within subjects focus on different aspects of careers. E.g. managing finances in business, employment sectors in geography, persuasive writing in English.
• Careers events: We provide opportunities for students in every year group to develop their careers knowledge, skills, expertise and experiences. These career events take a variety of forms, ranging from college taster days and visits from Colleges and Apprenticeship providers to a designated option day in school when year 9 make their GCSE choices.
• Careers links: We work closely with local education and training providers to ensure that students and parents are aware of the different pathways available to them e.g. A-levels, vocational courses, apprenticeships, technical qualifications.