YEAR 13 AIM: In the sixth form, careers education focuses on preparing students to make good choices, engage in work experience and understand personal development.
RATIONALE: The focus of this year is ensuring that Year 13 students make applications and secure positive post-18 destinations.
Term 1
.CAREERS SESSIONS: Post-18 Career Considerations
In their weekly careers sessions, Year 13 students are taken through a variety of relevant issues such as maintaining professional networks, understanding the value of diversity in the workplace and an update on changes to the local labour market. They are also offered supportive conversations about their progress towards completing their UCAS applications.
Digital Kent Assembly – Digital Champion Volunteer Scheme
In Term 1, Digital Kent visited our sixth form students to talk to them about volunteering. They explained their mission, which is to help to ‘bridge the digital divide’ and help anyone who is suffering a disadvantage because of lack of access or lack of confidence with the digital world.
They spent time explaining the benefits that volunteering can have on the volunteer as well as the person who is receiving the help, as well as outlining how it can support applications in the future. They explained their Digital Champions scheme and how anyone over 18 can help to support someone in their local community as well as receiving training for free.
The University for the Creative Arts delivered workshops to our Year 13 (and some Year 12) students that offered them the opportunity to explore what is expected in a portfolio. The main focus was on for creative subjects including art, photography, IT, product design and film. Students were able to ask questions and to get feedback on their ideas from university admissions tutors.
University Personal Statement Writing OSCAR sessions
Term 2
.CAREERS SESSIONS: Post-18 applications and LinkedIn sessions
Students are given access to support from the Year 13 and UCAS team to help with their university applications, apprenticeship research and LinkedIn profile building.
With the kind contribution of Jade Pluck’s consultancy, we are able to offer our students guidance on building an effective LinkedIn profile in order to build and maintain the professional networks and take advantage of any opportunities that they have to add to these throughout the year.
A six-week programme run online by a level 6 careers advisor, Jess Pieri. This is a weekly session, held on Wednesdays from 4-5.30pm for six weeks, and is designed as a bootcamp to take students through the process of choosing, finding, applying, interviewing and managing their apprenticeship applications. Each weekly session has a specific focus and is supported by a current degree-level apprentice and an employer who offers an apprenticeship programme – these speakers will be available to answer questions. Jess is then available to offer advice, check CVs and answer questions via email. This is a service for which the school has subscribed and links will be emailed to students and parents/carers at the appropriate time in the year.
This programme runs in Terms 2 and 4 for Year 11 and 13, and Term 6 for Year 10 and Year 12.
Year 13 students are offered a checklist with advice about how to find and understand the apprenticeship opportunities in careers sectors that they wish to pursue. In term 2, the national listings for higher and degree apprenticeships is usually released in November and this is shared with students and parents.
.CAREERS SESSIONS: Recruitment and selection processes
In their weekly careers sessions, students will be learning about how to present themselves effectively through online recruitment processes including online applications, video interviews, aptitude tests and online assessment centres. This is especially important following the impact that the pandemic has had on recruitment practices in the labour market.
The BBC visited our Year 9, Year 10 Media, Year 11 and Sixth Form students during National Apprenticeship Week 2023. As part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations, they created a tour focused on careers education with specialist careers panels. Our students heard from successful people from our local area, working in the creative industries. We’d like to say our thanks to:
Alex Mansuroglu – Radio Presenter and DJ for Kiss FM, who grew up locally in Meopham.
Yasmin Kavanci – Freelance Transmission Operator and Illustrator who lives in Gillingham
Leo Ulph – Radio Presenter of Upload on BBC Radio Kent, promoting literacy and creativity across the county
Josephine Clark – Commercial Director at Maidstone Studios with 20 years’ experience in the production of live sports, documentaries, children’s TV, music and much more.
The whole BBC tour crew and administration team for sharing this opportunity with our students.
The BBC’s careers support for students doesn’t end with the school tour; students were directed to the BBC Bitesize Careers site, where they will find an ever-growing library of job profiles to explore across all industries, alongside careers advice and information about next steps in education and the world of work.
This event supports Wrotham School in fulfilling its statutory obligations under Provider Access Legislation (2023).
National Apprenticeship Week 2023 with practical workshops
Our Year 13 students will be working on preparing for their own apprenticeship applications through a series of presentations and workshops.
We will be welcoming The Education People who will be talking to our students about the advantages of looking for local apprenticeships (this presentation was cancelled by the presenters due to staff absence).
Tammy from CXK (and ASK Apprenticeships) works with a small group of eleven Year 13 students on their apprenticeship applications
ASK apprenticeships delivered an awareness assembly, before offering two workshops for students who have decided that they want to pursue apprenticeships.
The first session will be on applications and offering advice on their CVs.
The second session will be a mock assessment centre workshop.
They will also have the option to join the virtual work experience week offered to Year 12 students – they had a choice from over 60 different events and schemes.
Prior to our Year 13 students starting their final examinations, our weekly careers sessions focus on rights within the workplace in order to prepare them for the world in which they will soon find themselves. Topics include: sick pay, compassionate leave and holiday entitlement; the role of unions and ACAS; parental rights; disability rights.
A six-week programme run online by a level 6 careers advisor, Jess Pieri. This is a weekly session, held on Wednesdays from 4-5.30pm for six weeks, and is designed as a bootcamp to take students through the process of choosing, finding, applying, interviewing and managing their apprenticeship applications. Each weekly session has a specific focus and is supported by a current degree-level apprentice and an employer who offers an apprenticeship programme – these speakers will be available to answer questions. Jess is then available to offer advice, check CVs and answer questions via email. This is a service for which the school has subscribed and links will be emailed to students and parents/carers at the appropriate time in the year.
This programme runs in Terms 2 and 4 for Year 11 and 13, and Term 6 for Year 10 and Year 12.
Wrotham School’s Careers Fair has gone from strength to strength, building on our relationships with local and national employers, apprenticeship providers, colleges and universities. The fair will feature specialised activities to support our Year 9, 10, 11 and Sixth Form students to make informed decisions about the important transitions they face.
This year, we welcome our neighbouring school Grange Park School to join our careers fair. Grange Park is a specialist school for children and young people with autism spectrum condition (ASC) from 9-19.
Friday 10th March 2023: This fair is a fantastic opportunity for our sixth form students to speak in person to local apprenticeship providers and employers, hand out their CVs and find out about opportunities for a wide range of careers sectors. The event is hosted by local Kent MPs and is supported by lots of local employers and apprenticeship providers.
This is an optional event that we advertise to our students and their families and we support their attendance as we do any open day. If you would like to attend, please read the emails that we will send with details and contact Mrs Cheval on pcheval@wrotham.kent.sch.uk
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