Careers and Pathways
At Ark Kings Academy, we aspire that all of our pupils will have the option to go to university or pursue a route into the career of their choice. As part of our curriculum offer, we provide our pupils with opportunities to experience the range of jobs available to them when they finish different points of education.
Ark Kings Academy uses the Gatsby Benchmarks as a guide to plan our Pathways and Enrichment programme. As part of our commitment to informing our pupils of the full range of learning and training pathways on offer to them, we are happy to consider requests from training, apprenticeship and vocational education providers to speak to pupils.
Ark Kings Academy also proactively seeks to build relationships with these partners as we plan our Pathways and Enrichment activity throughout the school year to ensure that providers have multiple opportunities to speak to pupils and their parents across years 7-11, to offer information on vocational, technical and apprenticeship qualifications and pathways. Ark Kings Academy ensures that Academy staff involved in personnel guidance and pastoral support are up to date on their knowledge of these post 16 and post 18 pathways, through a programme of Continuing Professional Development.
Opportunities for providers to speak with pupils may include school assemblies, employer and provider engagement events or opportunities to speak with pupils and parents on a one-to-one basis supporting GCSE, post 16 or post 18 option choices. Ark Kings Academy’s Pathways and Enrichment programme is monitored for quality and impact by the Academy’s Senior Leadership and Governance Teams and monitoring of access to and opportunities to engage with, technical, vocational and training providers will form part of this process.
In the first instance, requests by providers should be sent to the Academy’s Pathways Lead, Roz Chalk, r.chalk@arkkingsacademy.org, with a minimum of 6 weeks’ lead time. All requests will be considered on the basis of; staffing availability to support the activity, clashes with other planned activity, trips or visits the Academy, interruption to preparation for examinations or rooming and space availability to host the activity.
For questions on this or Ark Kings Academy’s wider Pathways and Enrichment programme, please contact the Academy’s Pathways Lead, Roz Chalk, r.chalk@arkkingsacademy.org.
In the primary phase, we aim to inspire pupils about the world of work and the impact they can have through their career choices. We also teach pupils links between different subject domains and associated careers in this field. We also foster the skills required in a modern labour market, such as problem solving or teamwork.
In the secondary phase, we introduce pupils to the possible options available post-16 and post-18. Pupils are supported with option choices at the end of year 9 to ensure that their KS4 curriculum is still broad and balanced but includes areas of interest for each pupils and key subjects they require for future study.
Primary – Further Information
Recently, we hosted BAFTA Kids in our school where Blue Peter’s Lindsey Russell and Children’s Match of the Day’s Ben Shires delivered a day of TV presenting masterclasses and careers Q&A sessions for our pupils.
This term we have also been pleased to welcome Commonwealth gold medallist sprinter Leon Baptiste into our school to run high intensity fitness workouts with our pupils and give pupils an understanding of routes into professional athleticism.
Secondary – Further Information
Careers in the secondary phase are delivered as part of the Compass (PSHE) curriculum as well as within subjects. In year 7, 10 & 11 pupils complete specific units focused on careers and aspirations looking at the different options at post-16 and what they require to access this. This builds aspiration in year 7 and then allows pupils to make informed choices in year 10 & 11 when applying for post-16 places. All pupils are exposed to a range of workplaces and employers through visits in and out of school and through our yearly careers day. This is extended in year 10 to a careers exposure week which includes pupils writing CV’s and attending a mock interview with a local business person.
In year 8 all pupils attend the Big Bang Fair to expose them to a range of STEM subjects. In year 9, they attend an access to professions conference at Aston University. This builds their understanding of the labour market and helps them to make informed choices for their KS4 options. In year 10 all pupils attend the Skills Show at the NEC to help them develop the language that they will need to use on college applications and CV’s.
This year we are also providing additional support for parents – this will be in the form of information evenings in the Autumn term for year 11, Spring term for year 9 and Summer term for year 10. These will allow parents to gain a deeper insight into the options post-16 and the requirements that their child will need to progress. Further details to follow.
Documents
Year 10 and 11 information booklet.pdf
Pathways and Enrichment Policy - 22-23.pdf
If you wish to access a hard copy of any policy please contact the school's office on 0121 459 4451 (Secondary) or 0121 458 5380 (Primary), alternatively email us at: info@arkkingsacademy.org
