Aims
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.
The 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.
Primary Careers Learning
In the Primary Phase, we aim to provide pupils with a range of meaningful, age-appropriate experiences, visits and visitors that inspire and inform them about the world of work and routes into professional careers so that every pupil is well-prepared to make informed choices in the future. We foster pupils’ aspirations and develop the skills, values and positive sense of self needed for success throughout their time at school and beyond.
| When will it happen? | Objective |
|---|---|
| Careers Week |
Every year we hold a Careers Week to celebrate the dreams and ambitions of our pupils. All primary school pupils participate in the following:
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| Curriculum |
Careers learning is embedded within the curriculum from EYFS to Year 6 to encourage pupils to understand the links between different subject domains and associated careers. Through the Economic Wellbeing strand of our PSHE curriculum, pupils learn to set and achieve goals, identify their personal strengths and learn how to overcome challenges, developing a strong sense of self and laying the foundations for future success. |
| Trips and Experience |
Throughout their time at primary, pupils have a range of meaningful careers-linked trips and experiences such as visits to workplaces and the University of Birmingham. We host careers workshops, and visits from career role models, providing pupils with valuable insights into the world of work. As part of the Connections Passport, pupils from EYFS to Year 6 have 7 essential experiences connecting them to their futures, including taking part in an enterprise event, completing a financial literacy programme and visiting a university. All pupils also celebrate International Women’s Day with a focus on dispelling gender stereotypes, particularly within careers. Pupils in Year 5 participate in a ‘Make £5 Grow’ enterprising project to develop entrepreneurial skills. |
Secondary Phase - Key activities
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 pupil and key subjects they require for future study.
Careers in the secondary phase are delivered as part of the Compass (PSHE) curriculum as well as within subjects. In years 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 years 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 CVs 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 CVs.
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.
Guides and Resources
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Unifrog is a complete destinations platform that allows students to search for opportunities and make applications for their next steps. Unifrog will help pupils to explore their key interests and career paths they can take to reach your goals.
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The Birmingham Careers Service is a free support service that providie careers information, advice and guidance to young people who are not in education, employment or training.