Careers Guidance

At Eckington School, we are passionate about supporting students through the process of deciding upon the direction they take after finishing school. The world is changing around us at a very fast pace and is becoming increasingly competitive. Students who start school in Year 7 will need to develop excellent employability skills along the way in order make a successful transition from education to employment. It is important for them to build and develop skills that will give them ‘the edge’ in the future.

At Eckington, our students will receive a high-quality careers education and guidance programme to help them make informed decisions about their future pathway and to build essential employability skills alongside their academic studies. Eckington School is proud to hold the Career Mark, reflecting the high standard of careers education that is offered to our students. Eckington aims to give all students the opportunity to fulfil their potential and to experience success in a safe, challenging and stimulating environment. Careers education, information and guidance (CEIAG) plays an important role in motivating our students and raising their aspirations, promoting equality of opportunity and maximising their academic and personal achievement whilst at school and beyond.

Effective CEIAG will:

Empower young people to plan and manage their own futures.
Prepare students for the next stage of learning and/or work.
Respond to the individual student needs.
Provide information and advice.
Raise aspirations and motivate individuals.
Actively promote equality of opportunity and challenge stereotypes.

We provide impartial guidance and advice on further education, training or employment across key stage 3, key stage 4 and key stage 5 (post-16), and involve many outside agencies such as employers and education providers in the support we offer.

Measuring the careers programme effectiveness

The effectiveness of our CEIAG offer is measured termly against the Gatsby benchmarks of effective careers provision. In addition, we undergo external assessment every two years as part of the 'Quality in Careers Standard', a nationally recognised accreditation. We currently hold the Career Mark Gold Award as a result of this assessment.

NEET (not in education, employment or training) figures are tracked for three years after students leave Eckington, to evaluate the longer term effectiveness of our careers education and guidance.

The careers guidance information on this website will be reviewed in July 2024.

CEIAG resources

Further resources to help students and their parents/carers are available below and on our post-16 careers guidance, post-18 careers guidance and work experience pages.

Student access to CEIAG

As part of their careers entitlement at Eckington School, all students can expect:

Support, advice and impartial guidance about all the options available to you, so that you fully understand what these involve.
An excellent programme of careers education which helps to build skills and knowledge so that they transition successfully into adult life.
Opportunities for personal support, advice and guidance at key points when they need it most to help them make plans for their future.
The opportunity to learn about the world of work first-hand and have engagement opportunities with careers professionals and workplaces.>

Careers learning at Eckington School has three key learning outcomes:

Develop yourself. Students will develop self-awareness, self-determination and self-improvement which underpin aspiration, ambition and achievement in careers, learning and the world of work.
World of work. Students will be encouraged to explore, investigate and understand the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences that careers and the world of work have to offer is a prerequisite for successful planning and development.
Career Management. Students will recognise that a range of career management, employability and enterprise skills is the key to meeting challenges, making progress and managing change.

One to one careers advice

All students at Eckington are entitled to one to one advice and support from our specialist Careers Advisor. To arrange a careers interview students can:

Ask their form tutor.
Ask their leader of student development.
Ask at the Careers Office in the Sixth Form lobby.
Get in touch with our school Careers Leader, Mrs Moor.
Alternatively, contact David Holloway direct at: info@davidhollowaycareers.com

Researching jobs and careers

Students who have a vision of where they want to be in the future may find it easier to plan their next steps more easily. To help students and parents to get an idea of what types of jobs are out there we would suggest looking at the following websites:

National Careers Service: careers information, advice and guidance for all career stages. This government resource includes:
- Skills Assessment: take the questionnaire to discover your skills and potential careers.
- Explore careers: information about different jobs and what they involve.
- Find a course: search for online and classroom courses to help you get a job or develop your skills.
Unifrog: the Eckington School careers platform provides skills quizzes and careers research. Students can log in using their school email address. Including massive open online courses (MOOCS) for students to study.
icould: videos, guides and advice to provide careers ideas and information.
Virtual Careers Fair ‘My Futures’
Careermag: Career magazines from Careermap, containing career information and qualification guidance.
Start: explore study and career choices with the Start website.
Success at School: website bringing together information on careers and study options.
Future Learn: information on training, qualifications and experience needed for various careers.
Barclays LifeSkills: tools and resources to give the skills, knowledge and confidence for work.
Careersbox: national careers film library, a free careers resource showing hundreds of real people doing real jobs.
BeReady: Eckington School’s employability skills site.

Labour market information

Shape your future in South Yorkshire: a guide to regional labour market information from the Higher Education Progression Partnership (Hepp).
Derbyshire Observatory: data and statistics for Derbyshire including labour market information.
LMI for All: high quality, reliable labour market information (LMI) to inform careers decisions.

Help for parents and carers

Eckington Careers News: A careers news site full of information and useful links for parents and carers.
The Parent Perspective Podcast
Careers Magazine for parents supporting school leavers.
Barclays life skills for parents (employability support for your child).
HEPP: The Higher Education Progression Partnership (HEPP): provides impartial advice and guidance across the Sheffield City Region encouraging more children, young people and adults to consider higher education opportunities.

Can you help?

Could you:

Or your company be a part of Eckington School careers fairs?
Be part of our mock interviews with Year 10 or 11 students and help them structure their CVs?
Get involved in extracurricular clubs and activities such as Young Enterprise?
Give an inspiring talk based on your industry or job role?
Provide coaching/mentoring for our students?
Run a hands-on workshop with activities relating to your area of expertise?
Be part of our discussions about pathways after school, eg apprenticeships?
Help champion specific issues and challenge barriers in the workplace around gender stereotyping, disability etc?
Help bring a subject lesson or school subject to life by linking it to your industry?
Offer a work experience placement for students at your business premises?
Become an ambassador supporting employment routes for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and offer a work experience placement that is co-supported by the school?

Please contact Mrs Warren-Armes at enquiries@eckington.chorustrust.org if you could help with any of these.