Careers and Employability
At The Fernwood School we are committed to ensuring our pupils have access to high quality Careers education. We want to ensure that all pupils can develop the skills and knowledge that help them to make informed decisions about their future.
The decisions pupils make at school will have a big impact on their lives and we want to ensure they have as much advice, information and guidance to help them to decide which route will work best for them when they leave us. This may be Sixth Form College, further education or apprenticeships. We also want them to have high aspirations so they can be motivated and fully engaged with their education, understanding how this links to their future success.
We have a full careers programme with many curriculum opportunities which begins in Year 7, allowing pupils to develop their skills and ambitions for life as they begin their journey with us. We continuously strive for improvement and we are committed to building positive relationships with colleges and businesses so we can give our pupils real experiences of the world of work and education.
- Careers Guidance Programme and Operational Plan 2024-2025
- Careers Education at Fernwood
- First Destinations Year 11 2024
Parents
Work Experience
At The Fernwood School, we continue to support our Year 10 pupils to undertake work experience. It helps them to explore their strengths and weaknesses and identify the gaps in their skills. By helping pupils to explore the depths of their abilities, work experience can help pupils to draw a comparison between the skills they possess and those required by a specific job or career.
A recent survey showed two thirds of employers look for employees with relevant work experience because it helps them prepare for work and develop general business awareness.
We hold a ‘Working Life Week’ every year, the week before February half-term and we encourage Year 10 pupils to seek a up to five days of work experience for themselves.
This website page includes details of the activity including the letter to parents, assembly slides and information about how to seek placements.
We will also use the Year 10 Teams page to communicate any opportunities we become aware of with pupils.
For those pupils that are unsuccessful in securing a placement, or find a placement that is not a full week, full attendance in school is expected and we put on a range of activities and workshops in school to ensure they still have a week which introduces them to the world of work.
Labour Market Information
The leading sources of employment growth in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire LEP area are forecast to be construction, wholesale and retail trades, health and social care, support services and information technology.
LMI for All is an online data portal, developed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, which brings together existing national sources of high quality labour market information (LMI) helping to inform people’s choices about their careers. In the boxes below you can select a career and find out the average earnings for that profession. You can also read about projected work force changes, is your career aspiration in a growing or decreasing sector?
Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 guidelines that define best provision in secondary schools. At The Fernwood School, we are committed to providing access to high quality careers provision for our pupils.
A Stable Careers Programme
We have an annual programme of education and events to support all of our pupils and is known and understood by all of our community. The details of this are available in the link above and we also provide ‘one off’ activities when opportunities arise.
Learning from career and labour market information
We ensure that pupils have up to date information about careers and the labour market so they can make informed choices about their futures. This is communicated through Personal Development lessons and assemblies.
Addressing the needs of each pupil
Pupils receive a range of educational experiences and opportunities throughout their time at The Fernwood School. This grows as they develop through the school and work is tailored for their individual needs. We are committed to ensuring that every single pupil will have had input that enables them to make informed choices for their futures.
Linking curriculum learning to careers
All subjects link the learning in their lessons to careers and future jobs. There are many displays around school and one of the highlights of the school year is ‘Working Life Week’ in which all pupils in years 7-10 will have lessons and assemblies aimed at learning about careers in the various subject areas.
Encounters with employers and employees
Pupils have many opportunities to learn from employers and employees about the world of work. This includes work experience, visits to a range of businesses, Design Day for Year 9 and visiting speakers to assemblies.
Experiences of workplaces
Pupils will all have the opportunity to have the experience of a workplace during their time at The Fernwood School. All Year 10 pupils have the chance to go on a week’s work experience and there are a range of trips that pupils can take part in. This includes activities like a visit to Experian to celebrate International Women’s Day, exploring the world of working in technology for our female pupils.
Encounters with further and higher education
Our pupils have many opportunities to have encounters with further and higher education. We hold a very successful annual careers convention which is well attended by our pupils. We have built strong relationships with colleges and universities and pupils have the chance to hear from them during assemblies and to visit them. For example, the PE department run a trip to Loughborough University to look at the provision there.
Personal Guidance
Pupils receive personal guidance from a range of sources including Futures, Personal Development teachers and tutors. We are working towards ensuring that all pupils have had an interview with a professional and impartial careers advisor by the end of Year 11.
Colleges and Sixth Forms
https://www.bluecoataspley.co.uk/
https://www.nottinghamcollege.ac.uk/
https://www.trinity.nottingham.sch.uk/sixth-form/
https://www.wbs.school/page/?title=Post%2D16&pid=9
https://nottinghamhigh.co.uk/sixth-form/
https://nuast.org.uk/year12.php
https://www.ntu.ac.uk/life-at-ntu/campuses/brackenhurst-campus
http://www.george-spencer.com/sixth-form/
Apprenticeships
Military
Employers
Employer Engagement
We understand the importance of meaningful encounters between our pupilss and employers and give all our pupils the opportunity to interact with local and national employers in every year of their education at Fernwood. We aim to equip the next generation of workers with the knowledge, understanding and skills to make a successful transition from education to the workplace.
From years 7 to 11 our pupils have the opportunity to engage with employers through Work Experience, Mock Interviews, Speed Networking events, Work Insight visits, Careers and Apprenticeship Fairs, Careers talks and activities linked to curriculum lessons.
We are continuously exploring ways to add to our employer networks and activities. We are particularly keen to hear from employers who can help link our subject-related curriculum in the classroom to the world of work. We would welcome the opportunity to talk to any employers interested in visiting pupils in lessons a class and supporting a subject specific session.
If you would like to be involved in any of our employer engagement events and activities, please contact:
Miss Blyth Careers Lead
Telephone
- 0115 9286326
Employer and Education Partnerships
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Useful Websites
There are also useful websites that are designed to support pupils as they consider their life choices.
- https://www.thewowshow.org/ has launched careers guides for opportunities within the NHS. They aim to give an insight and a real encounter of what it means to have a career in the NHS and to make a difference to people’s lives.
- https://icould.com/ offers pupils more ideas about future jobs within their career path. Pupils can take a quiz (Buzz Quiz – this takes about 5 minutes to work through) to find jobs that might suit their personality and choices. They can also watch videos of people already working in these jobs to acquire more knowledge and understanding about what opportunities are available.
- https://www.careersbox.co.uk/ is a free online resource bank of film, news and information on a range of careers. The film clips show real people doing real jobs, providing a clear insight into careers in all sectors.
- http://www.plotr.co.uk is another website designed to allow pupils to consider their own personality, strengths and weaknesses and then access a wealth of information on a wide range of job choices.
- http://wheretheworkis.org/ offers an interactive tool enables users to explore demand for particular mid-skill roles and the potential salary benefits and likely levels of competition for these positions. The findings can be shown at UK-wide, national and regional levels, and within selected local enterprise partnership areas.
- https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ – offers information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work at all stages in your career.
- https://www.prospects.ac.uk/ – Prospects for graduate jobs, postgraduate study, advice about work experience, internship opportunities and graduate careers
- https://www.ucas.com/ – At the heart of connecting people to higher education
Further resources
Unifrog
Unifrog
The Universal Destinations Platform
We bring all the available information into one comprehensive, user-friendly platform that helps pupils make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications.
We empower teachers and counselors to manage progression effectively.
We partner with universities and employers to further support pupils to be successful.
Miss C Blyth - Careers Lead c.blyth@fernwood School
Mrs A Cannon - Assistant Head Teacher
Miss L Birnie - Careers Co-ordinator
Mrs E Gray - Head of Personal Development