Careers Programme
Woodlands offers an effective Careers programme which includes:
- Opportunities across the curriculum to develop transferable life and social skills that support careers, employability and enterprise
- The development of students’ self-advocacy, negotiation, decision-making and transition skills
- Purposeful interactions with a range of trusted and familiar adults including school staff and visitors
- Recognition of the learner's voice and the active involvement of young people in decisions that affect their future, both individually and collectively
- Information, advice and guidance
Aims
The aims of careers provision are the same for all young people:
- Independent living and working
- Choice
- Hope and optimism
- Adaptability and resilience
- Access to and engagement in decent work in all its forms
- Opportunities to learn and make progress
- The pursuit of wellbeing and happiness
Our Careers Team
Careers Leader
Alice Arnold
01939 232372
Link Governor
Andrew Edwards
Please contact our Enterprise Co-ordinator
Emma Lopez
Careers Policy
To read the full Careers Policy, please click on the following link:
Further Education and Training Provider Access
Woodlands School believes in giving Further Education, Higher Education and training providers the opportunity to talk to learners at the school.
Please see our Provider Access Policy by clicking on the below link;
Careers Programme
"The learners were respectful and focused, having fun learning about writing CVs. They interacted well, demonstrating good listening skills and understanding of the content."
Claire Gilkes, Schools Adviser
DWP Job Centre Plus
Our Careers Programme offers a variety of interactions with role models, inspiring speakers, employers and further education providers, including College Taster Sessions, work-related courses and work experience activities.
PSHE
At Woodlands, we use Jigsaw PSHE lessons, which also help support our learners to develop their Social and Emotional Learning. The Jigsaw PSHE lessons that help deliver careers education are identified within our Careers Programmes for Key stages 3 and 4. See the link below for the Jigsaw website.
Branch activities
During Branch sessions, our learners take part in discussions and debates, watch or read news reports and have one-to-one and group meetings to discuss their personal progress, using their Person-Centred Plans (PCPs).
Subject specific careers information
Around the school, subject areas display and refer to information about careers related to that subject, as well as labour market information. Many thanks to the Marches Careers Hub for supporting our learners and staff with up-to-date, relevant information resources. Please see the link below.
Please see the two links below for advice and support.
Careers Fair
On November 10th, we will be holding a Careers Fair where our learners demonstrate their skills and achievements to visiting employers and Post 16 Providers.
Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby career benchmarks are predominantly used as a robust framework for developing career guidance in schools that is world-class.
We recognise that effective careers guidance is the driving force to securing futures. We want young people to fully understand the world of possibilities out there and make the most of their talents and create lasting careers.
We use the Compass tool to help us to audit our progress in meeting the Gatsby benchmarks. This is reviewed termly. Please click on the links below for the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Employers
If you are an employer and would like to help us to create meaningful encounters with the world of work for our learners, we’d love to hear from you. Although Woodlands is based in Wem, our learners come from all over Shropshire. Data shows that a young person who has four or more encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education and training and can go on to earn 18% more during their career.
What could you do?
- Support us to provide at least four employer and workplace encounters for our learners, starting from Year 7 or earlier
- Visiting our school to deliver work-related learning, or just talk about your work
- Mentoring our learners
- Supporting our learners to experience a real working environment away from school
- Providing work experience placements and/or work shadowing
- Supporting our events
We would love to hear from you.
Please contact: Alice Arnold, CEIAG Lead
Preparing for Adulthood
The Preparing for Adulthood programme was designed to support young people with special educational needs and disabilities into adulthood with paid employment, good health, independent living and friends, relationships and community inclusion. It is still used to support EHCP outcomes for young people from Year 9 to gain the skills and experience they will need to become as independent as possible.
Please click on the link below to the NDTi website.
Teachers
Subject specific skills posters (provided by Marches Careers Hub) are displayed in the relevant subject rooms. They include relevant information about careers related to each subject, as well as up-to-date labour market information.
Students
Work experience
Work experience helps you to:
- Understand the world of work
- Increase your knowledge of particular careers
- Improve your skills and talents
- Gain confidence and maturity
- Appreciate the importance of knowledge, skills and qualifications gained in school
- Develop appropriate behaviours
Work experience is offered to Year 10 and 11 learners as an extended work placement, a three-day experience or supported visits, depending on individual needs. A step-by-step introduction to the workplace is supported by school staff, and placements are usually based in familiar surroundings to begin with. Woodlands staff can support learners with all stages of the work experience process as needed.
Careers Guidance interviews
All learners have the opportunity for independent careers guidance meetings with Siobhan Williams, our Careers Adviser in Years 9, 10 and 11, in addition to one-to-one careers and Post 16 planning meetings with our own Careers Lead.