Curriculum
Careers Education, Advice, Information and Guidance (CEIAG)
Colne Valley High School employs two Careers Advisers to support students with Careers Advice and Guidance and ensure they make informed decisions regarding their Post 16 choices.
The Careers Leader for Colne Valley High School is Mrs S Hardcastle. Please contact her with any questions about the careers service the school offers. Mrs E Mawhinney also supports careers education at CVHS.
Mrs S Hardcastle
Available: Monday-Friday, 8.00am-4.00pm during term time.
Contact details: shardcastle@thecvhs.co.uk Tel: 01484 848680 ext. 650
Mrs E Mawhinney
Available: Mondays & Tuesdays, 8.00am-4.00pm.
Contact details: emawhinney@thecvhs.co.uk Tel: 01484 848680
You can also follow the Careers department on Twitter for updates on events within school, as well as vacancies and events in the local area.
All students in Years 8-11 are enabled to develop the skills needed to make informed decisions and to develop their employability so they make successful transitions post-16. We engage proactively with our local further education and work-based learning providers. Termly Business Breakfast events ensure regular two-way communication with local employers. Through our comprehensive careers and employer engagement approach our students are able:
- To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point.
- To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships through options events, assemblies, career spotlights, employer engagement events and taster sessions.
- To understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.
Summary of the Careers Programme: Years 7-11
We assess the impact of our careers provision to inform Key Stage 4 course provision and the planning of additional support for students (particularly disadvantaged students). We measure impact in the following ways:
- Years 7-11 student attendance at Career Spotlight events.
- Year 7-11 parental & student attendance and feedback at events, including ‘guided choices’.
- Attendance and feedback from our annual Careers Fair.
- Year 9 & 10 student attendance at Further & Higher education events e.g., Oxford, Cambridge and across West Yorkshire.
- Year 11 completion of one week’s work experience and employer/student feedback.
- Year 11 student completion of Post 16 applications to college, apprenticeship positions, voluntary work etc.
- Local business engagement with local companies, including work experience, contributions to Year 11 mock interviews, support for Careers Spotlight events, attendance at the Business Breakfast group.
- Post-16 student destinations, both immediately upon leaving school and using DFE measures.
- Careers provision impact data is reviewed each year against whole school priorities.
Destinations data
Local FE destinations data is published online as soon as it becomes available in the autumn term after students become post-16. National data sets become available around 1-2 years after students leave school and are published on our website.
Measuring Success
The impact and success of the schools’ CEAIG programme is regularly evaluated, using the Compass Tool to measure the provision against each of the seven Gatsby benchmarks and through internal student voice feedback and evaluations.
As part of the Careers programme, all Year 10 students will take part in work experience in the summer term. Please see the resources below which can support your child with securing a work placement.
The websites below are useful when making plans for the future and considering career options:
Unifrog – www.unifrog.org
Colne Valley High School use Unifrog as the main Careers platform for your child to complete Careers research, complete careers quizzes and complete Careers tasks as part of the form time programme. Your child has a Unifrog account and can access this at home and in school.
Labour Market Information
Find out about career areas that will be in demand in the future!
www.futuregoals.co.uk
Career Exploration
Career Test – find out which career suits your personality.
The National Careers Service – explore job roles and access a variety of careers information.
Prospects – explore careers and find out information on specific job roles.
Kirklees Top 100 companies (to follow)
Making college applications and researching courses for Further and Higher Education
What you study at sixth form or college can affect your options at university and your future career. Use the Informed Choices website to help you understand which subjects open up different degrees, particularly at Russell Group universities.
Apprenticeships – find out more about apprenticeships and search for vacancies:
Colne Valley High School offer a variety of career events and activities and are always looking to work more closely with employers. Some of the ways in which you can get involved are:
- Attend a Business Breakfast – we hold these twice a year and they are a good opportunity to network with other local businesses and find out more about the school.
- Attend our Careers Fair – looking for an apprentice or to promote your organisation? Come to our Careers Fair where we invite students from Years 10 & 11 to find out more about the apprenticeship opportunities available.
- Offer a work experience placement – our Year 11 students take part in one week of work experience in October.
- Deliver a spotlight session – speak to our students about the career path you have taken, providing them with information on specific career areas.
- Join our Alumni network (link) – join our alumni network and find out about employer events and opportunities within school.
- Follow @cvhs_careers on Twitter – keep up to date about any upcoming events that you may want to be involved in.
- Find out more about engaging with schools and consider signing up for ‘Give an hour’ (specifying Colne Valley High School when you sign up) https://www.futuregoals.co.uk/employer/engage-with-young-people/
- If you are interested in working with Colne Valley High School, please contact Samantha Hardcastle on 01484 848680 or shardcastle@thecvhs.co.uk.
- For more information on how your business can get involved with schools visit: www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/employers
