Careers Education Information Advice & Guidance

Melksham Oak strive to provide students across Years 7- 13 with inspirational, achievable and current information, advice and guidance to allow individuals to make informed choices for their future pathways.

Together we will bridge the gap between Education and Employment.

We achieve this by using a range of careers education programme, workshops, encounters, insights and trips along with interactive personal careers guidance, a wide range of resources, activities and learning in order to meet the needs of every individual. We provide every student and stakeholders with the information, key skills, analysis and positivity to enable everyone to pursue their aspirations. We are committed to nurturing students interests, passions and creativity enabling them with impartial and encouraging information advice and guidance.

Our Careers Programme is made up of a mixture of a calendar of events, trips, employer encounters, careers in curriculum focus sessions and positive development to becoming employability ready. We ensure all students are armed with the right skills, knowledge and behaviours for successful and suitable onward pathways.

For further information, you can contact any of the team listed below.

Careers Team

Our Team supporting Careers Education:-

Personal Careers Guidance can be requested by contacting our Head of Careers, Ceri Tranter, by e-mailing [email protected] or by telephoning: (01225) 792700 Extension: 841.

Melksham Oak are committed to meeting all of the Gatsby Benchmarks, CDI framework and Dfe Guidance; working in collaboration with Careers Enterprise Company.

We intend to provide a bespoke, robust, dynamic and creative careers programme to every individual by implementing the information and resources into curriculum and extracurricular activities. We ensure that every individual is provided with all the careers information, advice and guidance to make a positive impact on their future. Details of our programme can be found below:

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Gatsby Benchmarks

The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 guidelines that define the best careers provision in secondary schools as detailed below:

1. A Stable Careers Programme

Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers.

2. Learning from Career and Labour Market Information

Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. they will need the support of an informed adviser to make the best use of available information.

3. Addressing the Needs of Each Pupil

Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.

4. Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers

All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For examples, STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of career paths.

5. Encounters with Employers and Employees

Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.

6. Experiences of Workplaces

Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.

7. Encounters with Further and Higher Education

All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. this includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.

8. Personal Guidance

Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers advisor, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be timed to meet their individual needs.

CDI Framework

A framework ensuring development and progression of skills, knowledge and attitudes to develop a positive career path though 6 Learning areas :-Growth by learning about yourself, Exploring possibilities, Managing and Creating opportunities, Balancing Life and Work and seeing the Bigger Picture.