Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance and Post 16 education.

Our Careers Programme - Step Beyond

careers

At Salford City Academy, we want our students to leave school with high aspirations and make informed decisions on their next choice of destinations. Embedding careers education in the culture of the school from the outset and providing a coherent careers journey will allow our students to take responsibility for their personal development and make the most of all opportunities presented to them.

Salford City Academy recognises that there is an expectation to provide careers education in Years 7-11 and to give learners access to impartial and independent careers information, education and guidance, providing extra support as required for learners with additional needs, as outlined in the Gatsby Career Benchmarks.

As part of the Step Beyond Programme, we offer the following:

SWOOSH!?
Click here to view our full Step Beyond Programme

Provider Access Legislation

Every pupil, whatever their ambitions, should have the opportunity to explore what it is like to learn at the full range of learning providers, including colleges, universities, apprenticeships, and training providers (including employers), University Technical Colleges (UTCs), and Studio Schools. That is why we ensure there is the opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access all year 8 to 11 pupils via assemblies, form time sessions, character days, and educational visits. By hearing directly from a range of providers, every pupil can build up a full picture of the options available and consider how the opportunity to study or train in different ways, and in different environments, might suit their skills, interests, and aptitudes. This will lead to better-informed choices and help to reduce the risk of young people dropping out of courses.

Our Careers Team

Ms E Gilson

Ms E Gilson

Lead Practitioner

Students, parents, teachers, and employers can find out more information about our careers programme by contacting our trained advisor, Ms Gilson.  Should you wish to make an appointment, please contact us at Emily.gilson@salfordcity-academy.org.

GM Higher

Working alongside GM Higher, we operate an extensive Careers programme that runs alongside all of the specific year group activities. All year groups participate in careers driven activities designed for their age range, including careers fairs, mock interviews and STEM activities. Students are able to experience lots of opportunities to speak to representatives from a wide range of career sectors, universities, colleges and training providers raising their future aspirations.

Evaluation of our Careers Programme

We evaluate our careers provision at the end of each term and do this effectively via the compass+ evaluation tool. This tool is used to let us know how we are performing against the Gatsby Benchmarks and provides us with areas for improvement.

In addition to this formal monitoring of the impact of CIEAG and provider access will be carried out through:

  • The school’s CIEAG checklist
  • Careers guidance interview records
  • Informal feedback from students, parents, teachers and employers through random sampling
  • Student questionnaires for individual guidance interviews and group work
  • Lesson observations
  • Enterprise Advisor reviews
  • Termly pupil voice via My Aspire
  • Local partnership engagement logs
  • Feedback from associated HE institutions

Review

The careers information on this page will be reviewed in August 2025.

Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Support for Parents

Helping your child begin their career journey - Success at School

A booklet produced by Success at School containing information on how to support your child in finding the appropriate career pathway for them. Click here to download the guide.                   

Careers Advice for Parents

This is an online website designed to give you, as parents, an easy-to-read overview of all the essential facts on finding jobs and apprenticeships or choosing further and higher education courses which could make a real difference to your child's future career prospects. Click here to visit the Careers Advice for Parents website. 

The Parents' Guide to...

This website offers a range of guides to help parents to support their children with their choices. Guides are available to download for various costs. Visit their website https://www.theparentsguideto.co.uk/guides

Apprenticeships Information:

“Apprenticeships.gov” publish monthly guidance for parents who would like to know more about this post-16 pathway. See the latest here.

Post-16 Advice and Information for Students

Applying to Colleges

If you are thinking of applying to further education, here are our local providers. Click on the links below to access more information about courses, open evenings, and how to apply.

Apprenticeships

What is an apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships combine practical training in a job with study.

As an apprentice you will:

  • work alongside experienced staff
  • gain job-specific skills
  • earn a wage and get holiday pay
  • get time for study related to your job role (usually one day a week)
  • some apprenticeships can also give you an extra qualification

How to apply

More information and details on how to apply can be found here:

GMACS

GMACS

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships

 

T-Levels

What are T-Levels?

T-Levels are a new, 2-year qualification designed to give you a head start towards the career you want.

The government has developed T-Levels to deliver world-class technical education and give you a new choice after GCSEs.

How to apply

More information and details on how to apply can be found here:

T-Levels

T-Levels

Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Support for Employers

Salford City Academy recognises the importance of employers’ support in adding relevance to all aspects of our Careers Programme, and it is essential for us to meet the criteria for Gatsby Benchmarks 5 and 6:

  • BM5 Every student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment, and the skills that are valued in the workplace.
  • BM6 Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing, or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.

Some of how we work with businesses and organisations are:

  • Guest speaker talks and presentations
  • Delivery of small parts of curriculum content
  • Workplace visits
  • Assistance with mock interviews
  • Providing Work Experience
  • Hands-on workshops
  • Representation at parents’ evenings and careers fairs

Our Employer Partners

Watch this video to find out how we work in partnership with ITV and Farrat to create career opportunities for our students.

Please contact Ms Gilson (Careers Leader) at emily.gilson@salfordcity-academy.org for further information.

General Information:

Employers | The Careers and Enterprise Company

The Careers and Enterprise Company provides employers with a wealth of resources to help you support young people to take their best next step into the world of work.

Guidance for Employers: Gatsby Benchmark updates | The Careers and Enterprise Company

Our Employer Partners

 

Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance Support for Teachers

Teachers should take the time to familiarise themselves with the Gatsby Benchmarks.

All teaching staff will be given CPD this year on Post 16 pathways and the qualifications that are needed. This will ensure that staff are able to have meaningful conversations with students regarding their future choices. Staff will also be trained on Unifrog and will deliver half-termly careers lessons in form time.

Careers provision will be taught in form time and throughout normal curriculum lessons, so that students understand the purpose of what they are learning.

Curriculum
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