United Learning Careers Intent
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.
A young person’s career reflects the progress they make in learning and work. It is part of Salford City Academy's vision and mission that all learners require a planned programme of activities to help them choose pathways that are right for them and to be able to manage their careers, sustain employability and achieve personal and economic wellbeing throughout their lives. All students from Year 8 will be exposed to a variety of careers provision from different pathways, including those that require apprenticeships and non-academic routes to careers that require university degrees, so that they can make informed choices Beyond SCA.
You can find our Careers Education, Information & Guidance Policy on our policy page.
Our Careers contact is Ms Emily Gilson (Emily.gilson@salfordcity-academy.org)
Students begin to consider their career choices in Year 7 when they focus on Academisation during Citizenship lessons, looking at setting themselves challenges and setting aspirations for their futures. Students will also look at enterprise and living in the wider world. Students will also have careers and aspirations sessions during enrichment days from Year 7 and they will access careers lessons in form time once a half term, with an assembly once a half term too.
The topics covered by students in Year 8 include possible career pathways, built around making option choices in Year 9.
In Year 10, the focus is on developing skills for particular careers, asking students to look at their skills thinking about options for continued education and preparation for work experience. Key activities include college taster days, work-related learning and this year a work experience programme in the summer term.
In Year 11, students consider a range of options, with a view to choosing the best one for them, whether that is continuing their education at a local college or applying for apprenticeships/Traineeships. We will make sure that students have access to information from all the local colleges and apprenticeship providers through face to face and online assemblies.
We measure careers through our Aspire Surveys, and Unifrog, an online platform that all students have access to. Parents and carers will be given access to this platform too, so that they can see what activities their child has taken part in.
We review the Gatsby benchmark progress using the Compass Plus audit which is undertaken on a termly with our enterprise co-ordinator (via GMCA), to ensure the findings are evidenced and reliable, and the action plan is reviewed annually every September, the latest review completed in March 2024.
We want all our students to be familiar with the levels of education in the UK and to use this knowledge to choose the right pathways.