Careers Education

The Careers Team includes Mrs Green, Assistant Principal, who is the Careers Lead and Mrs Gawthorn, Careers Officer. They are available to support with general advice and guidance, careers interviews and more specific careers-based questions, and can be contacted at NovaCareers@novahreodacademy.org.uk or telephone 01793 549112.  

All students will be entitled to a Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme that:

• provides good quality independent careers advice to students which inspires them and motivates them to fulfil their potential;
• provides personal advice and guidance which is in the best interests of, and meets the needs of, all students;
• is based on the Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Careers Guidance;
• contributes to the raising of student achievement by encouraging students to develop high aspirations and consider a broad and ambitious range of careers;
• provides opportunities to work in partnership with employers, apprenticeship and training providers, local colleges. Sixth forms and others;
• provides opportunities to inspire students through real-life contact with the world of work;
• develops enterprise and employability skills including skills for self-employment;
• supports inclusion, challenges stereotyping and promotes equality of opportunity;
• develops students’ skills and knowledge of careers including career management skills and knowledge of the local labour market (LMI);
• ensures students are aware of the full range of academic and technical routes available at each transition point so that students have the necessary knowledge to make successful transitions;
• provides opportunities for meaningful encounters with employees, employers, further and higher education, our alumni and experience of workplaces; 
• supports social mobility by improving opportunities for all students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities and
• is weaved and embedded into subjects across the curriculum (including PHSE) (Gatsby benchmark 4)

If you are a parent/carer of a child at Nova Hreod Academy and would like to know more about our careers programme, please email novacareers@novahreodacademy.org.uk

The 8 benchmarks are a framework for good career guidance and developed to support secondary schools and colleges in providing students with the best possible careers education, information, advice and guidance.

Our careers education and guidance policy can be found here.  All advice provided is impartial and in the students’ best interest.  You can find our Provider Access Statement here.

Destination Data for Year 11 Leavers 2023/24

The following partners support our CEIAG programme events:-

Arval, SSE plc, BMW Group, Study Higher, Bath and Reading Universities, NHS, Ask Apprenticeships, RAU, Education Business Partnership, the Police, Army and RAF.

We also have well established links with local FE colleges and training providers and work closely with the local Careers and Enterprise Company Careers Hub.

To see our STEM Partners page please click here.

Amazing Apprenticeships

Arval CV Writing Workshop Presentation

Careermap for School Leavers

Choices Magazine - The monthly parent & carer guide to apprenticeships and technical education

Guidance on creating your CV

Interview fact sheet - College interview process and requirements

Guide to Becoming a Police Officer

Wiltshire Police current vacancies

	Plan your study & work.  Your choices at 14, 16 and 18, explore different job sectors and how you can study and work at the same time - even to university level.
	icould has a range of video clips showing real peoples talking about their jobs and careers.
	LifeSkills, created with Barclays, is a free, curriculum-linked programme developed with teachers to help improve the skills and employability of young people in the U.K.
	The Unifrog platform helps students with the whole progression process - from exploring their interests, to recording the great things they've done, to finding education and training opportunities, to drafting their applications. Click here to go to the unifrog website https://www.unifrog.org/

At Nova Hreod Academy, we work closely with parents and carers to support their children to make informed career choices. Parents and carers are encouraged to attend the careers events and curriculum electives and options evenings, and we always ensure that we provide communications via letter, EPraise etc for these events.  
Using our website, newsletters, our Post 16 choices booklet etc we promote events, work experience, apprenticeship and other career related opportunities and information to students, parents and carers relating to a wide range of subjects, including local labour market information.

	How much does it cost for my child to go to university?  To find out more please click here.
	Careermag for parents
	Helping your child search and apply for Apprenticeships
	Parents Guide to Green Careers

Gatsby have produced some videos to demonstrate that you don’t need to be careers experts to get involved in your child’s career decision making.  The following videos help to support you in your parental engagement activities.

Click <<here>> to hear from Olympic champion Becky Adlington’s mum
Click <<here>> to hear from Croydon-based mother of JLS band member JB Gill
Click <<here>> to hear from parents of ‘Essex Barrister’ Alexandra Wilson
Click <<here>> for an overview video from parents of people at the top of their field highlighting to parents, carers and guardians the influence they can have by regularly talking to their teenagers about their future

Parents and carers are always welcome to contact the careers team NovaCareers@novahreodacademy.org.uk to seek advice and ask any questions they might have regarding careers pathways.  You can also ring 01793 549112 between 9 am and 1 pm. 

Nova Hreod Academy develop, monitor and evaluate CEAIG across the school on a regular basis.

Nova Hreod Academy’s progress towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks is evaluated using the online Compass tool (as recommended in Careers guidance and access for education and training providers Jan 2018).  This will be carried out on an annual basis by the Senior Leadership Team. The CEIAG development plan is based upon the outcomes of the Compass audit.

Provision is also monitored through regular feedback from students, parents/carers, staff, governors and our partners. This feedback is collected through questionnaires, forms, verbal feedback etc.  This is analysed by the Headteacher with actions fed back to staff.  Key action points are also included in the annual school improvement plan.

External provision is monitored and evaluated through the school’s quality assurance procedures including observations, student/staff/parents & carers feedback at the end of each event. This is analysed by the Careers Team and Headteacher with actions fed back to staff and other relevant personnel.  Key action points are also included in the school improvement plan.

The effectiveness of our careers guidance will be reflected in the higher numbers of students progressing to positive destinations such as apprenticeships, technical routes, sixth form colleges, further education colleges, or employment.  Destination data is used to assess how successfully students make the transition into the next stage of education or training, or into employment and to inform future CEIAG provision. This is analysed by the Senior Leadership Team with key trends and actions fed back to Governors.

The CEIAG policy is ratified by the Headteacher and Governors and reviewed bi-annually.  

Information for teachers 

We are always looking for businesses to inspire our students to think more widely about their futures and working life. Allowing students to hear from real life role models means they then see a true demonstration of the relevance and connection of what is taught in the classroom - it helps students contextualise their learning and bring classroom subjects to life, linking this with a specific career field.

There are many ways businesses can help Nova Hreod Academy students realise their potential and pursue the right career path for them. In fact, the more businesses we can involve in our careers programme, the more experiences students have. There is always a project running that we are looking for support from local businesses for. Here are just a few examples of ways you could get involved:

Business Mentoring: This involves supporting students in their CV and application writing, understanding their motivations, choices, goals and action planning to reach their career goals.

Work Inspiration visits: Providing “a day in the life of type experience” to help students to understand the variety and scope of roles within an organisation and the career paths of employees. Many organisations find that young people are often unaware of the full range of potential roles within an organisation. This initiative aims to raise their awareness by providing an overview of the range of jobs that exist, ensuring they are better prepared when they enter the workplace because they will have more realistic expectations, understand what skills are required and be able to make more informed decisions about their study and career choices. For employers, this means higher quality applicants, reduction in recruitment costs and improved retention.

Mock Interviews: In order to make our mock interview sessions as meaningful as possible, we also use external business people to hold the interviews with the young people. The aim is for students to understand how to prepare for an interview and build their interview skills. We also ask that students are allowed time at the end of the interview to ask any questions they may have about you, your job, careers in your industry etc.

Work Experience Placements: We are always seeking businesses who could support our annual Year 10 work experience placement weeks in July.  This allows students to get a real understanding of what it’s like work in a business environment, help them decide if the industry is for them and really steer them in a positive direction. We find a lot of students go on to apply for apprenticeship vacancies with the companies they have worked with.
Other ways in which businesses can support students are:

• Careers talks
• CV workshops
• Participation in Futures Evening

You can contact Mrs Gawthorn for further information.