Careers Advice

Outwood Academy Portland seeks to positively support all students to acquire the educational, social and employability skills necessary for lifelong success in a diverse and changing world of work.

We are currently working with different providers to ensure our students receive a careers education and guidance programme which:

  • Is personal to you and always puts your interests first.
  • Motivates and inspires you to consider all opportunities both within and outside the academy.
  • Helps you to gain the skills you need to make your career ambitions a reality.
  • Provides the support you need to be successful.
  • Helps you access any additional support you might need.
  • Is delivered by trained and qualified teachers and advisers, with up-to-date knowledge.
  • Gives you an understanding of careers pathways and local labour market information.
  • Protect and respects your personal information and shares it only with your consent.

Together with staff from Progress Careers, one of the providers we work with, we will support your career development in a number of ways including:

  • Information and discussion in lessons and assemblies to help you make decisions about your future activties and events such as career fairs.
  • Access to career advisers in a variety of ways including individual meetings.
  • Drop-in sessions, learning pathway planning and results days.
  • Careers information and IT based careers programmes information and updates on notice boards, plasma screens and websites.

Students, parents/carers and staff can access our careers information site, including local apprenticeship opportunities, and hints & tips regarding careers:

Careers Portal

Outwood Academy Portland Careers Programme is commited to developing a whole school approach to providing all students with up-to-date, impartial, independent and varied careers, education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) as defined by the CDI framework and the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks.

Our guidance and support aims to guarantee students have clear, aspirational and realistic goals for their future study. This in turn secures increased motivation towards studies, higher self-esteem, greater attainment at GCSE, and ever improving staying on rates at college, leading to all our learners securing meaningful and engaging employment.

We are determined to further develop our strong partnerships with training providers and employers to secure placements for our students and seek to ensure that our students have the skills that they, and the country, require. The development of the workplace skills will increasingly be supported by our curriculum and specific events.

Through our Careers Programme young people will secure:

  1. Encounters with employers, with workplaces and with further and higher education.
  2. Information about jobs and how the curriculum connects careers.
  3. A plan tailored to individual needs and supported by guidance.

We are committed to the vision laid out in the DfE January 2018 document "Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers" in that:

  • we have begun to offer every young person at least one meaningful encounter with employers per year, from Years 7 to 13.
  • our academy has appointed a named person to the role of Careers Leader.
  • we have also published the details of its careers programme so that parents can see the timetable for events (this document).
  • our academy has begun using the Gatsby Benchmarks to improve careers provision, aiming to ensure that all of them are met by the end of December 2020.

The following information can be found on this page:

  • Our Provider Access Policy
  • the name, email address and telephone number of our Careers Leader.
  • a summary of the careers programme, including details of how students, parents, teachers and employers may access information about careers.
  • how the school measures and assesses the impact of the careers programme on students.
  • the date of the school's next review of the information published.

  1. A stable careers programme
    Our schools will have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by students, parents, teachers, governors and employers.
  2. Learning from career and labour market informtion (LMI)
    Every student, and their parents, will have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities, that is relevant to our local area, supported by an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
  3. Addressing the need of each student
    Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each student. Our school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
  4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
    All teachers will link curriculum learning with careers where possible. STEM subject teachers will highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths where lesson opportunities present themselves.
  5. Encounters with employers and employees
    Every student will have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace, in particular within curriculum lessons, at least one per year.
  6. Experiences of workplaces
    Every student will 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 students will 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 student will have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career adviser, who is trained at Level 6 or higher, whenever significant study or career choices are being made. These interviews will be expected for all students but should be timed to meet their individual needs.

Each term all year groups have a minimum of one CEIAG assembly. Term 1 is an introduction to Progress Careers, our impartial, external careers advisors, and what they offer. Term 2 is an aspirational assembly led by our careers coordinator and in Term 3 there is a further education/higher education focus. There are several other assemblies that run throughout the year led by various external providers for various year groups with a focus on aspirations, further and higher education, careers and professions.

Students can access careers information in many ways at the academy including:

  • Attending an interview in the careers room located near Student Reception.
  • Drop in sessions with Progress Careers each week during breaks, lunch and at the end of the school day.
  • The use of careers software which is available to all students.
  • Careers information within subject lessons.
  • All Year 11s will have a one-to-one careers meeting with a careers adviser from Progress Careers.

The Baker Clause

The Baker Clause is an amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017 which states that schools must allow colleges and training providers access to all students in years 8-13 to tell them about non - academic routes which are available to them.

In summary, all students at Outwood Academy Portland have opportunities to learn about opportunities to access alternative routes to employment, including vocational qualifications and apprenticeships via Progress Careers, assemblies, curriculum activities, POP Up events from external providers.  Our Provider Access Policy is available by clicking HERE. 

Name:
Richard Bullock
Email:
r.bullock@portland.outwood.com
Phone Number:
01909 471010

We review the success of our careers programme by looking at the destinations of our leaving Year 11 students with a target of 0% NEET (students not in education, employment or training).

The careers information on this website will be reviewed every academic year.