Careers Programme 2024 - 2025

Patchway Community School endeavours to provide all students with the right information, education, advice and guidance to make informed decisions about their future. We use the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Career Guidance as a framework for our provision and complete regular reviews to evaluate our coverage. These benchmarks are:

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

All year groups have dedicated careers-focussed PSHE in a termly block. Lessons are delivered by tutors in tutor group classes.  Patchway Community School uses the platforms CareerPilot (Careerpilot : Plan your future work & study) and Unifrog (www.unifrog.org) to deliver the PSHE programme. Both sites enable students to research career and educational pathways, explore their skills and record their progress. In KS4 Unifrog is used to write CVs and log work experience. Students are encouraged to access these sites outside of their PSHE lessons and share their progress with their parents and carers.

Throughout the year, guest speakers deliver assemblies on careers-related subjects including apprenticeships, technical and vocational study pathways and routes into various careers (GB2, 4, 5, 7).  Lunchtime pop up shops from local providers are also delivered in the dining hall during lunchtime in term 6 and we have close relationships with FutureQuest from UWE and SGS college who deliver sessions and assemblies throughout the year  (GB7).  We recognise National careers Week and National Apprenticeships week and careers learning is addressed within the curriculum, through notice boards and posters and on the termly newsletter for parents. 

This programme will be updated throughout the year and reviewed in the summer term of 2025. Activities, visits and sessions are evaluated through student voice and written feedback from students and presenters. We undertake a termly Compass Review of our provision against the Gatsby Benchmarks. For our latest Compass review click HERE

Below is a schedule of the careers activities to be delivered in the academic year 2023-4.

We are always keen to partner with local organisations and businesses so please do get in touch if you would like to work with us to inspire our students about the world of work.