Careers and Post 18 Pathways

At Open Academy we are passionate about the importance of good quality, impartial and independent careers advice, information and guidance. We aim to raise the aspirations of our young people through careers education and other activities. We ensure that students are informed about the changing world of work and the opportunities available to them and provide guidance on making effective and well-placed applications to Sixth Forms, Colleges, Universities and Apprenticeships.

We aim to meet the personalised needs of each of our students and to assist with this Open Academy focuses on meeting the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Careers Guidance. These are -

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

To achieve these benchmarks we work with our Enterprise Coordinator and Enterprise Adviser from the New Anglia Careers Hub and complete the Compass evaluation tool on a termly basis. Our performance across the benchmarks has shown a marked increase over the last twelve months. In addition, we have close and ongoing links with UEA Outreach, Beacon East (Matrix standard provider) and NEACO (Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach).

How the academy measures and assesses IMPACT of the programme:
Open Academy was built in the original academy programme to serve a disadvantaged community. To this day the academy has worked within the community to raise aspiration and expectation. When the academy was formed it was considered aspirational to have 90% of students moving onto positive destinations and the founding charter reflects this. We evaluate the impact of our programme throughout the period of time the students are with us. Students are able to highlight when they need additional careers advice and are signposted at particular times e.g. options and Year 11 and 12. Following a curriculum review of PSHE and communication careers are explicitly highlighted and careers guidance is made more prominent. We will evaluate how these new facets support the special careers events through student survey and by outcome.

The Open Academy Careers Lead is Vice Principal Kate Wenlock who can be contacted on kate.wenlock@open-academy.org.uk or 01603 481683. Dr Caroline Davies is Careers Facilitator, available on caroline.davies@open-academy.org.uk 01603 481672

We welcome ideas from employers and other organisations who would like to work with our students either on our own premises or offsite, please see our Provider Access Policy for details of arrangements.

Review date - January 2025

Find a career and jobs based on your specific interests below: