Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance

Whitley Bay High School

CEIAG Statement of Provision 

Good quality careers education will raise the aspirations of all young people. It will increase motivation by linking activities in school with preparation for life post-16 and post-18. CEIAG will therefore contribute to raising pupil achievement, help students focus on their longer-term career ambitions and ensure an equality of opportunity for all. 

Our Whole School Career Development Lead is Steph Towns and our Careers Assistant is Vicki McAvoy who both can be contacted via the front office on 0191 7317070, or at steph.towns@whitleybayhighschool.org and victoria.mcavoy@whitleybayhighschool.org

Gatsby Benchmarks 

The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of  8 guidelines that define the best careers provision in school/colleges across the UK. They provide an evidence-based demonstration of how careers information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) should be delivered in schools and at WBHS we have ensured that our careers programme is mapped against these guidelines clearly.  

1. A stable careers programme 

2. Learning from careers 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 

The Careers Programme 

At Whitley Bay High School, we provide a comprehensive CEIAG programme to students in every year group and this includes aspects of work related learning, enterprise education and option choices for students in Year 9 and 11. In addition, students in our Sixth Form are very well supported as they make their applications to University, apply for Higher Level Apprenticeships or other non-University post-18 pathways. 

CEIAG is ongoing through the academic year and is delivered through tutorials, the LEV programme, 1:1 guidance sessions and collapsed timetable events. Our careers education work is massively enhanced through collaboration with local businesses, colleges, training providers and universities. 

The WBHS careers programme has been developed with the Gatsby benchmarks and the latest CDI (Careers Development Institute) framework in mind and 6 key areas of career development skills have been identified:

All of our Year 10 and Year 12 students have the invaluable opportunity of work experience, providing the chance to develop employability skills and get a taste of the world of work. 

Please find more information about how we continually support our students in our annually updated Careers Programme, which can be found in the relevant documents. 

The careers programme is an ever-evolving document to ensure that it is up to date and that new resources and information are included. It is also evaluated annually in June to respond to more significant changes or Government requirements. The impact and success of our careers programme is mainly measured through our destinations data after Years 11 and 13 but also in participation rates, student and parent voice and many other avenues. 

A detailed calendar of our careers events is available to download below:

Impartial Advice and Guidance (Baker Clause)

The guidance from the DfE places a duty on schools to secure access to unbiased and impartial careers guidance for their students. In conjunction with our existing provision, Whitley Bay High School works closely with the Connexions service who supply specialist guidance practitioners to work with identified students during the academic year. This includes 1:1 sessions with students as well as work with form classes and CPD with tutors and teaching staff. We also have close links with local colleges, who provide information about courses that Whitley Bay High School does not offer. 

Advice for Parents 

To help you help your child in finding the right career path for them, we have added some useful links to the ‘relevant documents’ section of this page, including ‘The Parents’ Guide to Apprenticeships’. In addition,  https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/ is a great, accessible way to compare various job roles/sectors across the UK, with regards to salaries and growth areas. You can also do this via Unifrog on the Careers Library under the LMI section.

Unifrog 

All students across our five year groups have access to their own Unifrog account, providing them with a platform to search and filter career opportunities and pathways. Unifrog is an excellent resource for our students and has particularly useful features such as a personal statement and CV builder and we encourage students to make the most of these tools. Students will have dedicated time in tutorials to use this platform and we have attached a parents’ guide to Unifrog in our relevant documents section of this page. 

Click here to watch the Parent's guide Unifrog Video Guide

Parental Unifrog Accounts

Parents can also access Unifrog using a sign up code. This gives you an opportunity to explore the platform from a student's perspective and utilise the vast range of resources and information to support your child. See more detail in the Unifrog Parent Letter in the documents below. Use this sign up code to access a free account: WBHSparents

Click here to watch the guide on how to log in Parent Account Sign up Guide

Information for Employers 

At WBHS we provide a vast range of career-based activities for our students and these are delivered through a number of channels including assemblies and workshops. There are often opportunities within these events for employer engagement and if you think you would like to get involved, where available, please get in touch with our Careers Lead, Steph Towns.  

Could you support our careers program and inspire our students?

Support Our Careers Program: Register Interest Here

WBHS Alumni 

WBHS loves to hear from former students and we would love them to get in touch and share their stories with our current students and to help encourage and inspire future cohorts. 

The school wants to hear from their alumni and share their success stories to inspire local young people to achieve the highest level in their learning and to have the very highest aspirations for themselves and their families. 

If you studied with us and would like to join our Alumni network, we have a Linkedin page, where you can find engagement opportunities and connect with other WBHS ex-students. Our Linkedin page can be found here:   https://www.linkedin.com/school/whitley-bay-high-school/ 

The school wants to hear from their alumni and share their success stories to inspire local young people to achieve the highest level in their learning and to have the very highest aspirations for themselves and their families. We would be grateful if you could take the time to complete our Alumni survey below: 

Complete Alumni Survey HERE

Further Information  

Careers activities and opportunities may be added into the calendar on an as and when basis within each subject department. This is in addition to the calendared events in our programme. Keep an eye out for ad hoc activities and opportunities for students and employers. Don't hesitate to speak to our Whole School Career Development Lead, Steph Towns (steph.towns@whitleybayhighschool.org), for any enquiries.