At Morton Academy our aim is for all our students to fulfil their potential. As such, we recognise the importance of effective Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) for young people and we expect all our students to develop high aspirations and consider a broad and ambitious range of careers. We aim to inspire every student through more real-life contacts with the world of work to help them understand where different choices can take them in the future. We also seek to ensure that our students are not restricted by circumstances or location from becoming self-confident, well-educated and enterprising individuals.

We set high expectations, including for the most vulnerable and those with special educational needs and disabilities, so that every student is stretched and acquires the attributes that employers value. This will help every young person to realise their potential and so increase economic competitiveness and support social mobility. We work closely with the Careers and Enterprise Company, the Local Enterprise Partnership Enterprise Adviser network, Inspira, Cumbria Collaborative Outreach Programme, Carlisle College, The University of Cumbria, higher education institutions and private training providers and employers such as the NHS, Nestle, Direct Rail and Pirelli to ensure our students get the most current information on opportunities available to them and the support to make the most of them.

We measure our success by our students’ destinations and this is reflected in higher numbers progressing to apprenticeships, universities – including selective universities, traineeships, and other positive destinations such as employment or a further education college. This will help to close the gap in destinations between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and others.

Morton Academy’s  CEIAG programme will help students to:

• Understand themselves, their interests, likes and dislikes, what they are good at and how this affects the choices they make
• Find out about different courses, what qualifications they might need and what opportunities there might be
• Develop the skills they may need for working life
• Make realistic, but ambitious, choices about courses and jobs
• Develop a plan of action for the future
• Understand the different routes after Year 11 including training, further and higher education and jobs
• Be able to make effective applications for jobs, training and further education
• Develop interview skills
• Improve confidence

Further details of the careers programme can be found in the Richard Rose Morton Academy  CEIAG policy and The Morton Academy Careers Plan below.

The Career Leader at Morton Academy can be contacted either via phone or email. See below for contact details.

Mrs Rachel Robinson

Assistant Principal – Curriculum and CEIAG / Careers Leader

Morton Academy, Wigton Road, Carlisle, CA2 6LB

School Number: 01228 822644

Email: rachel.robinson@rrma.org.uk

Students

Students will receive:

• Additional careers information within Personal Development lessons, assemblies and careers fairs.
• In Y11 all students receive a 1:1 careers meeting with a level 6 trained advisor during which time they will create a careers plan. They are then given assistance on how to complete their application forms for further education or apprenticeships.
• Access to information for CEIAG through national events, NAW and NCW. 
• Careers information embedded into the curriculum
• Weekly drop in support with applications
• Access to careers information is available in books, videos, leaflets and on computer. Any additional information, students can see the Careers Leader.
• Access to local providers on further education options.
• Support through the school’s Careers Leader and Pastoral Staff.
• Other subject lessons linked to careers including STEM.

What Students will expect:

• Treated equally by other students, staff and visitors.
• Given careers information and advice that is up to date and impartial.
• Given extra help if required.
• Students will be able to enjoy the sessions and activities they participate in.
• Additional support is available where appropriate through extra help by the SENDCO, Senior Leaders and the Pastoral Team.

Information for Parents and Carers

The School’s SENDCO and the Careers Leader meet on a regular basis to discuss and action appropriate interventions for students with additional needs.

Parents and Carers will receive updates via email from the Careers Leader, with up-to-date information about upcoming events and activities.

Links with parents / carers are maintained using a variety of methods including the school website, leaflets, letters, consultation days and parents' evenings. 

Equality and Diversity

CEIAG is provided to all students and provision is made to allow all students to access the curriculum. Students are encouraged to follow career paths that suit their interests, skills and strengths with the absence of stereotypes. All students are provided with the opportunities that reflect their needs.

Other links with local 14-19 Providers are made when required.

Staff Development

Staff training needs are identified as part of the line management meetings and the appraisal process. Regular updates regarding Careers Development will be shared when required with staff.

Employers

The school is keen to work with local employers and build on the fantastic links we already have to secure positive Post 16 and 18 destinations. Employers can contact our Careers Leader directly to organise a visit to the school and to participate in our Careers assemblies and events. For more information, please contact the school’s Careers Leader. Information available in the Careers Leader tab.

We measure and assess the impact of our careers programme through:

• Destination measures shared with Cumbria County Council and United Learning
• Student, parent and staff voice
• Employer feedback
• Visiting partners
• Work experience evaluation
• Website analytical review
• Gatsby Benchmarks reviewed with compass + every term
• CEIAG interviews with students.
• Compass + records all activities and are mapped against individual students linked to the Gatsby Benchmarks. 

In order to measure the impact of our CEIAG program at Morton Academy we review, track and monitor our destination data. This data will be next reviewed in January 2023.

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

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

We use a self-evaluation tool that gives us an immediate confidential read-out of how our own career guidance performs against the Gatsby eight benchmarks.

A Traineeship is an introduction-level programme that combines a work placement with training, it helps to prepare young people for the world of work and supports with English and Mathematics if required.

Apprenticeships are available at Intermediate, Advanced and Higher/Degree levels, and are available in a wide range of employment sectors. The length of time that it takes to complete is dependent on the level and occupation. All Apprenticeships are real jobs so young people on the programme can earn a salary.

All Apprenticeship opportunities must be advertised on the National Apprenticeships Website.

Your child must be registered on this site to apply for apprenticeships not advertised through an agency or training provider.

Apprenticeship advice can also be sought through local colleges.

A copy of the Apprenticeships parent pack is below.

Kudos: An online IAG package that offers an aptitude test highlighting employability skills and possible future job roles linked to skills and qualities identified.  This is particularity useful for students who have no idea what they would like to do in the future, the programme is available on the students’ careers page on the VLE and can be accessed remotely by the use of their login and password.

Start: Start is a fantastic careers tool aimed at 11-24 year olds, which enables students to search for careers within their desired area of interest. It gives more detailed information about qualifications/skills needed, job profiles etc, with useful content in ‘Career Worlds’.

The National Careers Service:  Provides information, advice and guidance to help students make decisions on learning, training and work opportunities. Students can create their own lifelong learning account and access a range of useful tools from real-life case studies and careers guides to web and telephone chats with independent, impartial fully-qualified careers advisor.

BBC Bitesize Careers: Whether you’re deciding what to study, taking your exams, planning a career, or just curious, this site explains the world of work, with advice from people who’ve found the right path for them.

My Career Springboard:  An impartial careers information package. Students can create an online account that helps navigate choices and career pathways. Offers a personalised noticeboard and ‘personality tests’ to match careers to interests and traits.

UCAS – Further Education: Primarily aimed at choices after GCSE. It contains a range of resources students will find useful when considering their options such as careers quizzes.

iCould: Videos to explore by employment sector or life theme.

Prospects: A good resource for anyone thinking about university – careers related to subjects and job hunting trends.

Careersbox: A free online library of careers related films, news and information.

Careers 4 u: Contains videos on lots of different jobs, and students talking about apprenticeships, university and jobs.

Getting-in: A comprehensive overview of universities, courses and apprenticeships.

Success at School: A useful careers page looking at roles in different sectors of the economy.

First Careers: Get behind the scenes of some of the UK’s most interesting jobs and find what’s right for you. Search through over 150 job profiles and discover career opportunities, inspiration and advice. First Careers offers guidance to primary and secondary school students in making decisions about future careers and professions.

The Technical and Further Education Act 2017 incorporates The Baker Clause so that providers can access Year 8-13 students to promote approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. The Careers Lead has excellent connections with the local providers and is building contacts with employers through school events and supported by the Enterprise Advisor.

An annual Careers Fair is held at the Academy with several providers and employers promoting further education, higher education and apprenticeships takes place for Year 11 students and their families may attend to help with their decisions for Year 12. The school’s careers programme embeds opportunities for providers to deliver workshops, assemblies and information to all year groups. Any requests to access students must be through the Careers Lead and decisions will be made dependent on timings, timetabling, exams and whether the information on offer is relevant to the year group and not already delivered by another provider.

Additional access may be granted in the form of assemblies, lunch-time drop-ins or lessons where a visiting speaker complements the pupils’ curriculum.