St Bede’s prides itself in preparing students for the next stage of their life, not only academically but in relation to future career pathways. Where ‘career’ was once thought of as a single commitment to a lifelong occupational pursuit, it is now thought of as a lifelong journey whereby individuals participate in differing learning and work roles. At St Bede’s we hope to contribute to and prepare young people for that journey.

Careers Lead:

The Career Progression Manager, Mrs A Jukes will manage the Careers Education Programme and is responsible to the Deputy Head Teacher /Ethos & Personal Development Lead. CEIAG is supported by a link Governor: Mr D. Dixon and Enterprise Advisors linked to the North East Combined Authority Careers Hub Work experience is planned and implemented by the school which works closely Unifrog to manage the placements through their on-line system. We also encouraged students to undertake virtual experiences and volunteering to support this area of their development.

If you would like to get in contact with Mrs Jukes – Careers Lead, please e-mail stbedes@stb.bwcet.com

Careers Programme Summary: 

We have relevant Careers Education modules built into our PHSE programme from Year 7 through to 6th Form which draw upon many visiting speakers from local & national organisations, FE Colleges, and Universities.

Within our programme students:

• Learn about the structures, systems and factors that guide, shape and influence people’s career prospects and career development
• Explore how these could affect their future choices, why they need to consider them when making their own career decisions and plans, and how they can do so
• Develop and practice the self-help skills they need to progress their own career plans and development, including the effective use of IAG (Information, Advice & Guidance)

Our Careers Programme includes

Careers Education- Careers lessons are part of the school’s Personal Development Program. Sections of work for careers are planned into the personal development calendar throughout the year.

Careers Information – students have access to accurate, up-to-date and objective information on opportunities, progression routes, choices, where to find help and advice and how to access it. We work in partnership with local colleges and employers to ensure students have access to the best opportunities in the career market. We also use relevant Labour Market Intelligence data to help students make informed choices. We signpost parents/carers & students to a wide range of career platforms and websites to stimulate interest in a wide range of sectors.

Careers Advice – We have a range of activities that help young people to gather, understand and interpret information and apply it to their own situation. For example, we have a Careers Events for every year group from Y7 to Y11 and a series of Careers Workshops throughout sixth form which allows students to discuss careers with industry ambassadors from a vast range of sectors, Colleges and Universities.

Careers Guidance – We provide impartial guidance and specialist support to help young people understand themselves and their needs, confront barriers, resolve conflicts, develop new perspectives and make progress.

All  Key stage 4 and  Key Sage 5 students have a one-to-one Progression Interview with our Career Progression Manager, Anne Jukes, to prepare them for post 16/18 choices. All other year groups can book appointments or drop-in during break or lunchtimes or free periods to access IAG.

Impact of CEIAG

Learners are involved in the planning of career learning. Their views are collected using student voice/surveys.

At St Bede’s we judge the impact of CEIAG through

• examining & evaluating what we do,
• thinking about how we can improve it,
• deciding on whether it was worth doing again in that particular format (we pilot many activities before extending to full scale),
• providing summaries to disseminate understanding of what was done to stakeholders such as parents/students/staff/governing body/visiting organisations involved with careers events.

All our CEIAG work is mapped against the CDI (Career Development Institute) Framework, Gatsby Benchmarks and the PSHE Framework

The main purpose of the CDI’s Career Development Framework is to clarify the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that individuals need to have a positive career. A ‘positive career’ will mean something different to everyone, but it will typically include being happy with the way you spend your time, being able to make a contribution to your community and being able to have a decent standard of living.

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• Review Date: July  2026