Careers & Guidance
St Benedict’s Catholic College is committed to providing a programme of Careers education from Year 7 through to Year 11 and to giving all students access to independent careers information, advice and guidance.
What is CEIAG?
CEIAG stands for Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance. It is the acronym used to describe any support and education which is provided to students which helps inform their next steps, whether that be a transition to the next phase of education (options at GCSE for example), decisions about post 16 education or training or indeed the choice of higher education, further education, apprenticeships or employment at the end of post 18 study.
All our students are given information, advice and guidance to help them plan their pathways at the end of Key Stage 3 and to make the best choice when it comes to further education at the end of Key stage 4. Our aim is for students to make informed choices in order to plan for, and achieve, their future goals.
The CEIAG strategy sets out that every secondary school and college should use the following ‘Gatsby Benchmarks’ to develop and improve Careers provision by:
- Ensuring a stable careers programme is in place
- Learning from Careers and Labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each student
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Offering encounters with employers and employees
- Offering experiences of workplaces
- Offering encounters with Further Education organisations
- Providing independent and personal guidanc
How we measure and assess the impact of the careers programme on pupils?
St Benedict’s Catholic College works closely with the Careers and Enterprise Company. This is an external organisation that supports schools to ensure they are following the DFEs newly devised Careers Strategy. The following information is an extract taken from this guidance.
“The careers strategy sets out that every school and academy providing secondary education should use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers provision. This statutory guidance has been restructured around the Benchmarks with information on what schools need to do to meet each one. The Gatsby Benchmarks are not a statutory framework but by adopting them, schools can be confident that they are fulfilling their legal duties: the existing duties to secure independent careers guidance and provide opportunities to a range of providers to inform pupils about technical education qualifications or apprenticeships and the new duty to publish information about the careers programme on the school website.”
As a trusted education establishment, we ensure we use the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks as a foundation when planning our Careers Strategy. The effectiveness of our provision is inspected and audited by the Careers and Enterprise Company using the Compass Careers Benchmark Tool. This tool is used by schools and colleges in England to support the analysis and evaluation of careers activity against the eight benchmarks of best practice (known as the Gatsby Benchmarks).
Additional evidence used to inform us of the effectiveness of our provision comes from:
The whole college ‘Student Survey’
Staff and parental feedback
Destination data
NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) data
HOW IS IT DELIVERED?
Our CEIAG programme is co-ordinated by the Careers Lead, Mr P Cretu, and our Careers Officer, Mrs A Martin.
As students progress through Key Stages 3 and 4 they will be taught how to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to manage their own learning including: how to evaluate themselves honestly and realistically, how to set targets, make decisions, review and summarise their progress, present themselves effectively and create action plans which match their personal skills to abilities, interests and careers aspirations.
Students will also receive impartial careers advice from a Level 6 trained careers adviser.
During the designated careers’ sessions students have the opportunity to learn about future careers, they actively explore Labour Market Information, the options and pathways across the local area open to them to achieve their career aspirations. As students progress through KS4, they will have the opportunity to gain further CEIAG with reference to the careers they are interested in, including support in applying for FE provision.
Useful resources to support students explore careers, future options and pathways
Resources relevant to all our students
Get the Jump campaign: explore your education & training choices (National Careers Service) - Website
Future TalentED (website of useful on-line career magazines 2018/2019/2020/2021/2022) - Link
icould (real stories to inspire your career & tools to support CV writing and revision planning) - Website
Unifrog for 11-18yrs (all students in KS3 and 4 will be using this platform) - Website
National Careers Service (includes a dedicated section for schools) - Website
Apprenticeships (latest news & info on apprenticeships & schemes plus tips on how to apply) - Website
Opportunities for young people with additional needs - Website
Child employment UK regulation - Child Employment
Prospects (career guidance and advice) - Website
Resources relevant to year 10 and 11 students
Post 16 options (National Careers Service) - website
What next after GCSEs? Post 16 options (Family Careers Network) - video
Post 18 options (National Careers Service) - website
What are T Levels Film - video
Register & apply for current apprenticeships - website
T Level Offer in the local area 2023-24 - website
Local FE and HE
- Year 11 Careers Guidance St Benedict's
- Colchester Sixth Form : A quick Introduction to Sixth Form College - Link for the website with more information
- Colchester Institute : Schools Liaison Presentation - Guide to apprenticeships presentation - Link for the Website with more info - How to Apply - Virtual Open Events
- Suffolk New College - Link for the website with more information
- St Joseph's Sixth Form College - Sixth Form Option Booklet - Link for the website with more information
- Sigma Sixth Sports Academy - Link for the website with more information
- Higher Education Presentations - Benefits of Higher Education
Gatsby Benchmark 4 - this benchmark states:
- All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers.
- STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
- By the age of 14, every pupil should have had the opportunity to learn how the different STEM subjects help people to gain entry to, and be more effective workers within, a wide range of careers.
At St Benedict’s Catholic College all subject areas link curriculum learning to careers within lessons, as part of enrichment activities and via guest speakers and outside agencies to support a wide range of activities and projects throughout the academic year.
St Benedict's Catholic College Careers Directory
Destination Figures
Year 11 Leavers 2023
Total Number of Leavers
179 Students
Colchester Sixth Form
107 Students
Colchester Institute
40 Students
CRGS
4 Students
Philip Morant
8 Students
CCHSG
3 Students
Others
15 Students
In line with the recommendations set out in Gatsby Benchmark 1, we as a school plan to review the published information on an annual basis, inviting feedback from key audiences.