Careers Education

At Castle Newnham we have a careers programme that meets the eight Gatsby benchmarks of good careers guidance. We aim to develop our pupils’ employability skills, share information about local, national and international labour market information, guide pupils to explore and develop career ideas and high aspirations, and educate our young people on their choices of post 16 pathways and beyond. In addition to this we follow up and where necessary offer further support to students after they leave us.

careers curriculum

At Castle Newnham we provide a planned programme of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for pupils in partnership with Bedford Borough Council, training and HE providers, businesses, parents, alumni and other external agencies. We use Unifrog as our online careers platform and pupils are introduced to this as soon as they join us in Year 7. Our planned programme is embedded into Personal Development lessons (Tuesday 10 – 11am) and supplemented with face to face talks and events.

The programme of CEIAG which is outlined below:

Key Stage 3

Year 7

Autumn term

· Introduction to Unifrog

Spring term

· Unifrog – personality, interest and
· Unifrog – Subject Library Treasure Hunt
· What are employability skills?
· Interests profile
· Recording skills
· What is your dream job?

Year 8

Summer term

· What does success mean to you?

· Unifrog – Career terminology

· Unifrog – Careers library treasure hunt

· Unifrog – Activities and competencies bingo

Year 9

Autumn term

· Unifrog – Subject Library Treasure Hunt 3

· Unifrog – GCSE Choices

· Your Skills, your team, your future

· What makes a great leader?

· Identifying Interests

Key Stage 4

Year 10

Spring term

· Unifrog – Careers Library Hunt 4

· Y10 visit to the University of Bedfordshire

· Personality profile

· CVs and Covering letters

· Unifrog Escape Room

· Team work: What makes a great team player?

· One to one Interviews

· The Great Debate: Universities

· Finding the right financial product

· Ethical Finances

Summer term

· Mock interview day – JC+

· Y10 Next Steps Day – Bedford College/ Bedford 6th form. Local labour market information

· Y10 Apprenticeship assembly

· One to one careers guidance interviews

Year 11

Autumn term

· One to one careers guidance interviews

· Unifrog – Post 16 Choices

· Y11 Post 16 assemblies: Kimberley College, Mark Rutherford, Wixams 6th form, local labour market information

· Y11 Apprenticeship assembly

· Unifrog – BTECs – Myth Busting

· Unifrog – A Level & T Level Choices

· Intro to Apprenticeships

· Revision (good vs bad) – Unifrog

We evaluate our careers programme using the ‘Compass’ evaluation tool which is based on the Gatsby Good Career Guidance Benchmarks. This enables us to compare our school to each of the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, and allows us to identify areas for improvement and helps us to plan our careers’ strategy for the year ahead.

Our Careers Education, Advice and Guidance Policy can be found on Our Policies page by clicking here, which provides further information including our provider access statement.

support for families

We are always here to support you throughout your child’s school journey and with decisions for post 16 pathways . There are many websites out there with advice, guidance and information on careers, apprenticeships and further education. Please click here to see a video of former pupils discussing their time at Castle Newnham and their next steps.

Careers Advice for Parents

https://www.careersadviceforparents.org/

Parent Advisor

A website of advice for parents about career options for their children

http://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/school-jobs/ptzone.html

EY Building a Better Working World

https://ukcareers.ey.com/students/career-advice/parental-advice/

Newsletter

Castle Newnham Careers Newsletter

Useful Careers Links

Success at school

Success at School is the place for young people to explore careers, get the lowdown on top employers, and search for the latest jobs, courses and advice.

https://successatschool.org/

National Careers Service

They provide information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/

To explore options post 16, please click here: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-your-education-and-training-choices

All About Careers

Career exploration, jobs and advice – all in one place

https://www.allaboutcareers.com/

Real stories to inspire your career

https://icould.com/

Looking for the perfect career?

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/

WOW World Of Work Videos (YouTube)
Opportunities Padlet (opportunities specifically in the South East Midlands)

Please click the link to check out careers and opportunities specifically in the South East Midlands Careers Hub. You can find apprenticeships, open days, events, work experience, volunteering, careers advice, and next steps guidance. This is regularly updated, so please come back and check it out!

https://padlet.com/southeastmidlandscareershub/opportunities-padlet-ff4svg0bqcidfudw

Labour Market Information

Plan your study and work

https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/

Labour Market Information for All

LMI for All is an online data portal, which connects and standardises existing sources of high quality, reliable labour market information (LMI) with the aim of informing careers decisions.

http://www.lmiforall.org.uk/

Bedford Labour Market Information

Bedford Borough Labour Market Report

Updated: 23/11/2023 944 KB

Looking for a job?

Current available jobs

https://www.bedford.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/jobs-hub/

www.indeed.co.uk

Apprenticeships combine practical training in a job with study. Click here to be transferred to a website called Amazing Apprenticeships. If you click on the ‘parents pack’ tab you will be able to download lots of really useful resources about apprenticeships; including entry requirements, pay and where to go to find an apprenticeship.

As an apprentice you’ll: