Careers provision (Gatsby benchmarks)

Providing career education, information and guidance (CEIAG) became a legal requirement in schools in January 2018.

As part of the statutory careers requirements, every school should aim to meet the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks. These include:

  1. A stable careers programme– at HSW we propose to embed a programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by our students, parents, teachers and employers.
  2. Learning from career and labour market information– every student at HSW, and their parents, will have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities.
  3. Addressing the needs of each pupil– our sixth formers will have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support will be tailored to the needs of each student, incorporating quality and diversity considerations throughout.

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers– all teachers will link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers will highlight the relevance of STEM knowledge and skills for a wide range of future career paths.

5. Encounters with employers and employees– every student in Y12-13 at HSW will have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This will be through a range of enrichment activities including our visiting Inspiring Speakers programme, mentoring and enterprise schemes (with the assistance of 8Billion Ideas’ entrepreneurship programme).

6. Experiences of workplaces– every student will have first-hand experience of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.

7. Encounters with further and higher education– all students will be helped to understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.

8. Personal guidance– every student in Y12-13 at HSW will have opportunities for guidance interviews with a Careers Adviser (our Head of Careers and PSHE). These will be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made.

Inspiring Speakers programme

Inspiring Speakers programme

We have established our new ‘Inspiring Speakers’ programme at HSW, and we have seen many speakers from a broad range of professional careers visiting the school to present to our Y9-11s.

We aim to build on this so that our Y12-13 students have exclusive time with each speaker, to question them and find out more about a range of different careers available to them. We will add to this list of speakers a selection of representatives from university courses and other HE institutions.