Personal Development Programme – Careers

Within the Personal Development programme, Caludon students study aspects of careers and labour market information during two sessions a week in the second half of the Autumn term. Details of the individual lessons are available to staff, students and parents on our VLE, Firefly, under the relevant year group.

The aims and intentions within this programme are as follows:

Year 7

  • Tackling stereotypes and broadening horizons
  • By the end of year 7, a student will have explored a range of career sectors
  • They will understand that gender, race, social class etc does not determine their career pathway

Year 8

  • Career pathways and raising expectations
  • By the end of year 8, a student will have explored a range of career pathways and their own and others’ reactions to these
  • They will understand that job roles are constantly changing but new opportunities are also constantly being offered

Year 9

  • Researching and preparing for change
  • By the end of year 9, a student will have explored a range of current and potential future job roles
  • They will have evaluated a range of careers-related information
  • They will begin to understand what might be possible for themselves and what they might need to do / achieve in order to get there.

Year 10

  • Finding out who I am and what I want
  • By the end of year 10, a student will have experienced at least one careers sector and begun to evaluate their own potential future plans
  • They will understand what they need in order to make decisions about their future, and the importance of both hard and soft skills.
  • They will have begun to create a good quality CV, and will have carried out targeted research into possible future pathways

Year 11

  • Finding the right path and explaining who I am
  • By the end of year 11, a student will have explored the main possible options post-16
  • They will have explored their own possible pathways within these
  • They will understand how to make an application to move on, and how to present their strengths and experiences to employers and education / training providers
  • They will have improved their CV and made applications for future pathways

Year 12

  • Understanding my options
  • By the end of year 12, a student will have explored the main possible options post-18 and will understand the pathway to each of these options
  • They will have explored their own possible pathways within these
  • They will have begun to explore the differences between options near home or away from home, and will understand the funding options for their next steps
  • They will understand what content needs to go into a personal statement or letter of application

Year 13

  • Knowing who I am and getting ready to move on
  • By the end of year 13, a student will have assessed their own strengths and areas for development and will understand what they need to do to be ready for their next steps
  • They will have explored their own possible future pathways in depth, and will understand the strengths and drawbacks of each one
  • They will have improved their personal statement and made applications for future pathways