Careers Programme Information

Careers Team

Careers Lead – Alex Machell – alex.machell@toan.E-ACT.org.uk

0161 652 2428

Career Advisor – Aki Ahmed – akiahmed@positive-steps.org.uk

0161 621 9300

Careers at TOAN

At TOAN we are fully committed to providing high quality careers education, information, advice and guidance to all students. CEIAG is accorded a high priority in effectively preparing students for the opportunities and challenges of adult working life and is seen as playing an instrumental role in motivating our students to maximise their academic and personal achievement.

We have in place a robust programme of careers education and access to providers for all students in Years 7 to 11, such that all students will leave our school with the skills and knowledge required to support their entry into further and higher education, traineeship or employment. Students’ families are integral to this and are supported and encouraged to be so through access to information and events throughout the year. Parents and carers are encouraged to read the CEIAG programme of study that is in place (see below) and to feedback their views.

Our programme takes in to account the government’s advice to schools, as outlined in their statutory guidance.

All students take part in a careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) programme that:

aims to inspire, as well as inform and guide students;
is developed around the student and their needs;
is integrated into the students’ experience of the whole curriculum;
encourages all students to consider possible career choices throughout key stage 3 and 4;
encourages all students to develop skills that make them ‘work ready’, such as presentation, communication, decision making and entrepreneurial skills;
provides each student with high quality, impartial advice;
raises aspirations and promotes equality and diversity.

At TOAN we promote that ‘Our students have the autonomy to make informed decisions about their future; they are ambitious and resilient, allowing our students to leave us ready to contribute to a challenging and competitive world.’

Through developing student trust, endurance, autonomy and mastery our vision for careers can be achieved. All of these standards support the school’s careers vision and contribute to preparing them for a challenging and competitive world.

Our well-structured programme will allow us to meet our vision and will improve our careers provision meaning we can meet the government Gatsby benchmarks by 2023 and beyond. These objectives will allow for visible change across the school with staff able to not only link learning to specific careers and skills, but to also provide direction and advice on ways students can prepare themselves for their future.

Students will have the knowledge and understanding of many different types of career pathways and be able to make informed decisions about post 16 options. Furthermore, students will have developed employability skills and show knowledge on local opportunities to them. Experiences and opportunities will see a shift in student aspirations with the majority of our young people aiming high and looking to capitalise on the opportunities available to them.

What we offer

Support with college applications

Students are supported with applying for college by in-house careers advisors. We host form time and lunchtime application workshops with local Colleges and Sixth Forms to allow students specific support for their preferred destination. We allocate students meeting times during the school day to meet with the careers advisor to ensure that they get the necessary support.

Careers Talks and assemblies

We use labour market information (links to local employment demands) to provide targeted careers talks to inspire our students to pursue their dream career. Previous talks have been delivered by staff from KPMG, First choice homes, RAF, Army, Medical Mavericks, Manchester Metropolitan University, Talent Foundry and Cambridge University, plus many more.

National Careers Week

Numerous careers activities take place across the school to celebrate national careers week. Students will be able to gain information from numerous employers and gain guidance and advice from various colleges during careers cafes and careers talks. National Careers Week takes place in March.

Year 9 Options Choices

As part of year 9 parents evening, parents are given the opportunity to listen to an options presentation from the deputy head teacher. They can then discuss with the teachers what the most appropriate option choices are for their child to pursue their chosen career. Students are supported throughout the options process through assemblies, talks, option evenings and option booklets. We aim to provide impartial guidance to facilitate a successful study pathway for each student.

Employability Skills

Students get the chance to participate in various activities throughout the academic year, including STEM challenges, employer visits and employability skills activities. The students then reflect on these experiences and the skills that they have learnt.

To see details of what each year group cover see the careers plan* link below. This plan is for the academic year 2023/24.

Students, parents and employers can access further information by contacting one of the team above and reading the full academy career plan*.

TOAN Careers Plan 2023/24

Careers student CPD days

Over the academic year students have 3 full days dedicated to their personal development. On these days years groups focus completely on a specific topic. Of the three days each year group will spend 2 days focussing on careers. Activities on these days have included: enterprise day, first-aid courses, “role-model” days and developing core employability skills.

Career curriculum

This academic year we are delighted that careers is now part of our personal development curriculum. Our KS3 year groups will focus on careers during morning form time every Tuesday and KS4 students will spend at least one term focussing on careers.

How we Measure and Assess the Impact of our Careers Programme: