Careers at Witton Middle School

Witton Middle School is fully committed to ensuring that all of our students acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to manage their learning and career progression. We nurture confident and enthusiastic learners. Our child- centred approach guides everything that we do, fostering a collaborative, safe and happy community.  

CIAEG Strategy 

Our careers strategy includes measures to further develop and improve the current provision on offer to students and will ensure that Witton Middle School will meet the requirement to meet the eight ''Gatsby Benchmarks'', set out within the 'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers'  Department for Education documentation.

Witton Middle School uses different documentation to inform planning of a well-structured careers service for our pupils. In addition, The Careers Development Institute has created a new framework identifying six areas of learning that facilitate positive careers and lifelong career development. Although the Department for Education's guidance does not apply until year 7, we recognise career- related learning begins at earlier stages in life. When our children join us in year 5, we facilitate positive careers and lifelong career development with a designated unit in PSHE and additional cross curricular links particularly within our STEM curriculum.

At Witton, we have adopted the Gatsby Benchmark Toolkit and we are also working with The Careers and Enterprise Company, who provide an adviser to our school to assist in ensuring best practice for our pupils in provision of careers information, advice and guidance. Our adviser regularly meets with Miss Brenwald to help improve our current provision based on the results from our Compass audit tool. We also measure impact through completing evaluation forms from employer visits. Our next audit tool will take place at the end of this academic year in preparation for September 2023.

The Gatsby Benchmarks

The department expects all secondary schools and colleges to use the internationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks to develop a careers programme that increases opportunities for students to access everything from experiences of the workplace and personal guidance with a careers adviser, to engagement with employers, colleges, training providers and universities. The benchmarks are non-statutory but support schools and colleges by providing a framework around which they can develop their careers programme in line with their legal requirements to provide independent careers to pupils throughout their secondary education (11 to 18 year olds) and students aged up to 25 with an education, health and care plan. The benchmarks also support schools to fulfil their statutory duty to enable access of training providers to showcase to students what technical education and apprenticeships can offer (DfE, 2023).

The Benchmarks are as follows:
Benchmark 1  - A Stable Careers Programme
Benchmark 2  - Learning from career and labour market information
Benchmark 3  - Addressing the needs of each pupil
Benchmark 4  - Linking curriculum learning to careers
Benchmark 5  - Encounters with employers and employees
Benchmark 6  - Experiences of workplaces
Benchmark 7  - Encounters with further and higher education
Benchmark 8  - Personal Guidance (year 8 and above)

Careers Lead

We value the contribution that employers and employees can make to our careers programme. Our aim is to increase our student’s awareness of the range of future opportunities in the world of work. If you or a colleague from your company would like to work with us please contact Jemma Carr as we would love to hear from you.

Miss Jemma Carr

Careers Lead

Contact details:

office@witton.worcs.sch.uk

01905 773362

National Careers Week (6-11th March)

Further Information