Careers
Welcome to our Careers and World of Work section. Our vision is to encourage self-awareness, confidence and independence so students can make informed decisions about their future.
Careers Team
- Assistant Headteacher responsible for Careers: Danielle McDonnell
- Careers Lead: Keroneque McNabb- Henry
- Careers Officer: Ruth Turner
- Link Governor: Victoria Edwards
Contact us at careers@langleyacademy.org or call 01753 291693.
The Langley Academy is an Affiliate Member of The Careers Development Institute (CDI).
CEIAG Programme
Our CEIAG (Careers Education Information and Guidance) programme is inclusive of all students in all year groups. Delivery of the careers programme will take place during the House Tutor and Personal Development Programmes, bespoke assemblies, and specific year group based extracurricular careers events. Details of the programme can be found in our Careers Policy which can be found HERE, along with our Provider Access Policy. We want our students to be able to make informed choices about their future and we partner with many external organisations to help us achieve this goal. We monitor and evaluate our programme every quarter which informs our annual review. The next review is due in February 2025.
Our programme follows the Gatsby Benchmarks and we work with the Careers & Enterprise Company to monitor our progress in meeting these benchmarks which are:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from careers and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each student.
- Linking curriculum learning to careers.
- Encounters with employers and employees.
- Experiences of workplaces.
- Encounters with further and higher education.
- Personal guidance.
See: www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance for detailed information on the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Careers Education
Careers lessons will take place during the House Tutor programme for KS4 and KS5 and during Personal Development lessons for KS3.The curriculum is a spiral one that aims to address the needs of students at each stage in their TLA journey ultimately making them ready for the world of work. More information and a breakdown of the themes can be found under the Careers Education tab below.
Unifrog
We have signed up with Unifrog as our careers platform and every student has an account. Unifrog is used in our careers lessons and students are encouraged to use it for independent careers research, to build their own portfolio and CV as well as for their UCAS personal statements. For more information on Unifrog please click on the Unifrog tab.
Career Resources
We have a range of Careers resources– books, leaflets and prospectuses – available to students in the Careers Area, the main school Library and the 6th Form Library. Careers meetings take place in the Careers Hub in the main building and students can drop in to speak to the Careers Officer at any time. Students can also access careers information by signing into Unifrog or using the information and website links on this webpage.
Careers noticeboards and Microsoft Teams group pages are used to promote careers events, work experience or volunteering opportunities, college and university open days, etc.
Careers Guidance
We partner with Learning to Work who provide qualified Careers Advisers to meet with every student in Year 10 and 11 to help them make the best choice for their future. Students from every year group can request a careers meeting with the Careers Officer to discuss their options or get support with applications, CVs, etc. The Careers Officer will refer them for a meeting with Learning to Work where appropriate.
To support the work that Learning to Work do in school students, parents and carers can also access their Careers Guidance page which contains information and advice for students, parents and teachers.
Getting Work Ready
We believe in the importance of work-related learning and employer engagement for our students and aim to give them a mix of live interaction with employers and virtual work experiences. We partner with ‘Learning to Work’ who organise off timetable events such as workplace visits, employer talks, Enterprise activities and Careers Fairs for our students from Year 7 up to and including 6th Form. To find out more about work related learning and work experience please go to the Work Ready tab below.
Parents & Carers; Employers & Training Providers – we need your help!
We are very keen to build links with local organisations so that our students can engage meaningfully with employers and training providers. This could involve supporting us with:
- Special Assemblies
- Careers related Speakers/workshops
- Careers Fair in March
- HE/Apprenticeship Fair in early Autumn
- CV and Interview Practice sessions
- Work Experience or Work Insight Days
In order to continually improve our provision we also welcome feedback from anyone who engages with our careers programme.
If you think you could provide feedback or help support us with any of the above, please email careers@langleyacademy.org
Any training providers wishing to present to our students are referred to our Provider Access Policy which can be found HERE.
Please click on the expandable sections below for further useful information.
Apprenticeships
What is an Apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a paid job with free training either at college or with a Training Provider – leading to a nationally recognised qualification plus experience and skills necessary to a particular career. You can even get a degree apprenticeship which means no student loan! Apprenticeships last for at least a year and can continue for up to six years for a degree level apprenticeship.
Pay: Apprentices are paid at least the National Minimum Wage - the actual amount differs between sectors and employers, with some choosing to pay above this minimum amount. After their first year apprentices will be entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for their age.
From April 2023 the National Minimum Wage rates are:
16 – 17 year old - £5.28/hour
18 – 20 year old – £7.49/hour
21 – 22 year old – £10.18/hour
National Living Wage = £10.42/hour
All apprentices are eligible for an NUS Apprentice Extra card which provides access to a range of fantastic discounts. NUS Apprentice extra
Hours: Apprentices work at least 30 hours a week and get 20 days of paid holiday plus bank holidays.
Job retention: Most employers retain their apprentices after they have completed their training. Why wouldn’t they?
Sectors: The most popular sector for Apprenticeships is health and social care, but business, finance, engineering and construction are growing. Apprenticeships are now offered across 170 industries.
Levels: Apprenticeships are available at three levels:
- Intermediate Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE)
- Advanced Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels)
- Higher Levels 4-7 Higher and Degree Apprenticeships are equivalent to university level study, from Foundation to Masters.
Entry requirements:
- Intermediate level apprenticeships from no qualifications required to 5 GCSE’s at Grade 4 and above.
- Advanced level Apprenticeships will normally require 5 GCSE’s at Grade 5 and above or can follow on from an Intermediate Apprenticeship.
- Higher Levels will require at least 2 A levels, or relevant L3 NVQs or BTECs.
Student Apprenticeship Guide: For students in years 12 to 13
What is a traineeship?
A Traineeship is for young people 16-24 who aren’t quite ready for an apprenticeship. It is a skills development programme that includes a work placement and can last from 6 weeks up to 1 year, though most traineeships last for less than 6 months. It includes a work placement of 70 hours or more, help in getting the skills needed to get an apprenticeship, help writing a CV, a job interview and employer feedback as well as help with English, maths and basic digital skills if needed. You won’t be paid but you may be given expenses for things like travel or meals.
For more information on Apprenticeships or to see current vacancies and how to apply see:
- Become an Apprentice - Gov.uk
- Amazing Apprenticeships
- Disability Rights UK - Into Apprenticeships (PDF)
The Apprenticeship Guide for Care Experienced Young People aims to provide all the information a young person with care experience needs to know to consider apprenticeships as their next step.
This new resource covers the benefits of apprenticeships, how to apply, the all-important added financial and practical support available for apprentices with care experience and much more.
Careers Education
Each year group has lessons that are focused around a specific theme. The themes are as follows:
- Year 7 - What essential skills do I need to be successful in my future career
- Year 8 - How does school help with my career- my options
- Year 9 - Developing my skills while learning from the labour market
- Year 10 - Exploring and experiencing the world of work
- Year 11 - Developing me- today & tomorrow
- Year 12 - Preparing for the world of work
- Year 13 - All about my brand
Below shows the lessons for term 2 as an example of how we explore each theme:
In addition to our careers lessons we liaise with employers, external FE and HE training providers to attend Careers, Apprenticeship and University fairs, special assemblies and careers talks.
Any training providers wishing to present to our students are referred to our Provider Access Policy which can be found above and also under the Essential Information tab.
Parents/Carers
Parents’ Guide & STEM Guide
The Parents’ Guide from Success at School has been designed to help parents support their children in making informed decisions about their future, and develop the correct skills to help them succeed.
The STEM Guide explores the full range of secondary and A-level STEM subjects, to help young people to understand more about careers in the STEM field. This comprehensive guide has been designed to showcase just how creative, exciting and rewarding a career in STEM can be.
To access the guides, parents and carers just need to sign up to Success At School’s special parents' mailing list.
Apprenticeships - Parents and Carers Pack
Amazing Apprenticeships issue a monthly Parents’ & Carers’ Pack which includes articles that explore the different types of apprenticeships on offer, highlighting current vacancies and top employers.
Access the latest copies of the Parent's Pack hereThe Parent Perspective Podcast
An exciting podcast series for parents and carers, helping them to support their children with careers advice and guidance
Careermag - For Parents, Carers & Guardians
We recognise that Parents and Guardians can have a huge influence on a young person's next steps. When asked by their teenager 'What should I do next?' many parents can feel overwhelmed. So much has changed since they left school/college, which is why Careermag for Parents, Carers and Guardians aims to inform parents so their young people can feel supported - whether they'd like to go to University, do an Apprenticeship, Work Experience or T Levels.
Please click on the link below to access the latest Careermag.
Apprentice Nation
Apprentice Nation is an early careers platform supporting young people to develop the skills they need to shape their future, whether that is applying for jobs, being in the workplace or looking after their wellbeing. They engage with authentic music artists and industry experts to create content that inspires and motivates young people to take the next steps on their career path.
They have developed the Apprentice Nation Parent Pack aimed specifically for parents/carers of students aged 16 and over to help you support your child. You can download it below.
Teachers
Careers information for Teachers
Gatsby Benchmark 4 – Linking Learning to Careers
- For information on what linking learning to careers means please click this link:
https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/browse-category/gatsby-benchmarks/gatsby-benchmark-4
- For resources to help support subject teaching staff meet Benchmark 4 above please click on this link:
https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/my-learning-my-future
Unifrog for Teachers - Upcoming events & How to Guides and Videos
Find out about upcoming events for teachers here: https://www.unifrog.org/events/for-teachers
Some useful guides to using Unifrog as a teacher are below:
- Overview - A guide to the different types of accounts and what you can do as a teacher or a student: Overview-of-the-unifrog-platform
- Adding tasks as interactions – Video Duration: 7 minutes
How to add interactions to a Year group
Staff- adding BLYP tasks as interactions
- Adding 1-1s as interaction – Video Duration: 6 minutes
Adding interactions to one student on a 1-2-1 perspective
Staff- adding 1-1s as interactions
- Adding general interactions - Video Duration: 8 minutes
How to add an Interaction to a Year group and see the students view of ‘What’s coming up’
Staff- adding general interactions
Other How To Guides can be found by logging in to your account, select Resources from across the top and scroll down to How to ... use Unifrog.
If you don’t have an account or have any problems accessing your account please email ruth.turner@langleyacademy.
Student Destinations
Work Ready
The Academy will liaise with ‘Learning to Work’ to provide students in Year 10 and Year 12 with a Business Insight visit to a local company. Students will visit an organisation as part of a group of 30 students where they will have the opportunity to experience a workplace first hand, interacting with employees and undertake an industry task. Year 12 will also take part in a Speed Networking event with local business volunteers. Details will be sent to parents/carers.
Year 12 students will also have the opportunity to find their own in-person placement that they can attend during the last week of the summer term. Although we won’t be providing in-person work experience placements for students, we will prepare and support them in finding their own work experience. Students must use the Placement Tool in Unifrog to finalise their own placement to ensure it is safe and authorised. Year 12 students and their parents/carers will receive an email with work experience dates and instructions on how to use the Unifrog Placement tool.
Students are encouraged to take part in virtual or in-person work experience during their own time so as not to detract from curriculum/classroom time. For Year 10 this could happen over the summer before they start Year 10, during the year and extend into the summer before they begin Year 11. Year 12 should gain relevant work experience during the school year including the summer holidays after Year 11 and before Year 13. We encourage any students finding in-person work experience to organise this through the Unifrog tool to ensure the placement is safe.
Opportunities for work experience, employer webinars and talks are advertised on the Careers Noticeboards, on Teams pages and by email.
In addition, we encourage students from Year 9 upwards to participate in virtual work experience during their own time and to record this as an Activity on Unifrog. Employers value quality virtual work experience and participation in these demonstrates that students are dedicated, enthusiastic and prepared to put in the work. Some excellent platforms are shown below and we also recommend that students sign up for pathwayctm.com – an organisation that offers great resources, benefits and work experience for young people.
Unifrog
Unifrog is a complete destinations platform, a one-stop-shop for whole-school careers guidance, KS3-KS5. All available information is in one single, impartial, user-friendly platform that helps students make the best, choices, and submit the strongest applications.
Every student at the Academy has an account with Unifrog and will be using it during Careers lessons. We are asking parents and carers to encourage their children to sign in and use it at home. Please see the attached presentation, video and letter which will provide you with all the information you need to access Unifrog. If you have any questions, please email ruth.turner@langleyacademy.
Useful Websites
In addition to Unifrog and UCAS, please find below some other useful websites to help you discover the best career path for you. They have been put into categories but some crossover. Happy exploring!
Explore careers, Labour Market Information, find a course, find a job, find an apprenticeship.