Careers

Ursuline High School, Wimbledon works hard to ensure that all our students have the opportunity to make informed decisions about their future. We aim to help develop students’ knowledge, understanding, confidence and skills so that they make well informed, thought through choices and plans.

We want our students to fully understand the world of possibilities out there, make the most of their talents, and create lasting careers. We help all our students to plan and manage their careers effectively, ensuring progression which is ambitious and aspirational.

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG).

CEIAG contributes to raising pupil achievement, and helps students focus on their longer-term career. We provide person-centred, impartial and confidential careers information. It is integrated into students’ experience of the whole curriculum and is based on a partnership with students and their parents or carers. We promote equality of opportunity for all, celebrate diversity and challenge stereotypes. Our policy is guided by the Gatsby benchmarks identifying the elements of good practice in career guidance.

These benchmarks are (http://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance)  

1.    A stable careers programme

2.    Learning from career and labour market information

3.    Addressing the needs of each student

4.    Linking curriculum learning to careers

5.    Encounters with employers and employees

6.    Experiences of workplaces

7.    Encounters with further and higher education

8.    Personal guidance

For further information on the school’s careers policy, please click on the link below
CEIAG Careers Policy

Student Career Journey

We are committed to ensuring students experience a full, varied and interesting Careers journey. To have the opportunity to explore job families, their own interests, skills, passions, work preferences and understand the wealth of jobs and education available to them once they leave school. All students provide evaluations and feedback for any Careers activity they participate in. This is essential to ensure we can review and amend sessions accordingly and also enables us to measure the impact these sessions have. We also actively track and encourage student involvement in our Career programme and use this information to inform future choices, resources and events we run.

All students receive; 

• Personal guidance and 1 to 1 Careers and Sixth Form interviews
• Dedicated Careers sessions (in the PSHE programme) to explore the world of work, their options and what opportunities are available to them
• Access to on-line careers resources - START and Unifrog software programmes where they (and you) can among others things explore careers, employability skills, CV writing and future destinations
• The opportunity to meet with employers every year through assemblies, lunchtime and after school talks and different dedicated year group activities
• The opportunity to link what they learn in their subjects to how this applies in the world of work through workplace visits, work experience and work shadowing placements 
• Access to meet with the Careers Lead, Careers Advisor and Sixth Form Careers Advisor at any time throughout the year for advice and guidance and help with career management (CV writing, CV building, Job and apprenticeship searches and interview practice) 
• Ability to use the well-resourced Careers library available to them in the LRC
• Information about the employment market – local and national

Parents and Carers

Parents/carers have an important role to play in supporting their daughter with their careers planning. We encourage them to support and engage with their daughters’ careers activities and are able to use the software programmes via your daughters’ access. Parents will be informed when students meet with any of the Careers Department via their planners so that you can follow up and support the conversation and help them explore their options. We also encourage and welcome parental /carers feedback regarding the design and delivery of the careers programme and actively seek feedback relating to whole school or year group events. Please see the link below to the Parents / Carer feedback form.  

Parental Feedback Form

Volunteering – Parents and Carers

The parents and carers of UHS student play an increasingly important role in the Ursuline community and we recognise together they represent a highly talented and skilled  group of people working within key industry sectors that recruit school leavers and graduates. Therefore, we often reach out and encourage parents / carers to get in touch and volunteer to deliver or take part in careers events. Suggested events include careers talks, employability workshops, careers fairs, carers panels or host a work experience student in year 11 or work shadowing student in Year 12. 

To register your interest, please complete the Parent/Career Volunteering Form. 

Student Support

All students receive;

• Personal guidance and 1 to 1 Careers and Sixth Form interviews
• Dedicated Careers sessions (in the PSHE programme) to explore the world of work and their options and what opportunities are available to them.
• Access to START and Unifrog – 2 software programmes where they (and you) can among others things explore careers, employability skills, CV writing and future destinations.
• The opportunity to meet with employers every year through lunchtime and after school talks and different dedicated year group activities.
• The opportunity to link what they learn in their subjects to how this applies in the world of work
• Access to meet with the Careers Lead, Careers Advisor and Sixth Form Careers Advisor at any time throughout the year for advice, information and guidance
• Ability to use the well-resourced Careers library available to them in the LRC.
  
  

Careers Evaluation

All careers events and activities have student evaluations completed and impact measured and reviewed regularly.

Review Date of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG).

December 2020

For any further inquires please contact

Careers Lead

Ms Lorraine Petheram

0203 908 3171
lorraine.petheram@ursulinehigh.merton.sch.uk

Careers Advisor (KS3 & KS4)

Ms Shirley Ward 

0203 908 3172
shirley.ward@ursulinehigh.merton.sch.uk