Careers & Employability at Orchard Manor School

Preparing Our Pupils for Their Future

At Orchard Manor School, we believe that preparing pupils for adulthood and the world of work is an essential part of their education. Our careers and employability programme is embedded throughout school life, helping pupils to discover their strengths, develop their skills, explore their interests and understand the opportunities available to them.

We recognise that every pupil is different. Careers education at Orchard Manor is therefore personalised to reflect individual abilities, aspirations, interests, developmental stages and future pathways.

Throughout their time at school, pupils have opportunities to learn about careers and employment through the curriculum, whole-school activities, educational visits, encounters with employers and employees, work-related learning, work experience and preparation for adulthood activities.

Our aim is simple:

To help every pupil develop the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to take their next steps successfully.

Careers Leadership

Our Careers Lead is Luke Pickford (Deputy Head Teacher).

Luke works closely with pupils, families, staff and external partners to develop and coordinate our careers and employability programme. He can provide information about careers education, work experience, further and higher education, qualifications, employment pathways and preparation for adulthood.

If you have a question about careers or would like further information about our Careers Programme, please contact:

Telephone: 01366 691330
Email: Luke.Pickford@orchardmanorschool.co.uk

Independent Careers Guidance

Orchard Manor School is supported by Beckie Gillham-Hardy, our independent Regional Futures Adviser.

Beckie is not permanently based at school but visits regularly to provide impartial careers and preparation for adulthood guidance to our pupils. Her support is tailored to each pupil and takes account of their individual needs, interests, aspirations, abilities and future pathway.

The independent nature of this guidance is particularly important. Beckie works with pupils to ensure that their views, aspirations and choices are listened to and represented, helping them to understand the different opportunities available and make informed decisions about their future.

Beckie also works alongside the school to strengthen our careers provision, including helping to identify and develop meaningful work experience, employer encounters and other experience-based opportunities that reflect individual pupils’ interests and aspirations.

Learning for Life and Work

Careers education at Orchard Manor is not limited to a single lesson or year group. It is developed progressively throughout a pupil’s journey through school.

Depending on their age, stage of development and individual pathway, pupils may explore:

• Understanding their own strengths, interests and aspirations
• Developing confidence, communication and independence
• Employability and workplace skills
• Understanding different jobs, careers and employment sectors
• Learning about the world of work
• Work experience and work-related learning
• Encounters with employers and employees
• Further education and higher education opportunities
• Qualifications, accreditation and progression routes
• Voluntary work and supported employment
• Enterprise and economic awareness
• Independent living and preparation for adulthood
• Making informed decisions about future education, training and employment

These opportunities are delivered through curriculum learning, careers-focused activities, educational visits, whole-school events, employer encounters and individualised experiences.

Supporting Individual Aspirations

We understand that there is no single route into adulthood or employment.

Our careers programme is therefore designed to support pupils to identify and work towards their own meaningful next steps. For some pupils, this may involve further education or qualifications; for others, it may involve supported employment, volunteering, work experience, developing independence or building practical life and employability skills.

We work with pupils and their families to ensure that future planning is realistic, aspirational and personalised.

Our focus is on helping pupils understand what is possible, what opportunities are available and what steps they can take to move towards their goals.

Our Gatsby Benchmark Approach

Our Careers and Employability provision is underpinned by the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. These provide a framework to ensure that pupils receive a broad, progressive and meaningful careers programme.

At Orchard Manor School, we aim to:

1. Provide a stable careers programme
   We maintain a planned and progressive careers programme that develops as pupils move through the school.
2. Learn from career and labour market information
   We help pupils develop an understanding of different employment sectors, job opportunities and the changing world of work.
3. Address the needs of each pupil
   Our careers provision is personalised to reflect individual strengths, needs, aspirations, interests and pathways.
4. Link curriculum learning to careers
   We make meaningful connections between what pupils learn in the classroom and how these skills and knowledge can be used in the wider world.
5. Provide encounters with employers and employees
   Pupils are given opportunities to meet and learn from people working in different careers and employment settings.
6. Provide experiences of workplaces
   Where appropriate, pupils have opportunities to experience workplace environments through work experience and other work-related activities.
7. Provide encounters with further and higher education
   Pupils are supported to understand the range of educational and training opportunities available to them beyond school.
8. Provide personal guidance
   Pupils have access to impartial careers guidance and support to help them make informed decisions about their future.

Our Commitment

At Orchard Manor School, we are committed to ensuring that careers education is meaningful, inclusive and relevant to every pupil.

We want our pupils to leave us with more than qualifications. We want them to have confidence in themselves, an understanding of their strengths, knowledge of the opportunities available to them and the skills to take their next steps towards adulthood.

Through strong partnerships with families, employers, education providers and careers professionals, we will continue to develop opportunities that enable our pupils to explore, experience and achieve their ambitions.

Find Out More

For further information about our Careers and Employability provision, please see our Careers & Employability Skills Policy, available in the Policies section of our website.