Careers

Introduction

Dagenham Park School has a critical role to play in preparing learners for transitions into the next stage of their education, training or employment. Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance are an important and integral part of student entitlement and learning here at Dagenham Park.

All careers information is presented in an impartial manner and includes information on the full range of post 16 and post 18 education and training options and promotes the best interest of the learners to whom it is given.

Through a planned programmed of careers education and one to one guidance we are committed to providing the appropriate activities and experiences to enable students to make well informed decisions and successful transitions from key stage 3 to key stage 4 and from key stage 4 to key stage 5 to Further Education, Apprenticeships/Traineeships or Employment and from Sixth Form to Higher Education, Apprenticeships or Employment.

Careers Lead

N Woodfin
Tel: 020 8270 4400 Careers Strategic Plans 2022-2025

Provider Access Policy

Careers Evaluation (external)

Careers Benchmark

Our Strengths

At Dagenham Park School we actively encourage and inspire young people to take ownership of their career plans and to consider all options open to them, so they are able to select the best way forward for their aspirations, abilities, interests and learning styles.

All staff actively encourage students to think broadly and ambitiously about their future education and careers options and to consider current labour market conditions, to ensure learners make well informed decisions. This is strengthened and sustained by our continuing development of relationships and regular contact with Careers Advisers, local employers, training providers, universities and alumni.

Working in partnership with local employers and other education and training providers such as Colleges, Universities and Apprenticeship providers ensures learners begin to develop networks and can make informed decisions about their future education and training options

Parents are given an overview of Careers Education, kept up to date with careers information and option choice via the school website and Facebook page

Aims

The implementation of the Dagenham Park Careers Strategy is:

To help learners remain engaged in their education and have a better understanding of lifelong learning.
To develop learners through careers, employability and enterprise education.
To facilitate learning for all students about careers and the world or work.
To raise aspirations and awareness of the full range of post- 16 and post -18 opportunities.
To enable learners to make considered choices by the end of all key stages and help them plan and manage their transitions to new roles and situations.
To assist learners to identify and develop their career management, employability and enterprise skills.
To help learners to value difference and diversity between people.
To build and develop student knowledge and understanding of the modern labour market, how it operates, what it has to offer and its pitfalls.
To enable learners to have a better understanding of local, national and global labour markets, how to access labour market information (LMI) and to understand the impact of LMI when making career decisions.
To prepare learners for the world of work by giving them the skills they require to navigate an uncertain landscape of employment opportunities.
To help learners develop a broad knowledge of employment sectors and careers and an understanding of how careers are built and how long they can take to progress and develop.

Careers Curriculum

Careers lessons are not only delivered through PDE lessons but also, all departments within the school have careers embedded in their planning to ensure students can link their learning the possible future careers. Year groups have timetabled careers lessons appropriate to their needs, delivered by their PDE teachers using on line research facilities as part of the lesson.

Local colleges, training providers and colleges are regularly invited into school to present information to students via Assembly presentations and there are various “Aim Higher” visits to universities to promote awareness of HE and to raise aspirations.

Local and national employers give presentations to students about their careers to ensure they gain a realistic insight into a variety of career sectors and gain a better understanding of the local and national labour market.

Further Information

Students

Dagenham Park provides a varied and extensive careers education and support programme to our students and can give impartial information, advice and guidance.

You have access to the UNIFROG website through your login and Barking and Dagenham provides support through its Youth careers and employment advice service.

Students have careers education throughout their time at Dagenham Park firstly through our careers programme and secondly within the curriculum in PDE and subject areas.

Useful links for students

Kudos – up to date labour market information – ask your PDE teacher for a login if you do not have one.

HM Government Apprenticeship site

UCAS apprenticeship site

National Careers Service

Barking and Dagenham Youth careers and employment advice

Unifrog

Parents

This section of our website gives parents information about Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) at Dagenham Park School.

Here at Dagenham Park, CEIAG is increasingly becoming embedded into the curriculum and culture of education within the school as we recognise the important contribution it makes to supporting the successful transition between the both childhood to adulthood and education to employment.

CEIAG is being embedded in all parts of the curriculum, and also involves various events, experiences and visits.

C – Careers

E – Education
Students have careers education throughout their time at Dagenham Park firstly through our careers programme and secondly within the curriculum in PDE and subject areas.

I – Information
Students have access to a wide selection of free online resources via their Kudos website login.

A – Advice
All staff can offer support, but specific advice can be accessed via Year Leaders, the Sixth Form staff, and Mr Watson (Careers Leader).

G – Guidance
Individual careers guidance interviews are available from Barking and Dagenham’s Youth careers and employment advice service

Employers & Providers

At Dagenham Park we are keen to engage with local and national employers and providers. We believe that through high quality, meaningful careers and enterprise education our students will be better prepared for the constantly changing world of work.

Opportunities to visit the school
A number of events, integrated into the school careers programme, offer providers an opportunity to come into school to speak to pupils.

However we are looking to increase the opportunity for employers to come into school to speak to pupils and/or their parents. These include:

Mentoring
Mock Interviews
Partnership working for vocational courses
Inspirational Talks
Enterprise Activities

If you are able to support us with any of these, or wish to request a visit to the school, please contact N Woodfin, the careers Leader at nwoodfin@dagenhampark.org.uk

Work Experience and Employer Engagement
Work experience is extremely important for our pupils, offering them the opportunity to succeed, build confidence and learn new skills. The benefits of work experience as preparation for the world of work are immeasurable and lead to greatly enhanced life chances.

Dagenham Park Church of England School works together with Barking and Dagenham School Improvement Service (BDSIP) and Trident to provide meaningful and successful work placements.

We are also part of the East London Business Alliance (ELBA) which is helping us to create more opportunities for pupils to engage with local employers. Research shows that ‘a young person who has four or more encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training, and can earn up to 18% more during their career.

We are always looking to hear from employers who would like to offer placements to our students. Work experience can beneficial to employers as well as to students, as is set out in this article
If you are an employer or know of a business that would like to get involved in any way please contact the Careers Leader at the school or Rosalind Hall at BDSIP Trident.

Apprenticeships
Many of our students are now looking to undertake apprenticeships after year 11 and 13. Our mix of vocational and academic courses make students from Dagenham Park ideal candidates.

If you are thinking about taking on an apprentice, click here for tips and information about funding

Teachers

Dagenham Park School is developing a cross-curricular approach to Careers and Enterprise Education, Information, Advice & Guidance. As teachers, you play a vital role in delivering high quality, meaningful Careers Education in your classrooms and beyond. Therefore, it is important that as a member of staff, you feel you are equipped with the best knowledge and tools to inspire and support our students with their career choices.

As a school we aim to provide individually tailored support and guidance, to meet the diverse range of needs our students, which inspires them and raises their aspirations. The relationships you have with your students is one of our key strengths in being able to deliver this aim. By understanding their ambitions and their interests, you can help them with their future planning and transition to post-16 options.

The world of work is constantly changing, and a crucial skill our students need in order to succeed in the future is to be resilient and adaptable to change. With this in mind, you can support your students to explore progression routes within their chosen career fields and consider alternative career paths that interest them.

In order to ensure you feel confident to support our students, as a school we try and offer

CPD sessions
Access to up to date information on post 16 & post 18 options
Access to local labour market information
Subject specific advice and resources
Opportunities to attend subject related careers events
Support to build CEIAG into your classroom

Below are some websites you might find useful:
UNIFROG – For exploring the world of careers, training and further education (Students will have a login through the PDE department).

Icould – For teaching resources and real life case studies.

Apprenticeships – All you need to know about Apprenticeships.

Success at School – Subject specific guides linking classroom learning with careers

National Careers Service – For information, advice and guidance to help make decisions on learning, training and work.

UCAS – For up to date information about Higher Education.

Prospects – For graduate jobs, postgraduate study, advice about work experience, internship opportunities and graduate careers.

LMI For All – LMI for All is an online data portal, which connects and standardises existing sources of high quality, reliable labour market information (LMI) with the aim of informing careers decisions.