Careers Information, Education, Advice and Guidance

Welcome to the official webpage for Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG) at The Heys School.

Within these pages you will find information across CEIAG providing a useful resource for both students of The Heys School and their parents/carers.

The designated careers lead for The Heys School is Mrs R J Farrington-Evans

Email: R.Farrington@theheys.school Telephone: 0161 773 2052

The designated careers link governors for The Heys School are Mrs I McLaughlin and Ms W Jackson

The Heys School Careers Enterprise Advisor: Luke Clarke, Careers For Young People Unit – Department For Education

Our independent careers advisor is Mr Kevin Welch.

Email: K.Welch@theheys.school

I am extremely passionate about supporting and helping people to make informed realistic choices about their future plans. Choosing a career is not an easy thing to do. I feel that people can be supported through the careers guidance process to enable them to have an understanding of how their aptitude, skills and qualifications link to their hopes and ambitions.

I completed my Post Graduate Diploma in Careers Guidance in 2003 and began working as a Personal Adviser for the Connexions Service in Bury. I supported young people between the ages of thirteen and twenty five who had a wide variety of different needs. My role progressed to Team Manager which gave me further insight into the careers service wherein I worked closely with various agencies, supported staff and planned and worked on several projects linked to young people.

The variety within my careers work has allowed me to develop a wealth of experience working with young people and adults. I have completed this work in a range of different settings including secondary schools, youth centres, colleges, training providers and SEND provision. 

I now manage Realistic Choices which delivers support, advice and guidance to students in the Bury area. My work in schools has included one to one careers guidance, group work, careers events and option choice support.

Kevin Welch  B.A  PG.D.C.G

Registered Careers Manager 

The Heys School are delighted to have supported our Careers Lead, Mrs R J Farrington-Evans with the completion of her Teach First Careers Leader Course.

Careers Leader Course

 

The Heys School is committed to providing quality and impartial careers education, information an guidance (CEIAG) ensuring students are able to make informed and aspirational choices about their future routes.

The careers programme at The Heys School is comprehensive. CEIAG is delivered through form time, assemblies, drop down days, individual subject’s curriculum and in Personal Development time at KS4. The Gatsby Benchmarks are mapped out clearly in all we deliver.

 

The Heys School Careers Programme

A more detailed version of The Heys School careers programme can be found here:

The Heys School – Careers Event Calendar 2023

The Heys Y10 Work Experience Booklet 2024

Resources

All our students can access resources and information at any time by using the Careers area in the Library, where they can pick up prospectuses, leaflets and application forms. Online resources, useful links and key website addresses can be found by clicking on the link below:

Useful Links

Measuring the Impact

The impact of the careers programme is reported in a number of ways.

We work closely with the local authority to capture destinations data and the impact of our work on NEETs and destinations is analysed. This data is also reported to Governors through termly position statements.

We regularly conduct pupil, parent and staff voice to evaluate the impact of the careers programme and enable us to continually improve our careers provision.

We conduct termly compass assessments to measure our careers programme against the Gatsby Benchmarks

The Heys School – Gatsby Benchmarks

Careers information for Students

Life after The Heys

Before applying to any College or on an apprenticeship you must consider what possible job/career you would like to do.

You can browse job profiles at https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

Select a job or sector, this will then give you details of the work, hours, income, entry requirements, training and skills required.

When applying for college courses or apprenticeships, check the entry requirements. Are you likely to get the exam grades needed?

It is recommended that you apply to a minimum of 2 applications.

Here is a list of some local colleges and apprenticeship providers:

  • Bury College
  • Bolton College
  • Holy Cross College
  • Hopwood Hall College
  • The Growth Company
  • Loreto College
  • The Manchester College
  • Oldham College
  • SCC Group
  • Xavarian College

Please also see the information on the attached document:

Year 11 Careers Provision and Support

All students will receive a careers interview during KS4. If you feel you would benefit from an interview prior to this or require an additional interview, please email Mrs RJ Farrington-Evans.

Careers Information for Parents

As parents and carers you play a vital part in ensuring your child gains the best information, advice and guidance to prepare them for life once they leave The Heys School. This website should provide you with all the information you need to help support you and enable you to take an active role in your child’s Careers Education. 

Understanding the changes in the Labour Market is equally important as knowing the education providers that are available, as it is this information on the growth market that may help develop a successful career.

As Parent and Carers of Heys students you are entitled to receive any Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance that you require. We have plenty of information, prospectuses and resources to help you support your child create a CV and prepare for job or college interviews, so please feel free to contact Mrs Farrington-Evans to find out more.

Our partnership with Kevin Welch at Realistic Choices also provides Parent and Carers with the opportunity to view a personalised careers action plan from the school’s Careers Adviser for your son/daughter.

To ensure you are kept up to date and can support your child, The Heys School will provide the following:

A termly careers newsletter

A regularly updated careers section on the school’s website

An up to date careers twitter feed, please follow @CareersHeys

Careers Information for Employers

As an employer you may be interested in the information, advice and guidance we provide to our students within your field of work.  We have many Careers events each year in which we invite employers to come in and work with our students. There are also multiple opportunities throughout our Drop Down days, Personal Development sessions, during form-time and Assemblies in which we would welcome employers to come in and either talk or present to our students or work with them in smaller groups.

Our subject leaders are also very familiar with the importance of CEIAG and ensuring it is embedded within their curriculum, therefore if you wish to work with any particular subject area, they would most certainly welcome employer involvement to enhance the provision from an expert in that field. Our subject leaders may also be able to inform you of students who express an interest in going down your career path.

The careers section of this website should provide you with an insight into the events and opportunities planned throughout the year.  If you feel you can contribute to our careers provision or require any more information, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs R J Farrington-Evans.

Careers Information for Teachers

Your contribution to Careers Education Information and Guidance is paramount to the success of the careers provision at The Heys School. The world of work is changing at an increasingly fast rate and with this comes a greater demand on all of us to support young people in making a successful transition from education to employment. Making students aware of the careers opportunities in your subject area can help students identify and choose career opportunities that are right for them.

As teachers we can support our students by:

  • Raising students’ aspirations and increasing motivation
  • Helping students understand the transferrable knowledge and skills in each subject area
  • Encouraging progression to the next level of education or employment
  • Making students aware of your career path and journey
  • Incorporating career learning within your subject. Demonstrate how your subject is used in the real world, bring employers into the classroom.
  • Organising career learning through extra-curricular activities and trips.

Meeting the Gatsby Benchmark

Benchmark 4: Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers

Benchmark 4 – Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers

Careers: Labour Market Information

Labour Market Information (LMI) is information about the current economic and employment situation. It includes data on graduate destinations, average starting salaries, current trends in employment sectors and recruitment patterns.

Why is LMI important?

Keeping up to date with what’s happening in the labour market is important for anyone making careers related decisions about their future and LMI should play a key role. You should be aware of:

  • What opportunities are out there for you
  • What the future trends are likely to be in different sectors
  • What qualifications and skills you will need
  • How you need to prepare yourselves to compete for jobs in some sectors

https://bridgegm.co.uk/labour-market-information#

This information will be reviewed on an annual basis in September.