Bellerive FCJ Catholic College

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance is available to all students from Year 7 through to Year 13.

Our independent Careers advisor Mrs Paula Woodruff-Turner is commissioned by the school from Careers Connect to provide independent careers advice and guidance to our students. Mrs Woodruff-Turner is present in school for 2 days a week and appointments are co-ordinated by Miss Power, the Careers Leader at Bellerive.

Miss Power can be contacted via the usual school telephone number or via email at contactus@bellerivefcj.org .If you have a specific question, Mrs Woodruff-Turner can be emailed on Paula.Woodruff@careerconnect.org.uk.

Further Information

As part of our commitment to informing our students of the full range of learning and training pathways on offer to them, we are happy to consider requests from training, apprenticeship and vocational education providers to speak to students. Opportunities for providers to speak with students may include school assemblies, employer and provider engagement events or opportunities to speak with students and parents on a one-to-one basis supporting GCSE, post 16 or post 18 option choices.

In the first instance, requests by providers should be sent to our Careers Leader (Miss Power) at contactus@bellerivefcj.org with a minimum of 6 weeks’ lead time. All requests will be considered on the basis of; staffing availability to support the activity, clashes with other planned activity, trips or visits to the school, interruption to preparation for examinations or rooming and space availability to host the activity.

Our careers programme is kept under review. We measure the impact of our programme via regular student voice discussions, feedback from parents and feedback from external providers. Our governors receive regular reports on the work being completed as part of our careers education programme.

Access Policy

What does our CEIAG programme look like?

Year 7

In Year 7 students will be encouraged to think about what careers are available and how people achieve those careers. They will be able to identify their own skills and qualities and link these to the skills that employers find important. This is delivered to pupils by their form tutor during PSHEE lessons.

Year 8

In Year 8 students will have the opportunity to look at different career paths and activities are completed to investigate what skills suit which careers and jobs. The concept of employability skills will be developed and students will think about which skills they need to develop to be successful. This is delivered to pupils by their form tutor during PSHEE lessons.

Year 9

In Year 9 students will be encouraged to think about their own career pathway and they will spend some time using internet resources to research different jobs and find out about the salary available and the qualifications needed. Pupils also participate in a ‘Women in Business’ morning whereby the traditional stereotypes in the world of work are challenged.

In support of their Pathways journey, in which pupils select the subjects they will go on and study at GCSE, every pupil is given a login and username to access the Career Connect website and its wealth of information. Mrs Woodruff-Turner leads these logon sessions and every Yr 9 pupil then receives a 20 minute 1:1 interview to support pupils in making informed choices for their GCSE pathway. Local job market information will be provided to help students and parents identify where potential future employment opportunities may exist.

Year 10

In Year 10 all pupils will undertake a 2-week work experience placement in preparation for them entering the world of work. In addition to the work experience placement, all students are given a 20 minute ‘Employability/Mock’ interview from a local employer based upon a CV and application form they have filled in during their PSHEE lesson. We hope that both these experiences will help improve their confidence when applying for further education or employment.

Year 11

Year 11 students will look at the pathways available to them after their GCSEs. This will include an induction to our Sixth Form, and some information about apprenticeships, college courses and employment opportunities. Students will be expected to produce a CV, Personal Statement and a Career Plan for their Progress File to help them prepare for their future destinations.

Sixth Form

In our Sixth Form, all students are encouraged to complete work experience with a local employer. Sessions are also held within PSHEE to develop employability skills and time is spent making sure that CVs and personal statements are up to date and students are fully prepared for what lies ahead. There is also a full programme of support for students wishing to continue to their studies at university.

We are planning to hold an annual Careers Fair each March and all students from Yr9 / Yr10 / Yr11 / Sixth Form have the opportunity to speak to local employers, universities, colleges and training providers. This is a useful opportunity for our students to ask questions and find out more information about the different pathways available to them.