Careers Education

Welcome to Careers Education at La Sainte Union

La Sainte Union has an award-winning careers programme. The school has achieved the National Quality in Careers Standard which is awarded to schools and education providers who can demonstrate the importance they place on careers and how they support students to make decisions about their life after school.

We have put together some useful information for employers, providers, parents and carers below, and we hope that other visitors and prospective parents will enjoy this section of the website.

As the year progresses, we look forward to sharing new projects, information and resources with you. In the meantime, you can access a copy of the La Sainte Union Careers Policy here and the Policy Statement on Provider Access here.

Employer Engagement Opportunities

The full careers programme can be found on this page, including information per year group and for employers. For any further information or queries please contact the Careers Department on the details below.

Contact

Mrs Hilary Tait
Careers and Curriculum Support Manager, nominated Careers Leader
Tel: 020 7428 4600, ext.226
Email: htait@lsu.camden.sch.uk

Information for parents and carers

 The Careers programme at La Sainte Union is delivered in tutor time, PSHE, community enrichment days, work experience, masterclasses and guidance interviews, as well as through subjects and many other planned and ad hoc opportunities throughout the year.

The programme is constantly evolving and there are plenty of ways to get involved (link to Provider Access Statement). As parents and carers, we will keep you updated through the La Sainte Union Family Bulletin, and there will be opportunities throughout the year to ask us questions in person. Please let us know if you will need an interpreter or any particular access arrangements.

We are currently adapting our practice and resources to the Career Development Institute’s recently updated 2021 Framework (New Career Development Framework (thecdi.net)) and Skills Builder (The Skills Builder Partnership) and by July 2022 you will be able to view our entitlement statements for each year group in the sections below, which we have designed to help you with each year group.

As well as general information about careers, progression options and the labour market, you will also find some resources for parents and carers of neurodiverse students and students with SEND below.

Please let Mrs Tait know if there is anything else that you would find helpful on this section of the website.

Careers information

Although you will find a huge quantity of information sources on the internet, accurate and up-to-date information is essential. Here are some of our ‘top picks’, please contact us if you would like to see this updated with information about other career areas. You will also find excellent information on your child’s Morrisby account from Year 9 onwards. However, do always please remind your child that real life is a lot more complicated and they may use their ‘transferable’ skills in many different settings across their life!

Prospects.ac.uk presents a variety of highly informative graduate (or post-apprenticeship) job profiles. The site also includes an excellent section on ‘what can I do with my degree’.

Careers advice - job profiles, information and resources | National Careers Service is the official government careers website which features a vast careers library and comprehensive matching tests.

Careers - BBC Bitesize is an excellent and accessible starting point to a careers discussion.

Step into the NHS | help young people discover NHS careers & Health Careers | are valuable resources for our future NHS heroes.

180301_BNA_Careers_Booklet_2018_Draft_1.pdf is a very well written explanation about the varied careers available in Neuroscience.

Career options in psychology | BPS explains the real challenges of the route into that very popular degree choice, Psychology.

Home | Medical Schools Council (medschools.ac.uk) has everything you need to know about studying Medicine and becoming a doctor.

Becoming a dentist (bda.org) is the professional body for dentists across the UK and explains how to get into dentistry.

Green careers guide | British Council, Careers in Sustainability & Green Jobs | EnvironmentalScience.org & Jobs and careers in geography are good sources of information about an extremely important rising sector of employment.

How do I get into engineering? | TARGETcareers

Find your perfect role in the creative industries - Creative Careers (discovercreative.careers)

The Lawyer Portal | The Resource for Aspiring Legal Professionals

Careers - Publishers Association

Careers in History / Historical Association

Would a career in finance suit me? | TARGETcareers

Careers, jobs and skills training in film, TV, VFX, animation and games - ScreenSkills

Useful websites

	National Careers Service

 

Careers and SEND/inclusion

It is important to emphasise that pupils and students with SEND and other inclusion needs have bespoke provision within La Sainte Union with our highly specialised Connexions Personal Adviser, Mr Metcalfe (cmetcalfe@lsu.camden.sch.uk), therefore La Sainte Union families should never need to be alone in a situation where they are trying to find a progression pathway for their child. However, here are some helpful additional sources of information.

www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk

www.langdonuk.org

http://www.elfridacamden.org.uk/leighton-college/

www.careersadviceforparents.org/p/sen.html

www.parentalguidance.org.uk/help-information/help-for-parents-of-children-with-special-needs-or-disabilities

Special educational needs - Camden Council

Remploy - Putting ability first

Information about Universities

Again, this is an area with almost ‘too much information’! We hope you will find the following - comparatively - streamlined list useful!

Advice For Parents And Guardians | UCAS | Parent Guide To University This is a not-to-be-missed resource from the university application portal itself!

Top UK University League Tables and Rankings 2022 - Complete University Guide (thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk) See how the performance of your child’s university choices compare to others across the UK.

Subjects | UCAS See what is involved in the study of the different university subjects.

What can I do with my degree? | Prospects.ac.uk This is a particularly useful introduction to the broader ‘job families’ typically associated with different degree choices, although of course real life is often more complex!

Home (discoveruni.gov.uk) This is an invaluable guide to universities based on the results of national student surveys. The statistics for each course may surprise you!

Information about applying to selective universities

Again, it is worth noting that this is an area where there is special provision within the LaSWAP 6^th Form Consortium, where an ‘aspirational group’ is given targeted support for their applications to Oxbridge, the Russell Group of universities, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science.

Guide to Applying for Oxford and Cambridge (thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk) This is an overview of applications to Oxbridge. Please remember that extra tests may be required depending on the course applied for. Specifics for either Oxford or Cambridge can be found here: Applying to Oxford | University of Oxford & Applying to Cambridge | Undergraduate Study.

Russell Group | Home This website explains what the prestigious ‘Russell Group’ of universities stand for. Do remember that the Russell Group is essentially a grouping based on research and that other universities may also have excellent offers.

Pick a route | Informed Choices This is particularly useful for parents of Key Stage 4 pupils planning ahead for entry to a Russell Group university.

Student Finance:

Student finance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Student finance guide for parents and partners (ucas.com)

Student Guides - MoneySavingExpert

Apprenticeships

The apprenticeships landscape has gone through some extraordinary changes over the past few years! Apprenticeship levels range from Level 1 (first year GCSE equivalent) and Level 7 (Masters degree equivalent) and the apprenticeships available are in constant evolution, with new apprenticeships appearing all the time. Students and students applying for apprenticeships post-16 and post-18 benefit from extra support from Mr Metcalfe, and we offer extra support for parents and careers in order to understand apprenticeships and hear about real life case studies (see calendar). From an information point of view, the landscape can be patchy, but here are our suggestions.

Further education and skills: Apprenticeships - detailed information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) This is the ‘official’ government website for apprenticeships (including finding actual opportunities). It is not yet very user friendly, but information is available.

Amazing Apprenticeships This is a very informative site for parents and carers wishing to find out more general information about apprenticeships.

Not Going To Uni: Apprenticeships & Work Experience in the UK Lots of great information for pupils and students not wishing to go to university, including apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships | UCAS UCAS are slowly branching into providing information about apprenticeships.

Multiverse apprenticeships A new apprenticeship provider seeking to compete with UCAS!

Camden Apprenticeships Portal Camden apprenticeships provide high levels of support to candidates for many excellent local apprenticeship opportunities. 

London Labour Market Information

Keeping up to date with changes in the labour market is essential when making choices now, and decisions and transitions later in life, which is reflected in the ‘See the big picture’ strand of the CDI Framework that La Sainte Union is adopting. The labour market is a complex and changing picture, as we are experiencing with Covid19 and Brexit, and getting into the habit of thinking about how current events, technology and trends impact on the skills we need in order to have meaningful and economically secure work is essential for your child in future.

Careerometer – LMI For All

Labour Market Profile - Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk) The latest labour market statistics for the London Borough of Camden.

LEO data indexed to Jan 2017 CPI - gender - cohort - years since graduation | Tableau Public This tool uses a linked data source Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO). It includes tax, pupil and benefits data. You can explore graduate earnings by gender, subject, cohort, and years since graduation. All the earnings data is in January 2017 salaries to make it comparable across cohorts.

Where the work is This tool uses data from job sites to show which occupations have the most job openings in an area. It goes further by saying how many of these jobs are available to school, further education or higher education leavers, and has a measure of salary. By combining salary with jobs it gives each occupation an opportunity score for the selected area.

Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings - Map (ons.gov.uk) This infographic uses earnings data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and breaks the data down by local authority.

Find out the gender pay gap for your job - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
This tool from the Office for ONS (Office National Statistics) allows you to compare gender pay gaps by occupation.

Nomis - Official Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)
NOMIS is a service provided by the Office for National Statistics is a good source of headline labour market information. 

Labour market in the regions of the UK - Office for National Statistics
Every month the ONS updates the labour market statistics. Their website has had major investment recently and the usability and commentary around the statistics make them very accessible.

The spatial distribution of industries in Great Britain - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
This tool shows the relative distribution of jobs by industry and by region. 

 Information for Year 11 Parents and Carers

This section of the school website will be updated throughout the year to reflect changes being made to the programme. 

You have helped your child to Year 11 through homework, friendship and puberty! A new era beckons in Sixth Form. 

However, how can you make sense of the multiple options available to your child post-16 and how do these link to their choices post-18? A lot has changed, and vocational programmes such as apprenticeships, T levels and BTECs are now very credible in comparison to the classic A level route. FE colleges have also received recent funding and are offering superb vocational pathways, despite their current 'image problem'. 

You will also hear about different qualification ‘levels’ when looking at post-16 courses, such as Level 2 or Level 3. The new T levels will be situated at Level 3. (Link to T levels explainer film). It is important to understand levels as some apprenticeships are Level 7, Masters Degree level! 

To help you understand the post-16 landscape we have selected some helpful resources for you. Remember, you can always contact us for guidance on careers@lsu.camden.sch.uk. 

Useful websites: 

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/career-choices-at-16 

https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/  

https://successatschool.org/advicedetails/1261/different-qualification-for-my-child    

https://www.parentalguidance.org.uk/ 

Useful presentations: 

Post-16 Options: Link to Understanding post-16 options (pupils) – Mrs Tait 

Post-18 Options: Link to How to make university choices – Mr Gardner 

Apprenticeships (all levels): Link to Introduction to Apprenticeships - Mr Metcalfe 

Questions you could ask your child this year: 

Which are your favourite subjects? Which subjects are you good at? (It is important that your child studies subjects that motivate them, as there is a big academic jump up to 6th Form). 

Are you thinking about a particular career or degree? Do you know what you need to study next year in order to do it? (If not, encourage your child to see the Careers Advisers in HG05). 

Have you had your Careers interview? Which questions would you like to ask your Careers Adviser? 

Practical support for your child: 

Help them plan ahead by identifying open evenings they may be interested in and attending with them. 

Encourage them not to be put off by a small setback in a subject they love. Motivation is really important in 6th Form so enjoyment of subjects is key in order to get top grades. 

Support them if they wish to take arts subjects. Some students fear that they will not be employable if they do so. The local labour market has a wealth of creative opportunities so these subjects can be helpful and develop lots of useful skills and confidence for work.

Combining arts and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects is particularly powerful.

Finally, the long summer is an excellent time to do some work experience between Year 11 and Year 12. As well as encouraging your child to contact places of interest for work experience, there are also an increasing number of useful websites to look at. You can also take a ‘sneak peek’ at some of the opportunities on offer in Year 13 or begin to explore university taster days. 

La Sainte Union Next Steps for Year 11 2021-2022

Experience - Speakers for Schools 

Free Virtual Work Experience | Springpod 

https://alliedhealthmentor.org/nhs-healthcare-careers-virtual-work-experience/ 

https://www.thebrokerage.org.uk/  

https://ortuk.org/who-we-support/uk/ort-jump/mentees/  

You can also view more ideas in this presentation ‘Building your VISA – Values, Interests, Skills and Aptitudes’

Information for Year 10 Parents and Carers

This is a year in which your child is able to experience the results of the first decisions they have made during Year 9 options, and indeed this will have been good practice for their post-16 choices, which are coming up very soon! You may find it beneficial to have a look in the Year 11 section in order to prepare for what is coming next year. 

However, this is also a brief window to gain different skills and a sense of the realities of the workplace before the exams. Traditionally La Sainte Union offers work experience for Year 10, although the impact of the Covid19 pandemic means that employers may not be available in sufficient numbers to achieve that this year. We will therefore be offering a ‘hybrid’ version of work experience with our partners at Inspire (Inspire! London education charity - Bringing education and business together (inspire-ebp.org.uk)) and will confirm details through the Family Bulletin and information events. 

Questions you could ask your child this year: 

How are you finding your subjects this year? Are your options what you were expecting? What would you do when making decisions about which options to take forward again? 

Are you thinking about a particular career pathway? Where would you go to find out about it? (Encourage your child to see the Careers Advisors in HG05). 

Which skills do you want to develop on work experience? 

Practical support for your child:

Help them be analytical about their subjects. Do they enjoy them, and what are they taking from this course? 

Remind them that some post-16 options will be looking at their Year 10 mock grade.  

Encourage them to think about the skills they may gain on work experience and be positive if their post-Covid work experience is not exactly what they dreamed. They will definitely take something from it! 

Year 10 WEX Presentation

Information for Year 9 Parents and Carers

Year 9 is your daughter’s first opportunity to experiment with decision-making and transition, skills she will use throughout her academic and professional life. Whereas the Year 7 and 8 group interviews focus on career management skills, this year’s interviews will be about applying these to their own choices. It is very hard to make a mistake when choosing options, as the core subjects keep most pathways open. However, there are some things to bear in mind, and you can find out more about them at the Zoom drop-in sessions that will be publicised in the Family Bulletin.

We are also providing you with this helpful guide for parents and carers of Year 9 and Year 11 students.

Questions you could ask your child this year: 

•      Which subjects do you enjoy? (Ensure that your child is not put off a subject they love just because of         one teacher – they may have a different teacher next year!) 
•       Which subjects are you good at? (Ensure that your child is not being put off by a temporary blip) 
•      Which subjects do you need to take to achieve your goal? (Encourage your child to come to the                      Careers Centre in HG05 if they do not know!) 

Year 9 Careers Assembly

Year 9 Careers Information Sheet 2021-2022

Year 9 Options Booklet

Information for Year 8 Parents and Carers

Year 8 students are in many ways in a ‘pre-transition’ year. They are studying the most subjects of their life and next year will be called to narrow these down in the first of the moments of transition and decision that they will take in secondary school, Year 9 options. This is an important year to introduce key ideas, such as post-16 options, university and apprenticeships and pathway planning, so that these are not unfamiliar concepts in Year 9. This year we are trialling this in a fun way in group careers interviews, by asking pupils to create a ‘comic strip’ of a possible path they could take. Students will also be experiencing labour market information in conjunction with Geography, as well as information about the benefits of STEAM subjects. 

Questions you could ask your child this year: 

Who do you think works here? (When walking around your local area!) 

What skills do you think they have? 

Which jobs do you think are the most important at the moment? Why do you think that is? (Covid19, Brexit and new technologies are providing ample material here!) 

Practical support you can give this year: 

Talk about your job, or the job of someone you know, and the skills used. 

Raise your child’s awareness of how external events affect working life. 

Information for Year 7 Parents and Carers

Year 7 is the most exciting time, and please be reassured that students will definitely not be choosing a path at this early stage, particularly as many Year 7 students will one day do jobs that do not yet exist! However, it is the perfect year to build self-awareness as pupils settle into life in secondary school, and this is an essential aspect of career management in future. This year we will be trialling ‘What’s my Strength’ in group careers interviews in order for students to better identify what they are good at, for example identifying skills and strengths in everyday activities, such as being a young carer or neurodiverse, as well as more ‘classic’ sources such as hobbies and favourite subjects. We will also be introducing young people to assessing the reliability of information sources, and how to ask ‘curious questions’ about different jobs. 

Questions to ask your child this year: 

What are you learning about yourself at secondary school? 

Which subjects do you enjoy most? 

Practical support you can give your child this year: 

Ask lots of questions about what they are learning in their subjects and about themselves. 

Consider using an INSET day to take your child to work!