Southend YMCA Community School offers a full Careers programme encompassing both Careers Education and Impartial Advice and Guidance. We are committed to providing the very best in careers education and using the eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance to measure our strengths and areas for development. The effectiveness of our provision is inspected and audited by the Careers and Enterprise Company using the Compass Careers Benchmark Tool. This tool is used by schools to support the analysis and evaluation of careers activity against the eight Gatsby benchmarks. This ensures that the development of our careers strategy is ongoing to ensure best practice. We currently meet seven of the eight benchmarks in full and exceed national averages overall.
The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance are:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from career and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
Our aim is to provide all of our young people with the knowledge and advice to help them achieve their full potential and we will ensure that every student is provided with the resources to help them make the right choices for post 16 progression. We will provide access to differentiated, impartial and independent advice and information and all of our young people will receive one to one meetings with Steve Cooper, our Careers Adviser from Southend City Council, who will support them in making well informed decisions about the range of options available to them. Through our curriculum we aim to inspire students and prepare them for the future through work-related learning. They will have the opportunity to gain practical skills in DT and Food lessons and will be provided with the resources to complete the post-16 application procedures, including writing a CV, completing an application form and preparation for interview.
Students will have the opportunity to engage with local employers through work experience encounters with workplace visits and guest speakers. In line with Provider Access Legislation, they will also have the opportunity to meet with representatives from local colleges and training providers.