Our careers programme

At Ark All Saints Academy, we believe that all scholars should be prepared for university and beyond. The Careers, Aspirations and Pathways Programme at AASA promotes academic excellence and ensures scholars can make their own choice about going onto study at university or following another pathway such as an apprenticeship. It also includes preparing them for future career success and ensuring they have the tools to navigate and excel in the field or pathway they choose.

The AASA Careers, Aspirations and Pathways programme works within the Gatsby Framework and Oftsed parameters, whilst also imbibing our school motto, ‘To grow in confidence, to live responsibly, to act with integrity and to be successful’.

To grow in confidence - we recognise the importance of helping to develop our scholars' belief in their self and their abilities. We aim to expose them to a wide range of experiences, industries and insights to help them progress in their chosen pathway. We invite and partner with people and organisations from culturally diverse backgrounds that scholars can relate to. In this way, scholars will understand how their skills, qualities and interests can be maximised and developed to achieve success.

To live responsibly - our scholars will come to understand the need to act with responsibility in their careers. We will achieve this through engagement with employers and training providers, as well as Higher and Further Education organisations.

To act with integrity within the workplace and the wider community - We aim to foster scholars' own sense of duty and responsibility towards achieving their own academic and career goals.

To be successful - whilst scholars are encouraged to be successful academics, we also recognise that academic results are not the only indicator of success. We foster habits that will enable scholars to become independent young people, and go on to be successful in the world of work, in their community and everyday life.

In Years 7-8, activities are integrated into the PSHE curriculum, which focuses on our scholars' personal development, values and key life skills. During our Futures Week, our younger scholars have events and activities with employers and universities to help them start thinking about future pathways.

In the upper school, the careers programme is carried out through:

• 1-2-1 Guidance sessions
• Whole school Labour Market and Careers Info sessions
• Citizenship Week
• Enrichment programmes
• Visitors/Speakers
• Trips
• Assemblies
• Workshops
• Tutor time
• Onsite Further Education and Careers Fairs
• Work shadowing and World of Work opportunities
• Futures Week

For a more detailed overview, please click on the link "Careers Plan 2022-23" below.

Our careers programme is enhanced by a range of partners, such as Into University, NCS, Kings College, University of London & NHS Trust, and corporate partners such as Blackstone, Mace, Capgemini and Ernst Young, Foresight and Forpeople.

We welcome interest from organisations who would like to be involved in the AASA programme. If you would like to contact us, then please email careers@arkallsaintsacademy.org

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.

Ark All Saints Academy also proactively seek to build relationships with these partners as we plan our Pathways and Enrichment activity throughout the school year to ensure that providers have multiple opportunities to speak to students and their parents across years 7-13, to offer information on vocational, technical and apprenticeship qualifications and pathways.

As the number of apprenticeships rises every year, it becomes increasingly important that all young people have a full understanding of all the options available to them post-16 and post-18 including wider technical education options such as T-Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications.

Commitment

Ark All Saints Academy is committed to ensuring there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access students, for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.  The academy is fully aware of the responsibility to set students on the path that will secure the best outcome which will enable them to progress in education and work and give employers the highly skilled people they need. That means acting impartially, in line with the statutory duty, and not showing bias towards any route, be that academic or technical.

Ark All Saints Academy endeavours to ensure that all students are aware of all routes to higher skills and are able to access information on technical options and apprenticeships (The Department of Education, July 2021: “Baker Clause”: supporting students to understand the full range of education and training options, and the Provider Access Legislation, January 2023).

Our Aims:

To develop the knowledge and awareness of our students of all career pathways available to them, including technical qualifications and apprenticeships.

To support young people to be able to learn more about opportunities for education and training outside of school before making crucial choices about their future options.

To reduce drop out from courses and avoid the risk of students becoming NEET (Young people not in education, employment or training).

Student Entitlement

Ark All Saints Academy fully supports the statutory requirement for students to have direct access to other providers of further education training, technical training and apprenticeships.  The school will comply with the new legal requirement to put on at least six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships. This will be done in assemblies, tutor time activities, workshops and events hosted as part of the academy’s ‘Futures Week’ and World of Work events, in addition to providers attending other careers events. 

In the first instance, requests by providers should be sent to the Academy’s Careers, Aspirations and Pathways Lead, Naseem Khanam (careers@arkallsaintsacademy.org) with a minimum of 6 weeks’ lead time. All requests will be considered on the basis of; staffing availability to support the activity.

For further information about AASA’s Provider Access Legislation, view the file below.

Information for Parents and Scholars: 

To support careers, learning and pathways research, the websites below are highly recommended.

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Unifrog - any AASA scholar can login using their school email. If they have forgotten their password, they can reset it by clicking ‘forgotten password’. This has lots of careers quizzes, info, guides and videos. If a scholar is in Year 11, we strongly recommend they use this to help them explore post 16 providers and they can keep a log of all their applications.

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Post 16 service - Southwark Council - a list of all Southwark and nearby post 16 colleges and 6th forms

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National Careers Service – lots of career information. Go to Job Profiles section to research career ideas.

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Icould – careers explained including real life career journeys to help with choices. Also includes other useful career and progression ideas.

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UCAS– holds all Higher Education course information. You can research courses and entry requirements.

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The Russell Group - represents Britain’s leading universities – this website gives some useful information on post 16 subject choices – look under  students and then click on school and college in the UK.

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Apprenticeships - apprenticeships vacancies and information.

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The Student Room they cover everything from preparing for GCSE and A level exams, to university interview tips, how to find some of the most competitive apprenticeships to general forums about everything related to learning, student finance and careers.