At Meadowcroft School we are focused on providing our pupils with the skills and knowledge necessary for the next stages within their education.
The teaching of independent living skills such as washing, ironing, cooking, personal hygiene, shopping and travelling plays a vital part in our curriculum offer. This starts at key stages 3 and 4 within our discrete PSHE, Citizenship and Independent Living Skills lessons. This continues at ley stage 5 with discrete lessons in Preparation for Adult.
Meadowcroft School measures our Career Education programmes against the Gatsby benchmarks, which enables the school to demonstrate that we are meeting the statutory government guidelines on careers education. The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Careers Guidance:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from careers and labour market information
- Addressing the needs of each pupil
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experience of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
Our Implementation
At Meadowcroft School all children and young people have an EHCP (Education and Health Care Plan) which identifies future aims and aspirations These can form the basis of the development and exploration of career-related learning within the school.
In addition to this, all students should have access to learning about the world of work , through practical work experience opportunities at key stage 5. There experiences are linked to the annual meeting with our Careers Advisor who will give them bespoke guidance and help students make choices about their future education and work.
We have a strong focus on embedding reading and vocabulary skills across the curriculum. As such, English and Maths are studied 4 days a week, with afternoon sessions dedicated to an engaging and inspiring foundation or vocational curriculum offer. We also believe in the benefits of taking learning outside of the classroom, as such those young people within our secondary phase group dedicate 1 day a week to participate within Outdoor Education
Our Impact
We measure the impact of our careers educational offer through a rigorous quality assurance process. This includes:
- Observational work placement assessments
- Regular work samples
- Compass + assessments – measuring against Gatsby Benchmarks
- Careers action plan and regular reviews
- Trade based accredited outcomes
- Leaver destinations