Careers and Transition
"All pupils are supported to secure a place in education, employment or training." - Ofsted 2024
This section of the website is intended for learners, parents and carers, staff, those
in governance roles, employers and other agencies who are interested in learning
more about our careers education programme and the personal development it
offers.
Vision statement
Our careers education programme aims to develop and prepare our pupils to make important choices around their intended futures, as they aspire to fulfilling and economically active lives as adults. Our intention is pupils and parents should be supported to investigate all potential available options, at various stages in school life.
Key careers staff
- Our designated Careers and Transition Leader is Debra Waterfield, and she can be contacted on 01442 256915.
- The Senior Leadership team member responsible for careers and transition is Scott Martin, Headteacher.
- The Trustee with responsibility for careers and transition is Alan Clarke.
Summary
We have made attendance and settling learners into school our priority and for Year
10 from September 2025 we will spend more time on careers related activities.
Parents and carers play a very significant role in helping pupils to make informed choices about both their further study options, and potential future careers. We encourage discussion and input around individual aspirations. We recommend that all parents attend both parents' evenings and EHCP meetings, where each child’s future will be discussed. We work hard to ensure we support each pupil to secure their chosen pathway.
Careers and transition is linked to the whole-school development plan and has the
explicit backing of Trustees, the Executive Head, the Deputy Head and the senior
management team. Feedback is sought from all stakeholders to increase its impact
especially at parents’ evenings and EHCP meetings.
We have a dedicated careers room where there are visual displays and prospectuses.
We ensure that careers is part of the school’s ongoing staff development programme so that staff can be confident they know what is expected of them when talking to learners about their futures.
The school is working towards meeting the requirements of the eight Gatsby
Benchmarks (https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-
areas/good-career-guidance)
Our careers provision in context
The official statistics extracted and presented in graphs below relate to the
employment of working-age (aged 16 to 64) disabled people in the UK. They
provide context for the government’s long-term ambition to achieve an 80%
employment rate.
The disability employment rate was 53.0% in the second quarter of 2024, compared
to 81.6% for non-disabled people, making the disability employment gap 28.6
percentage points in the same time period.
For the full report, updated November 2024, please go to
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/the-employment-of-disabled-people-
2024/the-employment-of-disabled-people-2024
The first graph below shows the proportion of people in employment by main or
secondary health condition, (people aged 16 to 64 years, UK, 2023/24). Autism as a
health condition reflects a lower employment rate.
This graph below shows how the likelihood of a health condition impacts day-to-day
activities and being in employment (people aged 16 to 64, UK, 2023/24). It
therefore further demonstrates that autism has an impact on employment status.
This third graph shows that one in three disabled workers are working part-time
(aged 16 to 64 years, UK, 2023/24).
The forth and final graph below shows the average wellbeing scores of disabled
people by employment status, (people aged 16 to 64, UK, 2023/24). People in
employment are less likely to be anxious and more likely to report happiness,
satisfaction and feel like the things they do in their life are worthwhile.
These extracts prove why we need to be bespoke in what we offer and committed to
doing all we can to support learners to help them face the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Who we work with
The following are some of the external organisations which support our careers education programme:
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It provides a qualified personal adviser to deliver
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and North Herts Colleges plus others not based in Hertfordshire, for example, Bucks College Group and Capel Manor |
The colleges will support our transition visits as part of our Year 11 programme (once we have learners in this year group) and this may include taster sessions once applications have been made and colleges have confirmed they can meet needs as detailed in the EHCP. |
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Provides individual support around transition and
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| Tesco plc and other local employers |
Tesco provides us with an Enterprise Adviser who is
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They support us by providing an Enterprise Co-ordinator. Meetings take place termly to discuss progress. |
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| They will deliver a range of work-related learning activities for leavers, including CVs and mock interviews. |
HOP
We are using the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal and would encourage all pupils, parents, carers and teachers to use this portal as a one-stop shop for a variety of up to date information about the Hertfordshire jobs market. This should provide both inspiration and information around the wide variety of careers on offer in the locality including current live job and apprenticeship vacancies.
Our Careers activity plan
We deliver a flexible careers education plan, which is individually tailored to meet the needs of our pupils, and this is reviewed on an annual basis. We use the CDI's Career Development Framework and the Hertfordshire Skills Framework. We have a dedicated careers room where there are visual displays and prospectuses.
The key activities scheduled currently are:
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Year Group |
Activity |
When |
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All year groups |
Schemes of work relating to careers in subjects including English, maths,
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Throughout the academic year
September to February |
| 10 and 11+ | NB there are no pupils yet in these groups, but once there are the plan is expected to be as follows: Extended college visits and off-site social skills/team building initiatives Block placement work experience in summer term of Y10 Work-place visit/s Employer visit/s to school Careers fair Enterprise event/s Travel training (if necessary and if timetable permits) |
Throughout the academic year |
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9, 11 and leavers being educated out-of-year |
Personal guidance interviews (Year 13 only at present but will also be Year 11 when we have learners in this year group) University visit(s) (Yaer 12 and Year 13) |
Primarily in the Autumn term Ad hoc |
Employer engagement
As statistics prove, employment prospects for the cohort we serve are still limited.
For this reason, we have formed strong working relationships with local employers,
some of which were first established many years ago, so our learners can taste the
world of work.
We would still welcome further support from any employer.
Destinations data and alumni
We have no destination data yet for James Marks Academy.
We have a school Instagram (JMATRF11) account so that current and past learners - and parents and other stakeholders from across the trust caneasily keep in touch with us. It is a private group.
Careerometer
Please use the widget to research careers and labour market information. It is
important to understand which jobs are in a growth or decline phase and what this
means for future employment prospects, what the typically necessary qualifications
are and what the salary could be.
Provider Access statement (This has been updated to include the Provider Access Legislation, January 2023)
This policy statement sets out the James Marks Academy Trust's arrangements for managing the access of providers to the schools for the purpose of giving pupils information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the trust’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.
Aims
The trust’s policy for access to other education and training providers has the following aims:
- To develop the knowledge and awareness of our pupils 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 pupils becoming NEET (young people not in education, employment or training).
Pupil Entitlement
All pupils in years 8 to 13 are entitled:
- To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;
- To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships;
- To understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.
For pupils of compulsory school age, the trust offers six provider encounters, as required by law, and a number of additional events, integrated into the school careers programme. These encounters are mandatory and there will be a minimum of two encounters for pupils:
- During the ‘first key phase’ (year 8 to 9);
- During the ‘second key phase’ (year 10 to 11).
For pupils in the ‘third key phase’ (year 12 to 13), particularly those that have not yet decided on their next steps, there are two more provider encounters available during this period, which are optional for pupils to attend.
These provider encounters will be scheduled during the main school hours of the trust and the provider will be given a reasonable amount of time to, as a minimum:
- Share information about both the provider and the approved technical education qualification and apprenticeships that the provider offers;
- Explain what career routes those options could lead to;
- Provide insights into what it might be like to learn or train with that provider (including the opportunity to meet staff and pupils from the provider) and answer questions from pupils.
Pupils may also travel to visit another provider as part of a school-organised trip.
Meaningful Provider Encounters
One encounter is defined as one meeting/session between pupils and one provider.
We are committed to providing meaningful encounters to all pupils. Meaningful online engagement is also an option, and we are open to providers that are able to provide live online engagement with our pupils. The trust will make the training room, classrooms or other rooms available for discussions between the provider and pupils, as appropriate to the activity. The school will also make available AV and other specialist equipment to support provider presentations. This will all be discussed and agreed in advance of the visit with the Careers Leader.
Previous Providers
IIn previous years the following providers have spoken to our pupils:
● Ask Apprenticeships (presentation delivered by Services for Young People);
● Jobs Centre Plus for Schools;
● Tesco PLC;
● Colleges.
Destinations of pupils from across the trust
● Typically, our pupils move to a range of settings across the Hertfordshire area
after leaving, these are usually the provider closest to their home and include:
● Colleges (Bucks College Group, Capel Manor, Herts Regional College, North
Herts College (including Springboard), Oaklands, West Herts College);
● Sixth Forms and other specialist school provision;
● Apprenticeships;
● University.
Development
This statement has been developed and is reviewed annually by the Careers Leader and Line Manager (Trevor Orchard, Headteacher) based on current good practice guidelines by the Department for Education.
on.
Management of provider access requests
A provider wishing to request access should contact Debra Waterfield, Careers and Transition Lead, by telephone on 01442 256915 or by email, debra.waterfield@romanfields.herts.sch.uk. Alternatively, please check onan individual school's website from within the trust for other named individuals.
Finding out further information:
| National Apprenticeship Service | Allows you to search for live apprenticeship vacancies across the country | |
| Amazing Apprenticeships | Find out about apprenticeships as well as live vacancies | |
| UCAS | All you need to know about applying for university and the courses available for you. | |
| Hertfordshire Skills Framework |
https://www.hopinto.co.uk/explore-careers/resources/hertfordshire-skills-framework/ |
Produced by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership this displays the skills most required by employers across the county |
| Hertfordshire Labour Market Information | An infographic video to explain the types of jobs available and skills required in Hertfordshire | |
| National Autistic Society |
https://www.autism.org.uk/ |
For information and tips from the charity |
Careers and Transition Stakeholder Feedback
Please complete this survey
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6H7KR7Y
