Careers and transition
This section of the website is intended for pupils, parents/carers, teachers and employers, 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 that pupils and parents should be supported to investigate all potential available options at various stages in school life.
Key careers staff
- Our designated Careers Leader is Debra Waterfield, and she can be contacted on 01442 256915.
- The Senior Leadership team member responsible for Careers is Scott Martin, Deputy Headteacher.
- The Trustee with responsibility for careers is Alan Clarke.
Summary
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 are immensely proud of our bespoke enabling approach and work hard to ensure we support each pupil to secure their chosen pathway.
The founding school of the Trust (Roman Fields Academy) has met – and continues to meet - the requirements of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks and complies with the Department for Education's Statutory Guidance.
In addition, we successfully met all the requirements for the Quality In Careers Standard in December 2018. This standard is the national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance in schools, colleges and work-based learning. The trustees and senior leaders of the James Marks Academy Trust are committed to retaining this standard, as it ‘quality assures’ all aspects of our careers programme, including what our own staff deliver and the external professionals and organisations we work with (see below for more details). Roman Fields Academy is in the process of renewing this three-year rolling standard.
At the JMA we will continue to implement these principles and the careers lead operates across the Trust.
Our careers provision in context
Outcomes for disabled people in the UK: 2020 (published by the Office for National Statistics)
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The table and graph below show that disabled people with autism were amongst those disabled people with the lowest employment rate.
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For all countries in the UK and across all English regions, disabled people had significantly lower employment rates than non-disabled people.
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The highest employment rates for disabled and non-disabled people in English regions were seen in the South East (60.2% disabled people, 83.7% non-disabled people).
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People aged 16-64 |
Non-disabled |
Disabled |
Autistic |
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Any sort of employment |
81.3% |
51.1% |
21.7% |
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Part-time work |
22.9% |
34.6% |
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With employment rates significantly lower for autistic people than for those with other disabilities, preparing our pupils for the world of work is critical. We want our pupils to try a workplace in a supportive capacity, so they are able to recognise that one day they can and will be successful, economically active adults.
We promote equality of opportunity at all times.
Who we work with
The following are some of the external organisations which support our careers' education programme:
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Provide a qualified personal adviser to deliver careers interviews with all pupils in Years 9 and 11, and any leavers not in those year groups. Attend some annual EHCP review meetings to ensure parents know what transition involves and produce a Preparing for Adulthood document. Source some of our work experience placements, including site risk assessments. Offer NCS – an annual summer programme. |
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Provide transition support which includes taster sessions. Liaise with parents and pupils whilst they are still on our roll. |
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| Provide workshops with parents and pupils | |
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They support us by providing an enterprise co-ordinator, and an adviser. Meetings take place termly to discuss progress. |
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| 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 including English, maths, and science. |
Throughout the academic year |
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10 and 11+ |
Work experience College visits Work-place visits Employer visits Careers fair Enterprise events University visit |
Throughout the academic year |
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11, 13 and leavers being educated out-of-year |
Personal guidance interviews |
Primarily in the Autumn term |
Employer engagement
As statistics prove, employment prospects for the cohort we serve are still limited; we want to be an instrument of change, as we recognise the diverse range of talents our pupils have. For this reason, we have formed strong working relationships with local employers, some of which were first established many years ago, so our pupils can access the world of work.
We would still welcome further support from any employer. However, our intention is to get to a position where we can send pupils to a work placement every week rather than for one-week at a point in the year, so they are able to benefit fully from this incredibly valuable opportunity.
Destinations data and alumni
We will keep destination data, but currently the school does not have pupils who have finished their education.
In the future we will not publish data due to our small pupil numbers, as it is difficult to anonymise the data.
What we can say without is that according to the Alternative Provision study around sustaining Post-16 published in January 2022, by Andrew Malcolm, Lecturer in Applied Social studies at the University of Bedfordshire, Roman Fields sits in the best practice category recognised as ‘high performing’ and is often quoted. For those interested in exploring this document further, Roman Fields is listed in it as 'HP3'.
Provider Access statement
This statement sets out the Trust’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to the school 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
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;
- Hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships;
- 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’ (years 7 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 for 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.
Destinations of our pupils
As stated above, the school currently does not have pupils who have completed their education. The first cohort to do so will finish their A-levels in June 2025.
Development
This statement has been developed and is reviewed annually by the Careers Leader and Line Manager (Scott Martin, Deputy Headteacher) based on current good practice guidelines by the Department for Education.
Links with other policies
This statement supports and is underpinned by key school policies including those for Careers, Child Protection, Equality and Diversity, and SEND.
Equality and Diversity
Access to other providers is available and promoted to allow all pupils to access information about other providers of further education and apprenticeships. The James Marks Academy Trust is committed to encouraging all pupils to make decisions about their future based on impartial information.
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
Complaints
Any complaints with regard to provider access can be raised following the school complaints procedure or directly with The Careers & Enterprise Company via provideraccess@careersandenterprise.co.uk
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 |
