Careers Guidance
At Ashlyns we are committed to providing an outstanding careers programme for Year 7 through to Year 13 that enables our students to be confident and successful at every stage in their education with us and in their next steps through education, training and employment.
Our programme has been designed and developed in line with the eight Gatsby Benchmarks for ensuring best practice and meets the requirements of the Department for Education’s statutory guidance 2018. We work with expert external agencies such as The Careers and Enterprise Company and Community Action Dacorum to provide the best possible experience for our students.
Working in close partnership with faculty departments, we deliver a rich programme of targeted career events for our students including inspirational talks, industry-specific workshops, mentoring and the opportunity to develop key employability skills. As part of our PSHE curriculum, students explore career pathways and make use of Unifrog to personalise their research into future careers.
At the start of each academic year we undertake a careers survey with our students which informs our events programme and enables us to tailor our activity to the aspirations of each individual student. All students are able to request an appointment with our independent careers adviser to ensure independent careers advice that meets individual student needs.
Our dynamic programme has included talks from TED speakers and leading industry professionals from sectors such as architecture, the armed services, computer science, engineering, film & TV, graphic design, healthcare, investment banking, law, media, medicine, public services, sport, STEM, teaching and technology. All our career events are promoted to parents and carers through the weekly Ashlyns eBulletin.
During our annual Focus on Your Future Extended Learning Day we invite a number of industry experts to spend the day with our students to give them an insight into career pathways and the skills needed to succeed. One of our guest speakers commented: ‘The Extended Learning Day was tremendous. Students were bright, engaged and asked smart questions. It was great to meet the bright minds of the next generation.’
We provide an extensive and developed careers programme specific to Years 12 and 13 as students enter the sixth form. This includes two careers focused enrichment days, an opportunity to undertake Morrisby careers profiling, degree apprenticeship workshops, and introduction to university events, as well as an extensive list of encounters with employers.
Supporting your Child
It’s never too early to start the conversation at home about possible careers and to discuss aspirations with your child. We encourage all our students to attend as many career events as possible during the academic year to help inform Option choices in Year 9 and also to start to prepare for further/higher education at 16+. All our events are advertised in the weekly eBulletin that is sent to parents and carers each Friday.
Independent Careers Guidance and Advice
Students in Year 10 and Year 11 have access to independent careers advice via our independent careers advisor Mrs Lewis. To make an appointment for your child please email Ms Gilbert: sgilbert@ashlyns.herts.sch.uk.
Careers Resources
A range of information about prospective careers opportunities can be found on the Ashlyns Career Hub which can be found here. This resource can be used by students wishing to research potential career pathways, options at GCSE or post-16, advice on job vacancies in the local area, help with CVs or with university options. Below you can find links to useful websites, with information on careers, continuing education, employment and more.
Interactive CAREEROMETER:
CLICK HERE FOR HERTS OPPORTUNITIES PORTAL:
CAREERS INFORMATION AND TOOLS FOR 11-19 YEAR OLDS ALL IN ONE PLACE
Short inspirational videos of people in work
www.icould.com
Higher Education Preparation
Informed Choices – Entry requirements for Russell Group universities
www.russellgroup.ac.uk/policy
/publications/informed-choices
Apprenticeships
In February of each year we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week with our students and provide a tailored programme of events such as assemblies, workshops and talks to provide an insight into an Apprenticeship career path both at 16+ and degree level.
More information on becoming an Apprentice can be found here.
Sixth Form Apprentice Study Pack
Unifrog
Students from Year 7-13 have access to the award-winning careers platform Unifrog, where they can keep a record of events attended, develop employability skills and research job sectors. Unifrog brings into one place every undergraduate university course, apprenticeship and college course in the UK and enables students to successfully apply for these opportunities by writing their personal statements, applications and CVs. More information on Unifrog can be found here.
FT Colleges
We welcome any opportunity to collaborate with local businesses and parents who can share their skills and experience with our students. If you have a career that you would like to share with our school community we’d love to hear from you, please contact Rebecca Lambert: rlambert@ashlyns.herts.sch.uk.
Careers Team
Luke Roberts: Assistant Headteacher and Strategic Lead for Careers
Rebecca Lambert: Careers Events Manager and Strategic Support
Chloe Lewis: Independent Careers Adviser (Telephone: 07985 237240)
Kassie Gaches: Head of Sixth Form
Chris McDonald: Head of PSHE and Head of Year 7