Careers & Enterprise

Forest Way School Careers Information FOR PUPILS

Every young person needs high-quality career guidance to make informed decisions about their future. Good career guidance is a necessity for social mobility: those young people without significant social capital or home support to draw upon have the most to gain from high-quality career guidance.

Forest Way School aim to embed a careers programme into the curriculum that spans throughout secondary year groups across the school incorporating meaningful encounters with employers, STEM provision, mentoring, enterprise competitions and work-related learning.

The Forest Way Careers Policy can be viewed by clicking here.

Gatsby Benchmarks

In 2013, Gatsby commissioned Sir John Holman to set out what career guidance in England would be like if it were good by international standards, resulting in the Good Career Guidance report. The eight benchmarks set out in the report serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government's Careers Strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges.

The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance are:
1.  A stable careers programme
2.  Learning from career and labour market information
3.  Addressing the needs of each pupil
4.  Linking curriculum learning to careers
5.  Encounters with employers and employees
6.  Experienes of workplaces
7.  Encounters with further and higher education
8.  Personal guidance

Information on the Gatsby Benchmarks can be found via the following link:  
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/schools-colleges/gatsby-benchmarks    

Talentino! Careers at Every Level

Careers programme that enables students with MLD, SLD, ASD and PMLD to benefit from a specially designed approach to widen the possibility and probability of paid work, enriching employability skills and allowing life experience. This is achieved through classroom-based career coaching, employer encounters and work experience and Enterprise.

Skills Builder

Forest Way uses the Skills Builder framework to support the delivery of essential skills in key stage 3, 4 and Post 16. This may be delivered as short twenty minutes lessons to longer lessons and projects depending on the ability of the individual student.

The Skills Builder Universal Framework provides the national standard for teaching essential skills. It breaks each skill into steps, supporting progress for students of all ages and abilities - including those with special educational needs. Students will work on eight essential skills when studying Skills Builder.

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Young Enterprise

Students throughout the school carry out a mini enterprise. When students reach Post-16 they will also take part in Young Enterprise. This works very well with Skills Builder and encourages the development of the eight essential skills. Through practical and theory lessons students will set up their own mini enterprise/small business. Students will reflect on their own strengths and their role in a small business.

What We Do - Young Enterprise & Young Money (young-enterprise.org.uk)

NCS (National Citizen Service)

What is NCS?
Designed especially for 16 and 17 year olds, the NCS experience will give you a clearer idea of what you want from your future – turning all those ‘No You Can’ts’ into ‘No We Cans’.

NCS exist to engage, unite and empower young people, building your confidence so you can go out there and achieve your dreams, no matter where you’re from or what your background is.

You’ll spend a few weeks in the summer or autumn mixing with a new crowd and taking on fresh challenges together. Before you know it, you’ll be rooting for each other, as you all tackle your own little hurdles.

Along the way, you’ll also get a taste for independence and pick up skills that’ll help you smash your future goals. If that’s not enough for you, you’ll also be given a platform to get your voice heard and pursue a passion project to create a positive, lasting impact in your local community.

LMI (Labour Market Information)

What is Labour Market Information?
When you talk about the labour market, you are referring to all the people who are able to work and want jobs in an area, in relation to the number of jobs there are available in that area, and what sorts of jobs and sectors feature in that area.

LMI is taught formally from key stage 3. This may involve talks from local businesses and literature such as What Work Leicestershire. Due to COVID-19 we have seen rapid and dramatic changes in the labour market. It is therefore important students are kept up to date with the current trends in the labour market.

The main focus is that students are aware of the key job sectors that are available locally and areas in which jobs will be available in the future to assist with career planning and ideas.

The ‘What Work Leicestershire’ booklet summarises:

>  Different work sectors across the LLEP area
>  Numbers of people employed in those areas
>  Which jobs are in demand
>  Skills that employers value
>  Suggested links to find out more about working in that sector
>  What employers look for in prospective employees

It also includes practical information about where to access careers advice such as the National Careers Service, and local events that can help.

In addition, a labour market guide for adults is also available in order to help adults make well-informed career decisions.

For more information please visit the LLEP website: LLEP Labour Market Information

Useful Information

16-19 Bursary Fund
You could get a bursary to help with education-related costs if you’re aged 16 to 19 and:

> studying at a publicly funded school or college in England - not a university
> on a training course, including unpaid work experience.

A publicly funded school is one that doesn’t charge you for attending it.

16-19 Bursary Fund Information

There is also information on subsidised transport for 16 to 19 year olds in education on the link below.

16-19 Transport Funding

Post-16 Providers

Enrych  www.enrych.org.uk

Enrych provide adults living with a disability or long-term health condition with support to enable them to live independently. 

For Ever Savvy  www.foreversavvy.co.uk

Cottage Ln, Broughton Astley, Leicester LE9 6PD

Forever Savvy offers vocational training and support for adults with learning disabilities. Their aim is to make life more meaningful for people with a learning disability. They provide outdoor education centres and a café setting with the sole aim of helping people to take their first steps towards employment.

Freedom Active   www.freedomactive.org

Freedom Active is a specialist life skills day care centre. They support adults with a diagnosis of autism, Asperger's, learning difficulties and behaviours that may challenge.

Glebe House   www.glebe-house.org.uk

Provide high quality, person-centred services and information for adults and children with learning disabilities and /or autism and for those that support them.

Homefield College     www.homefieldcollege.ac.uk

Homefield College is an independent specialist college and a charity that offers education, care and support to people with learning and communication difficulties.

Leicester College       www.leicestercollege.ac.uk

Leicester College are committed to providing the highest standards of support to all their students. The Additional Learning Support service provides advice and support to students with a range of disabilities, learning difficulties, and other long-term conditions that might affect their studies.

Loughborogh College     www.www.loucoll.ac.uk

Loughborough College's Foundation Learning courses are specifically aimed at students who are entering education at Entry Level or Level 1. They are designed to provide students with the skills they need to move on to an Apprenticeship, supported or skilled employment, further education, or independent living. 

MacIntyre No Limit    www.macintyrecharity.org

The unique MacIntyre No Limits approach enables young people with Autism, Special Education Needs and Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs to continue their education and develop skills in preparation for adulthood.

Meadow Barn View   www.meadowbarnview.co.uk

Meadow Barn Skills Centre provides bespoke care for Adults with Learning Disabilities including Autism on their 3-acre site in rural North West Leicestershire.

Mosaic 1898. www.mosaic1898.co.uk

Mosaic 1898 are a Leicestershire based charity working to provide life-enhancing services, care and opportunities for disabled people (and all those supporting them), promoting inclusion, equality, independence, choice, empowerment, respect and dignity for all.

Sense Hub Loughborough   www.sense.org.uk

Sense Hub Loughborough for anyone needing support with hearing impairments, vision impairments, physical disability, autism and learning disabilities, no matter your age. 

WHM Work Connections   www.workconnections.co.uk

The WHN Skills Centres offers a range of support, advice and guidance for individuals to develop the skills they need to become more independent. Whether this is to be able to live more independently, reduce reliance on family/carers/social services or whether they wish to gain employment.

Provider Access Framework
Click here to read our Provider Access Policy.

Useful Websites
Amazing Apprenticeships
Barclays Life Skills
Career Map
Careers Advice for Parents
Ideas for Careers
Leicester & Leicestershire - Your Futures - Jobs & Opportunities
Leicester Employment Hub
National Careers Service
LiveCareer: CV & Cover Letter Tools For Jobseekers in the UK

Our full Careers Policy can be viewed here.

The school’s Careers Leader for pupils is Siân Peat who can be contacted on 01530 831899 or by email:
speat@forestway.leics.sch.uk

If you are interested in working at Forest Way School please click here: 
​https://www.forestway.leics.sch.uk/news-and-events/vacancies/.