A good quality careers guidance and education programme raises the aspirations of all young people. It increases motivation by linking activities in school with preparation for life post 16 and post 18. We believe all students are entitled to receive high quality careers guidance and information to develop their career management skills. Careers and labour market information is delivered through our PSHE programme and as part of our subject curriculum and, in addition, the school provides extensive opportunities for external providers to meet with students. Our careers programme contributes to raising student achievement, helps students focus on their long-term career ambitions and ensures equality of opportunity for all.

The careers programme at William Farr has been developed in consideration of the CDI (Career Development Institute) framework and the Gatsby Report's eight benchmarks, which are:

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of all students
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

The school is working hard to meet all the Gatsby Benchmarks.

We provide a comprehensive programme to students from all year groups; this includes aspects of work-related learning, enterprise education, option choices, economic wellbeing and information surrounding RPA (raising of the participation age). Students in Year 10 and 11 receive targeted information to ensure that they are fully aware of all options available to them post 16, including courses and opportunities with providers other than William Farr. Students in Year 12 and 13 are supported by our dedicated Sixth Form team as they apply for university, apprenticeships or employment.

Our careers PSHE programme is supplemented by activities and events such as the Careers Fair, Post-16 morning, Post-18 evening, our work experience programme, drop-in days with Further and Higher Education providers, targeted assemblies, and information evenings for parents.

In addition, our aim is to embed our Careers provision fully into our curriculum, in line with Gatsby Benchmark 4 “Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers”. To this end, we have recently appointed Careers Leads within each subject department, with the aim of promoting effective communication between the Careers department and individual subjects and ensuring that students can link learning to the labour market and future job roles.

The school works with the National Citizenship Service, which encourages students to develop their skills and work within the community. We are also striving to increase the quantity and quality of our employer partnerships and to form a network of links with former students, who we recognise have valuable advice and connections to offer current students. If you are an employer or former student and you are interested in engaging with our careers programme, please contact our Careers Coordinator. (See Contact Us)

Our Careers guidance uses “Kudos”, an online careers program. Students will be introduced to Kudos in Year 9 and they are encouraged to use the program regularly to promote pro-active thinking around potential future careers. William Farr also has a very well-stocked and up to date Careers library with open access to all years. Here students can research, review, and investigate all the pathways and options available to them.

Through formal and informal evaluations, the school regularly assesses the impact of the careers programme on students, using destination data, feedback from students, teacher evaluations and parental surveys. Views are sought from all stakeholders and the programme evolves year on year to consider the needs of students and the local, national, and global jobs market.

Please refer to the full Careers (CEIAG) Policy document (See Policies section of the website) for details of student entitlement and further information about the programme. All information, together with the Careers Policy, is reviewed and updated by the Senior Leadership Team and School Governors annually, usually at the start of the new academic year, however information will be revised as necessary to reflect new guidance and/or to meet the additional needs of students. The date of the next review is October 2024.

Access to Information about Technical, Further and Higher Education

In line with the Baker Clause, an amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017, William Farr actively seeks to educate and inform students about technical qualifications, including T Levels and Apprenticeships, and all other non-academic routes, alongside the traditional academic pathways. We have close ties with local Further Education Colleges and with the Lincoln UTC and these, along with other providers, are regularly invited into school to speak to students in both large and small groups.

We seek to exceed the minimum statutory requirements of 6 encounters with alternative providers between years 7 and 13 (Gatsby Benchmark 7) and students will be advised on a broad range of alternative provision through our Careers Fair, Post-16 morning, Post-18 evening and targeted assemblies for KS4 and KS5. Students in Year 10 and 11 receive dedicated sessions covering all options post 16, as well as application support provided by our two main local FE colleges. Students in Year 12 and 13 are very well supported by our dedicated Sixth Form team as they make their applications to university, apply for apprenticeships, plan a gap year or prepare for employment

If you are a college or training provider and wish to present to our students on any opportunities, please contact our Careers Coordinator. (See Contact Us)