This policy statement sets out Kickstart Academy’s arrangements for managing the access of post-16 providers to all year groups, to enable students to make fully informed rational education and career pathway decisions.

We believe in building strong relationships with local schools with a sixth form, further education and sixth form colleges, apprenticeship providers, universities and employers. Our careers programme includes a large number of opportunities for external providers to talk to and interact with students and their parents, ensuring they are aware of vocational and technical pathways and opportunities as well as academic ones.

Continuing Professional Development is used to ensure careers advisers, tutors and other members of the pastoral team are up to date in their knowledge of the full range of post-16 opportunities available to students.

Provider Access Requests
Providers wishing to request access should contact Kaylie-Marie Law our Careers Leader.

Telephone: 01952 642402 or email kaylie-marie.law@telfordcollege.ac.uk

Opportunities for Access:
All providers are welcome to contact us to discuss how they would like to support and contribute to careers provision for our students. They may like to get involved in activities and events, such as: careers fairs, assemblies, careers information evenings, ‘I Love My Job’ talks, employer speed networking and mock interviews (this is a non exhausted list).

Please email kaylie-marie.law@telfordcollege.ac.uk to access our full careers programme, that identifies all careers events, activities and learning opportunities for each year group.

Any provider taking part in an existing careers event/activity or a new one will be supported by our teaching staff throughout their visit and not left unattended. We will discuss space requirements with providers and make available appropriate IT and other resources to support presentations.

Providers are welcome to leave copies of their prospectus or course literature and we will distribute them to appropriate students and make them available in our Careers Library. We can promote and distribute details of careers and apprenticeship literature and vacancies to all relevant students and parents through direct email, parent-mail or promotion in our weekly newsletter.

At Kickstart Academy we believe it is very important to assess the impact of our careers programme on our students. We do this in a number a of ways.

First, we identify and analyse the destinations of our Year 11 students taking into account their prior attainment. For Year 11 students, we record pathways including:

• Entry Level courses – Functional Skills qualifications
• Level 2 courses – Functional Skills and GCSE’s

We consider analysis of sector based outcomes to ensure our advice is relevant to the jobs available and to ensure that we promote equality of opportunity.

The proportion of students going onto Level 1/2/3 courses or apprenticeships is tracked over time, taking into account changes in the attainment level of year groups at the end of Key Stage 2.

Second, we track students for three years from the end of Year 11, identifying and reviewing where students leave or change courses/apprenticeships.

Third, we are very keen to get the views of students on the Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) they received during their time at Kickstart Academy. We ask all Year 11 to complete an on-line survey to find out their views on individual elements of the CEIAG programme and their overall assessment of the programme. In addition, our local employers meet representative groups of Year 11 students to find out more about what they liked and disliked about the careers programme and ways they believe it can be improved.

Fourth, we value the views of parents on how well we have helped them to support their child or children make rational informed career decisions. This is done using an on-line survey and parents are invited to take part in an annual focus group meeting.

Fifth, business volunteers are asked for their feedback on each individual careers events that they take part in, such as ‘I Love My Job’ talks, a speed networking session or mock interviews. In addition, the school’s Careers Advisers evaluate the careers programme from a business viewpoint and collate the views of other business volunteers.

Please click on the following links to access the website for the training providers we use at Kickstart Academy.

Nova Training
Telford College
Future Focus
Landau
Prince’s Trust

Kickstart Academy: Provider Access Policy Statement (MARCH 2023)

Rationale

High quality careers education and guidance in school or college is critical to young people’s futures. It helps to prepare them for the workplace by providing a clear understanding of the world of work including the routes to jobs and careers that they might find engaging and rewarding. It supports them to acquire the self-development and career management skills they need to achieve positive employment destinations. This helps students to choose their pathways, improve their life opportunities and contribute to a productive and successful economy.

As the number of apprenticeships rises every year, it becomes increasingly important that all young people have a full understanding of all the options available to them post-16 and post-18 including wider technical education options such as T-Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications.

Commitment

Kickstart Academy is committed to ensuring there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access students, for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.  Kickstart Academy is fully aware of the responsibility to set students on the path that will secure the best outcome which will enable them to progress in education and work and give employers the highly skilled people they need. That means acting impartially, in line with the statutory duty, and not showing bias towards any route, be that academic or technical.

Kickstart Academy endeavours to ensure that all students are aware of all routes to higher skills and are able to access information on technical options and apprenticeships (The Department of Education, July 2021: “Baker Clause”: supporting students to understand the full range of education and training options, and the Provider Access Legislation, January 2023).

Aims

Kickstart Academy policy for Access to other education and training providers has the following aims:

• To develop the knowledge and awareness of our students 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 students becoming NEET (Young people not in education, employment or training).

Student Entitlement

Kickstart Academy fully supports the statutory requirement for students to have direct access to other providers of further education training, technical training and apprenticeships.  The school will comply with the new legal requirement to put on at least 2 encounters with providers at Key Stage 4 of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships. This will be done in assemblies in National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week, in addition to providers attending careers events at school or at each Trust school.  

Development

This policy has been developed and is reviewed annually by the Careers Leader, Kaylie-Marie Law and Headteacher Mrs Rennie-Gibbons based on current good practice guidelines by the Department for Education.

Links with other policies

It 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 students to access information about other providers of further education and apprenticeships. The Careers leader and Headteacher are committed to encouraging all students to make decisions about their future based on impartial information.

Requests for access

Requests for access should be directed to Kaylie-Marie Law, Careers Leader. Kaylie-Marie Law may be contacted by telephone or email.

Tel: 01952 642402

Email: Kaylie-marie.law@telfordcollege.ac.uk

Grounds for granting requests for access

Access will be given for providers to attend during school assemblies, timetabled Careers or Life lessons, and Careers or Raising Aspirations events that Kickstart Academy is arranging. Students may also travel to visit another provider as part of the trip to be organised in partnership with Kickstart Academy.

Details of premises or facilities to be provided to a person who is given access

Kickstart Academy will provide an appropriate room or assembly to be agreed. All rooms have computers, projectors and screens provided. Computer rooms can also be arranged. The Careers Leader or Careers Adviser will organise this, working closely with the provider to ensure the facilities are appropriate to the audience.  Appropriate safeguarding checks will be carried out.  Providers will be met and supervised by a member of the Careers Team who will facilitate.

Live/Virtual encounters

Kickstart Academy will consider live online encounters with providers where requested, and these may be broadcast into classrooms or the school assembly. Technology checks in advance will be required to ensure compatibility of systems.

Parents and Carers

Parental involvement is encouraged, and parents may be invited to attend the events to meet the providers.

Management

The Careers Leader coordinates all provider requests and is responsible to his/her senior management line manager.

Complaints Procedure

Any complaints about this policy should be raised to the Headteacher, Mrs Rennie-Gibbons.

Email: emma.rennie-gibbons@telfordcollege.ac.uk

Mrs Rennie-Gibbons will raise the complaint to Rachael Wilson, Vice Principal Telford College.

Monitoring review and evaluation

The Policy is monitored and evaluated annually the school’s leadership team.

Policy Coordinator: Kaylie-Marie Law  

Policy Reviewed Date: March 2024

Appendix

Providers who have been invited into Kickstart Academy to date include:

Future Focus Telford

Telford College

Destinations of previous pupils from Kickstart Academy include:

Telford College

Nova Training

Landau Training

Stafford College

Shrewsbury