“What is Careers? It’s about young people finding purpose, discovering what matters to them, their place in the world, the point of studying, and getting up in the morning. Sometimes people think careers is just about options and planning for the future. It’s so much more than that. It can give hope, meaning, purpose, self-esteem and the ability to navigate the challenges of life”. (Liane Hambly)
The Careers Department is led by Michele Semlyen, a Level 6 qualified Careers Leader and Careers Guidance Professional with 18 years’ experience in leading schools to deliver outstanding careers provision. She is developing the brand-new careers provision at St Lawrence College which will deliver personalised careers advice and guidance across all year groups, along with careers events, and specialist support for students preparing for key decision moments such as GCSE options and Post 16 and Post 18 planning. She can be contacted at mse@slcuk.com, or on +44 (0)1843 808080, ext 1800.
All students are entitled to careers education, information, advice, and guidance (CEIAG) as part of their St Lawrence journey, and our careers programme is being developed to meet the needs of all pupils. We are committed to ensuring that our students acquire the necessary values, skills, and knowledge to appropriately develop and manage their careers learning and aspirations. Our careers programme will ensure that all students are able to make informed, independent, and ambitious decisions at each key transition point. They leave us equipped with the confidence and skills needed to help them navigate their chosen pathway and the world of work. Pupils will receive a comprehensive programme of careers education delivered through tutorials, workshops, assemblies, in subject lessons and in one-off events.
Our Careers programme ensures all pupils
- Develop their understanding of the full range of employment, education, and training options available
- Make informed choices about their future options based on relevant Labour Market Information, meaningful encounters with employers and education providers, and impartial information and advice
- Develop key transferable employability skills to help them excel in the current labour market
- Develop the tools to evaluate personal strengths and skills in order to make appropriate and aspirational decisions about their future
- Leave us equipped with the knowledge, ambition, and confidence to successfully pursue their chosen career pathway
The Gatsby Benchmarks
We are working towards the Gatsby Foundation ‘Benchmarks of Good Careers Guidance’ which indicate world class careers provision. You can read more about these here. They are as follows:
- To ensure that all pupils at St Lawrence College receive a stable careers programme.
- To enable all pupils to learn from up-to-date information provided by the career and labour market.
- To provide a CEIAG programme that addresses the needs of each individual pupil.
- To link the curriculum learning to careers learning.
- To provide pupils with a series of meaningful encounters with employers and employees.
- To provide pupils with experience of the workplace
- To ensure that pupils have a series of encounters with further and higher education.
- To provide each pupil with the opportunity to receive independent personal guidance.
The programme will also be mapped against the Career Development Institute (CDI) Framework six learning areas:
Impact Measurement & Evaluation
We continually measure and assess the impact of our careers programme by collecting and evaluating feedback from a variety of stakeholders including pupils, staff, parents, and providers. A programme of monitoring and self-assessment is in place and the careers provision is reviewed annually using collected data and the Compass evaluation tool, which measures the extent to which we have met the Gatsby Benchmarks. We measure the effectiveness of the programme with reference to our destination data in comparison to national and equivalent figures.
Supporting the work of the department
Working with employers, FE and HE providers and specialist organisations really helps us to enrich the provision at St Lawrence College and to make it more impactful for all. If you would like to support the work of the department by taking place in careers events such as mock interview morning, the careers fair, and the careers talk carousel, please contact Michele Semlyen, Head of Careers (contact details above).
