The Dorcan Academy follows a planned programme for Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) from years 7-11. Students are given the opportunity to evaluate their strengths, weaknesses, skills and interests, understand the various educational pathways that are available to them and assess which pathway is most suited to their ability and learning style through a comprehensive mentoring programme.
At The Dorcan Academy, the Careers Programme is overseen by Mr Morgans (Deputy Headteacher), Careers Lead Mr Brownlie, Mrs Hitchen and our Link Governor is Mr Hatto. We are extremely proud of the support and guidance that students receive at The Dorcan Academy; this is supported by the excellent figure of 95% of our students from 2015/16 on leaving school entered into Education, Employment or Training, an increase from the previous years, as well as being higher than the national average. Of these, 10% of our students joined Apprenticeship schemes, double the national figure of 5%.
We provide high quality, impartial careers guidance that supports our students to make informed choices about which courses suit their academic needs and aspirations. We are confident that our students are prepared for the next stage of their education, employment, self-employment or training.
To access Careers at The Dorcan Academy You Tube Channel please follow the link
Through our extremely thorough Option Process and careful curriculum planning alongside the high quality and impartial careers guidance offered at The Dorcan Academy we are ensuring that learners follow study programmes that build on their prior attainment and enable them to develop clear, ambitious and realistic plans for their future. Learners understand the options available and are informed about local and national skills needs.
On a termly basis Mr Brownlie and Mr Morgans review The Dorcan Academy CAIEG development plan. After major events such as the Year 10 interview day, stakeholders are asked to reflect on the event and complete an evaluation form; this is used to further develop future events at The Dorcan Academy.
We are working towards the Government guidance and are advancing in our work towards meeting The Gatsby Benchmarks (The Governments career strategy sets out that every school and academy providing secondary education should use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Benchmarks – these define a world-class standard of excellent careers guidance).
A stable careers programme – through an extensive programme of education, intervention and support. Our plan for 2019/20 can be downloaded below.
Learning from career and labour market information – through the careers programme, students have access to a wide range of information as well as through the use of websites such as Eclipse. Students also have access to independent Careers Advice.
Addressing the needs of each student – we know our students well at The Dorcan Academy, and aim to provide independent and clear support and guidance for each student, based on their desired pathway to employment. We aim to raise aspirations of all our students, by breaking down the barriers to achieve their career goal..
Linking curriculum areas to learning – all our departments display career opportunities that studying their subject will open up opportunities for. All our schemes of work have clear links to specific Pathways to Employments.
Encounters with employers – we already have an excellent series of links with both local and national employers that include presentations in assemblies, an apprenticeship evening as well as specific workshops and visits. We also have a fantastic interview day held each year for our Year 10 students.
Experiences of workplaces – through our links with employers we are looking to build greater opportunities for visits for students to the job sectors they have shown an interest in. This is in addition to their Work Experience in Year 10, where students are supported to apply to an area of their choice.
Encounters with Further Education and Higher Education – We have a growing series of links with FE and HE, through Villiers Park, Study Higher, as well as through local colleges, and Commonweal sixth form.
Personal Guidance – as mentioned in how we address the needs for each students, we have excellent Independent Careers Guidance as well as a rigorous Options Process.
The Dorcan Academy CAIEG provision is updated at the start of each academic year. The careers leader reviews the website on a termly basis to ensure the information provided is up to date and current.
For further information please contact Mr Alan Brownlie at The Dorcan Academy, abrownlie@dorcan.co.uk or via telephone 01793 525231
Do you have an idea of what career you might be interested in? The widget below provides access to a selection of UK headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects for different occupations, as well as description of the occupation. Simply type in the title of the job you are interested in and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you.
We welcome providers contacting the school should they wish to offer opportunities to our students. Please see the Provider Access policy below.
