Information

Careers

Careers Journey Map Poster

CAREERS PROGRAMME

"Together towards our Lord, through learning, love and faith".  

At Cardinal Newman we believe that the appropriate and effective Career Information Advice and Guidance available to all young people throughout their time in school will make a major contribution to the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.

Secure consistently good and outstanding teaching at CNS reflects the areas of the Newman Nine.

Leading to outstanding learning for all.

Effective relationship & Kindness – High Expectation & Scaffolding- Retrieval & Retention -modeling examples- Purpose & Sequencing – Feedback & review - Literacy Numeracy Oracy- Questioning & Assessments Knowledge & Deliberate Practice.

Cardinal Newman Catholic School is a Roman Catholic Academy that caters for pupils aged between 11 and 18, located in the Warden Hills area of Bedfordshire. There are currently over 1500 students on roll. The school is named after a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, Saint John Henry Newman. 

As the only Roman Catholic secondary school in the whole of Luton, the school is constantly oversubscribed with over 400 applicants each year, yet with 270 places to offer. Cardinal Newman also has its own Sixth Form, and this has over 150 places to offer students from both inside and outside the school. In September 2015, Cardinal Newman Catholic school converted to an academy. 

Our careers programme is designed to meet the needs of our students and raise awareness of their abilities and the extent of options available. It engages students and enables them to make informed, realistic choices about their future.

Our extensive careers programme outlines the range of activities that are available for each year group. Careers education is embedded into the curriculum and pupils have access to accurate and up-to-date labour market information. Pupils will develop their understanding of the diverse and changing world of work through encounters with employers and careers learning, and will be able to explain the range of pathways (including academic, vocational and apprenticeships) available through further and higher education literature and events.

A breakdown of the CEAIG offer is outlined below: Students Entitlement

The aims of the Year 7 Careers Programme

CREATIVE8 

Careers Introduction – WHAT IS CEIAG

  • Students are supported to recognise skills and qualities they need in life to be successful through emphasis on transferable skills
  • Give students a chance to try out different activities (skills) to see which ones they are better at and enjoy the most
  • Use these skills to help identify their own particular strengths and interests in relation to different types of work- My dream job
  • Help Students to start to become aware of the sort of skills which may be useful to them in the future
  • Visits- University of Bedfordshire – Passport to Uni
  • Prepare Students to make more informed decisions in year 9 and 11

The aims of the Year 8 Careers Programme

CREATIVE8 

Knowledge skills & Actions

  • Students are supported to recognise skills and qualities they need in life to be successful through emphasis on transferable skills. 
  • Students explore pathways by using the Careers & Aspirations exploration quiz
  • Students follow up on STEM activities provided by STEM point (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)

The aims of the Year 9 Careers Programme

Career Planning-How do I choose a career that’s right for me? 

  • Options choices – Pupils have been introduced to new optional subjects, they have been working on developing the core skills and knowledge required to be successful in their GCSE’s. Pupils have been given the opportunity to experience their optional subjects and help them decide if they would like to continue with them moving forward.  Staff have been assessing/monitoring pupils' knowledge and skills in the subject and determining the most suitable pathway for them.
  • Students follow up on STEM activities – Women in engineering (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)
  • During National Careers Week students engage in careers learning through subjects in the wider curriculum
  • Students explore pathways by using the subject & careers Library Uni -Frog online tool.
  • Barclays life skills programmes – Transferable skills – Employability

The aims of the Year 10 Careers Programme

  • Students attend visits to taster day at FE Colleges
  • Students are offered 1-weeks work experience to gain an insight into the world of work, develop their skills and abilities
  • Induction evening- Work experience & curriculum overview
  • Offered 1:1 interview for any identified, targeted students (SEN, Pupil Premium, EAL).
  • During National Careers Week students engage in careers learning through subjects in the wider curriculum
  • Barclays Life skills – exploring personal strengths for employment
  • Problem solving
  • Recognising skills for success in the work place-soft skills Employability
  • Students explore pathways by using the subject & careers Library Uni -Frog online tool.

The aims of the Year 11 Careers Programme

  • Post 16 Pathway opportunities –
  • 1:1 Careers interview with a qualified level 6 Carers Advisor
  • Group work in sector pathway
  • Job centre Plus work shop – Interviews & CV writing
  • CV writing & interview techniques- Uni frog platform
  • Apprenticeship workshop- ASK Apprenticeships Pays
  • Preparing students for NCS National Citizen Service
  • College taster mornings
  • Parents Evening- Students and parents to speak to experts within industries and Post 16 providers

Using the Gatsby framework, our CEIAG sets out to meet the 8 benchmarks that define world class career guidance.

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 career
  5. Encounters with employers and employees
  6. Experiences of workplaces
  7. Encounters with further and higher education
  8. Personal guidance.

Useful websites

Luton Post 16 Prospectus 2023/24

icould - Career ideas and information for your future

Careers advice - job profiles, information and resources | National Careers Service

Prospects.ac.uk

Parents

Parents / carers are vital to students understanding of career choices and the decisions they make.  

We aim to help every student to reach their full potential and progress on to a successful destination by providing them with the widest possible range of employer and careers related opportunities.

The choices available to your child today, are likely to be very different to what was available to you at school. However, parental guidance has always played a significant role in a pupils decision making and so it is important you have access to relevant and up-to-date information. Our careers programme sets out the range of opportunities available, which aims to develop pupils sense of self, knowledge of the working world and to raise ambitious aspirations for their future.

Parent Adviser 

Parent Adviser is another handy site, helping parents simplify the confusing process and finances involved in applying to higher education, helping your child choose the right course, league tables and alternatives to college and university. You can also sign up to the Parent Adviser Community and join the forum to discuss issues and share advice with fellow parents/carers.

Parental Guidance 

Parental Guidance offers clear, concise and impartial information on the post 16 choices available. Led by experienced careers writers and advisers, this website is a helpful guide to parents, with useful articles, news and updates, from preparing applications and interviews to looking at labour market information.

Talking Futures 

Talking futures is a resource created to help you have informed and constructive conservations with your child about different training and education pathways available to them

We endeavour to keep parents and carers up to date with careers information. We would like to engage parents / carers in the development and delivery of careers provision promoting employability. We appreciate that your time is previous and we would value your contribution whatever this may be. Here are some examples of how a parent / carer could get involved in careers activities. 

Employers

To increase pupil’s awareness of the world of work and the knowledge and skills required, the school seeks to provide a range of employers and careers related opportunities to each of our pupils. We appreciate that your time is precious and we would value your contribution whatever this may be, we welcome employers industry representatives and training providers

Below are some examples of careers activities an employer could get involved with:

  • Work experience placements for July
  • Workplace visits
  • Careers talks
  • CV writing advice
  • Interview preparation
  • Deliver/support a subject lesson specific to the industry in which you work in; bringing real-life context to a particular subject area or topic
  • Offer a mentoring programme to enhance pupils employability skills

The above list is not exhaustive, if you have any further ideas of how you could support our CEIAG programme please do not hesitate to get in touch with our Careers Manager.

Staff

There are many ways in which staff can promote careers education and link curriculum learning:

  • Schemes of work and lesson plans show how career relevant learning is embedded into your teaching
  • Invite employers in to give a careers talk, share expertise or provide real life context to a topic
  • Provide pupils with impartial, up-to-date and accurate advice on the pathways available and the skills in demand from employers
  • Organise extracurricular activities to develop and enhance pupils’ core competencies such as teamwork, communication and leadership

Staff may find the following links useful in supporting students with their careers education and find inspiration on how to bring the workplace into the classroom:

https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/advice-for-school-leavers

https://www.stepintothenhs.nhs.uk/secondary-schools

https://barclayslifeskills.com/help-others/

https://www.pearson.com/en-gb/schools/primary/primary-educators.html

https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/

More careers resources are available in the Careers folder in the school staff shared area, including digital guides linking subjects to careers and future careers posters that you can display in class. Speak to the Careers Manager for further details.

Policies

Please click link to see Careers Policy & Access providers information

CEIAG Policy

Access Policy 

Parent & student information

Contact

SLT Career lead contact details - Mr Paul Hegarty -phegarty@cardinalnewmanschool.net

Career Manager Contact details - Mrs Claire McNeil – cmcneil@cardinalnewmanschool.net

Sixth Form lead contact details – Mrs Shelly Blackbird -sblackbird@cardinalnewmanschoo.net

We review the information published on the website annually in the first term.

How to find us

Contact Us
Warden Hill Road,
Luton ,
Bedfordshire ,
LU2 7AE