High quality careers education and guidance in school or college is critical to young people’s futures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the economy, education and the opportunities open to students.
(DfE Jan 2023)
Norton College Futures Curriculum Scheme of Work aims to give students the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident, healthy and independent lives. This is achieved through carefully planned lessons and encounters; cross curricular tasks; whole college events and 1-1 Impartial interviews led by competent and confident Practitioners.


INTENT
Here at Norton College Tewkesbury, we intend a curriculum that is ambitious, broad and balanced for all students. A curriculum which is carefully planned and sequenced as well as adapted, designed and developed for students’ individual needs. This will enable students to be work ready and relates to their individual learner journey.
Our Career Aims
The main aims of Careers provision at Norton College Tewkesbury are for Students to:
- Access to a stable careers programme, using the internationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks, which prepares students for life post-education.
- Develop an understanding of different career paths ensuring that career choices and aspirations challenge stereotypes and perceptions, opening up new possibilities.
- Develop an understanding of the differences between Norton College, Mainstream College, Training providers, Apprenticeships and work.
- Have help to access information on the full range of post-16 education and training opportunities. All students should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them including both technical and academic routes.
- Under the provider access legislation, have a range of opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to talk to all year 8 to 13 students about their education or training offer will be on offer.
- Link curriculum learning to careers e.g. STEM subject staff will highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of career paths. Students will experience how a range of subjects help people gain entry to (and be more effective workers within) a wide range of occupations.
- Have their individual needs addressed – focusing on what is best for them.
All students will :
- Be offered Personal guidance – every student will have opportunities for unbiased guidance interviews with an impartial external career adviser about next steps.
- Be offered targeted support .
- Have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of activities including visiting speakers, off-site visits and enterprise week.
- Be encouraged to develop a healthy attitude towards work.
- Be prepared 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.
- Have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing or work experience (in person / virtual) to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks.
- Be inspired to chase and achieve their dreams.
- Have good quality and meaningful opportunities during all encounters with the world of work.
- Develop an inquisitive approach to Labour Market Information to support them in making well informed decisions regarding their futures.
- Develop skills in a supportive, safe environment, breaking down each skill into manageable steps to enable them to reach their full potential and prepare them for their next steps.
“Schools and colleges have a 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 schools and colleges must act impartially, in line with their statutory duty or contractual requirement, and not show bias towards any route, be that academic or technical. They should promote a full range of technical options.” (DfE Jan2023)
We support our students in becoming as independent as possible whilst meeting their specific needs. We plan to provide a safe bridge between college life and preparing for adulthood. Success in the Post 16 provision can look different for each student, as we provide personal transition plans to increase confidence and relieve anxieties towards their futures. We aim to reduce their need for adult support in learning and life skills, so that they will be able to function more independently as they grow.
Successful Futures Curriculum coverage is a vital tool in helping students to choose their pathways, improve their life opportunities and contribute to a productive and successful economy.
What skills will students develop through the Futures Curriculum ?
- Teamwork, Building relationships and Competition: Students develop the skills necessary to work effectively and efficiently as part of a group.
- Discussion: Students know how to talk about something in order to reach a decision or to exchange ideas in a calm manner.
- Decision making: Students understand how to reach a conclusion or resolution after consideration of issues or facts.
- Exploration and Analysis of information (LMI)
- Questioning and Research skills
- Reflection: of personal strengths
- Overcoming personal challenges and stereotypes
- Adapatablity; Resilience, Transferable skills; life skills
- Evaluation: pros and cons of career sectors and contributions of organisations to society
- Exploration of entrepreneurship: the skills and qualities required
- Self-development and career management skills: needed to achieve positive employment destinations.
Students receive unbiased careers advice and support from a range of different career activities such as individualised 1:1 career meetings, small group sessions, STEM activities; PSHE sessions; employer encounters; career fairs; career conversations; FE visits; CSCS Card workshops; Awareness Days (e.g National Careers Week, Green Careers Week); work experience/work shadowing opportunities; Career Focus Month and careers within the curriculum.
Our Futures Curriculum overview including the timings of encounters and activities is published on our website, to ensure all of our stakeholders have access to this information. We have regular engagement with all stakeholders, via the Careers Newsletter. We encourage parents/carers to contact us with feedback and contacts within industry.
Career Development Institute (CDI) – Career Development Framework
The CDI Framework clarifies the skills, knowledge and attitudes that individuals need to have a positive career. That may mean something different to each student.
Qualifications
The Pearson BTEC Level 1 Workskills qualification is offered to students in Key Stage 4 and above and enables learners to:
- develop skills valued by employers and are in demand in the workplace
- develop knowledge related to employability and the workplace
- embrace the 21st century workplace and build a career plan
- achieve a nationally recognised Level 1 qualification that prepares them for employment
- develop own personal growth and engagement in learning
Statutory Requirements – Provider Access and Contact details
Statutory Requirements
Provider Access
With the Government’s reforms to technical education and skills there is an increasing need for schools and colleges to work in partnership with employers, careers advisers, local authorities and other education and training providers to support students to prepare for the workplace and to make informed choices about their next step in education or training.
To support this, the DfE is funding The Careers & Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges to develop careers programmes in line with their careers requirements and the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Under the provider access legislation (occasionally referred to as the ‘Baker Clause’), which is statutory guidance from the Department for Education issued under Section 45A of the Education Act 1997, Norton College must provide six encounters with a provider of technical education or apprenticeships for year 8 to 13 students
Through the Skills and Post-16 Act 2022, the Government has strengthened this legislation by introducing a minimum number of six provider encounters that every school must provide. We have planned these six meetings to inform consideration of post-14, post-16 and post-18 options and progression to the next steps after Norton College.
Each provider will be asked :
- information about the provider and the approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships that the provider offers,
- information about the careers to which those technical education qualifications or apprenticeships might lead,
- a description of what learning or training with the provider is like,
- responses to questions from the students about the provider or approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships
Preparing for provider encounters we prepare for each provider visit by advising students and their parents (via NCT Careers Newsletter) to consult provider websites for background information, including details of the courses and qualifications that the provider offers and their Ofsted grade.
Providers can make available copies of their prospectus, as part of their visit.
This additional information can help students to consider the merits of different providers and make fully-informed decisions about next steps. Students may set objectives or plan questions prior to the provider encounter.
A policy statement setting out the circumstances in which education and training providers will be given access to students is on the website entitled Policy Access Statement.
Contact Details
Norton College Tewkesbury welcomes visits from education and training providers who can give our students information about approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.
Any enquiries by parents / carers or a provider wishing to visit the College to give information about their offer should contact:
Kate Cherry – Careers Lead, Post 16 & PFA Lead
Implementation
We have a broad, balanced and impartial programme delivered to Year 7 – Year 14, which is enthusiastically backed by SLT and all stakeholders
Impartial Advice
We have two external Level 6 Careers Advisors who see students at scheduled times in the year (in person and via teams) :
- Kay Evans
- Michala Mason
Our external careers advisors ensure students have the most up to date information about the full range of Post 16 options, Post 18 options, alternative qualifications and pathways.
The Futures Programme is taught in logical progression, evaluated 3 times a year and audited both internally and externally.
Each student follows their own bespoke careers journey, appropriate to their age, ability and aspirations, resulting in meaningful destinations.
Futures Curriculum Overview – KS3, KS4, KS5
Our Futures Curriculum covers the following topics in Key Stage 3, 4 and 5. These topics are based on the PSHE Association Framework however are delivered as a separate curriculum.
KS 3 to 5 Futures Curriculum Topics
We link closely with the PSHE Lead and our external Careers Advisor. During Futures Fridays we focus on different Careers Sectors each month, inviting in Guest Speakers and visiting providers and employers in each sector. We explore skills for adulthood such as CV writing and use the Job Explorer Database.
We follow a spiral thematic curriculum in KS3,KS4 and KS5 which means that students will revisit the same topics at a more advanced level each time.
At Key Stage 3, students build on the knowledge and understanding, skills, attributes and values they have acquired and developed during the primary phase. However, as some of our students may have prolonged periods of absence from previous settings, we assume no prior knowledge.
At Key Stage 4, students deepen knowledge and understanding, extend skills, and further explore attitudes, values and attributes acquired during the Key stage 3 Futures programme.
Learning is logged by the Careers Lead in individual PFA folders and an overview of aspirations, intended destinations etc are logged and updated on an electronic PFA tracker. Careers related interactions including students individual learning journey and provider access etc are logged on a Futures Padlet.
At NCT we take a Whole College approach to Careers Education particularly with Awareness weeks; STEM days; Green Careers Week ; Work experience week and Enterprise week. Teachers embed careers within their own subjects and are able to link their own specialist subject knowledge to the Labour Market.
Students are prepared for future success in education, employment or training through the Futures Curriculum and 1-1 careers interviews. Students are provided with unbiased information about potential next steps. and provided with good quality, meaningful opportunities for encounters with the world of work. Bespoke support is offered to identified groups of students, particularly the leavers cohort for each year.
Marking and Assessment
Marking and Assessment
Baseline Assessment
A Baseline assessment is completed at the beginning of the Academic Year, this is used to ascertain which Level a student is working at (Emergent, Within, Secure, Secure +). With the introduction of each new topic, discrete Baseline Assessment questions are included. Students are questioned and given Verbal Feedback during each session.
We use the assessment as an opportunity to note down any strategies which will help the student as well as any areas for development.
A variety of tasks are presented to students throughout the year to take account of their preferred ways of working. Often students’ verbal ability is higher than their written ability due to Specific Learning Difficulties. We base our tasks on their level of understanding and verbal ability, so that writing and reading is not a barrier to their learning. Due to specific learning difficulties staff may scribe for a student.
At the end of each topic Students complete an End of Unit reflection, reviewing the tasks and detailing what they enjoyed etc.
Assessment for Learning
Opportunities are built into each lesson for initial questions to gauge learners’ existing knowledge. Throughout the lesson opportunities for AFL include: Checking understanding via questioning; Peer feedback; Sharing learning objectives; Learning objectives referred to and ticked off when met; Promoting self-reflection.
Each lesson starts with an Entry Ticket to identify facts the learner remembers from the previous session.
Each lesson ends with an opportunity for each student to reflect upon their learning (by completing the “Exit ticket) . Staff will then complete “Next Steps” for each learner.
Any verbal feedback is notated on the student’s work. Each student has a PFA Folder where their work is filed.
Teaching & Learning
Teaching and Learning
Topics are taught in a spiral thematic curriculum model through a well planned curriculum for each Key Stage. We are introducing the BTEC Workskills Level 1 qualification for our Year 10 and 11 students. This gives students the opportunity to build upon previous learning and explore the underlying principles of our Futures Curriculum at an appropriate depth, whilst working towards a qualification.
Differentiation
Tasks and Learning outcomes are differentiated discretely. Extension tasks are included in each activity to provide challenge for all students. Students may complete tasks in mixed ability/age/Key Stage groups, if working together.
Session Format
Sessions are mainly 1-1. Tasks are planned with the suitability to be completed in any location without requiring technology.
Success Criteria CDI
The learning outcomes for each topic area are further broken down into smaller steps in the form of ‘I can’ statements relevant to each Key Stage. These are used to evidence students’ progress.
Evidence of Progression
Progress is recorded and tracked in various ways : Individual Personal Scheme of Work (Progression map); Tracking document detailing how many pieces of work are completed by each student per topic; Workbook front cover log sheets; End of topic data; completed entry/exit tickets on individual worksheets and Careers pathway log sheets.
At the end of each topic, the ‘I can’ statements on the Individual Personal Schemes of Work (Progression Maps) give an overall picture of how a student is progressing. If the majority of statements are assessed as:
Red : Emergent would be the outcome used for the end of topic data.
Amber : Within would be the outcome used for the end of topic data.
Green : Secure or Secure Plus would be the outcome used for the end of topic data.
Individual Impartial interview Action plans are monitored with either not yet started in progress or completed. Students also have a note reflecting the effort put into each piece of work on their log sheets.
CPD
Our Futures Curriculum is delivered by specialist; enthusiastic staff who are passionate about students thriving and achieving meaningful aspirations. Staff are confident delivering all aspects of Careers Education and responding to each student’s needs .
Staff have relevant qualification (currently working towards Level 7 Postgraduate Certificate in Careers Leadership) and access to a well planned curriculum tailored to our students’ needs.
A training evaluation sheet will be completed Annually to identify any gaps in staff knowledge as the Labour Market evolves to ensure our skills to remain current.
EHCP’s
Students with an Education, Health and Care Plan have formal opportunities to discuss education, training and career opportunities as part of their annual review, from year 9 onwards.
Action plans formulated after students 1-1 Career Interviews with External Careers Advisors, inform the EHCP process.
These Action plans are shared with the student and parent/carer. Each Action plan contains whole college actions related to their Next Steps, to complete with the student related to their individual aspirations.
Progress towards EHCP outcomes are recorded for each student by all staff.
Post 16 offer & Preparation for Adulthood
Post 16 offer & Preparation for Adulthood
Preparation for Adulthood workbooks are available for students in Year 10 and above to work through a bespoke programme based on their aspirations and EHCP outcomes. The workbooks cover topics relevant to Community, Inclusion, Health & Independent Living.
Gloucestershire Careers Hub
Norton College Tewkesbury accesses support from our local Careers Hub who provide information on current initiatives; share best practice; provide access to resources and introduce us to industry contacts. We work in partnership to identify relevant providers in our area and we are given tailored support based on local context and need.
The Careers Hub provides us with personalised advice based on our Compass Report, an Audit tool used to track our progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks.
We are in the process of being matched with an Enterprise Advisor in the Construction Industry. The Enterprise Adviser is a professional from business who works in a voluntary capacity with the Careers Leader to provide industry specific connections and employer engagement opportunities.
Through the Careers Hub we are linked with local networks in order to share good practice and identify opportunities to align with other existing initiatives such as Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs).
Through the Careers Hub we belong to a Community of Practice – the SEND Challenge and Support group which is a network of local SEND education providers.
Impact
Here at Norton we will measure the knowledge and skills students have gained using a variety of monitoring and evaluation methods.
We measure how well students can apply what they’ve learned against nationally recognised standards and frameworks. We used data to measure the impact of our Futures Programme and evaluate how prepared students are for their next stage of education or employment
Gatsby Benchmarks
At Norton College Tewkesbury the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks underpins our Futures Programme.
The Gatsby Benchmarks are non statutory but support schools and colleges by providing a framework around which they can develop their careers programme in line with their legal requirements to provide independent careers to students throughout their secondary education (11 to 18 year olds) and students aged up to 25 with an education, health and care plan (DfE 2023)
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. (DfE 2023)
In September 2018, Careers Hubs were launched across the country, each with a dedicated Hub Lead bringing together a group of secondary schools and colleges with partners in the business, public, education and voluntary sectors to deliver the Gatsby Benchmarks. We work with Gloucestershire and Worcestershire Careers Hub.
For further information - https://www.goodcareerguidance.org.uk/benchmarks-and-background)
Community Links & Social Values
We have a close working relationship with all stakeholders and are currently further developing links with local Employers.
Students volunteer at Acorn Children’s Hospice Charity Shop undertaking a variety of roles such as working on the till, steaming clothes and stock rotation.
Our students are well informed and feel empowered to make realistic decisions about their future.
Destination information
Norton’s Futures Scheme of Work provides an effective, relevant curriculum for all students catering to their specific needs, abilities and aspirations.
A successful careers guidance programme will also be reflected in higher numbers of students progressing to positive and sustained destinations such as apprenticeships, technical routes, , further education colleges or employment.
Destination measures provide clear and comparable information on the success of schools and colleges in helping all their students take qualifications that offer them the best opportunity to continue in education, training or employment. (DfE 2020)
Monitoring and Evaluation
Regularly monitoring measurable outcomes allows us to measure the impact our Futures Curriculum and CEIG is having. Through validation, evaluation and reflective practice we are able to evolve the programme , responding to Student Needs and LMI.
Reports
Our latest Compass Progress Report which provides an update of our performance against the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks is available to download below along with our Careers Impact report 2023/4.
Useful Links for Parents / Carers
Careers Newsletters
Please see the links below for our Careers Newsletters
Norton Tewkesbury Careers Newsletter Issue 3