Gatsby Benchmarks
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SARAH HARRISON,
JULIE POPPLETON, HEAD OF
CAREERS EDUCATION, INFORMATION,
ADVICE AND GUIDANCE, CHASE
TERRACE TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE,
WALSALL, WEST MIDLANDS
Level 6-qualified careers practitioner and senior
team member, Julie, is responsible for
implementing the college’s award-winning
careers strategy and founder of the independent
Staffordshire Careers Professionals Group.
“When I joined Chase Terrace Technology
College five years ago, we identified many of the
strands in the government’s careers strategy – a
lack of employer encounters, a focus on
qualifications instead of skills – but it felt like we were
working in isolation. Funding cuts meant many
others couldn’t find budget for careers advice. It has
been interesting to watch the impact Ofsted putting
careers advice provision in its inspections has had,
particularly if ratings fell. Many schools now come
to my school for guidance on mapping their
careers framework to the Gatsby Benchmarks.
A key for me is engagement with local
employers. Two years ago, an employer contacted
us as he wanted to talk about his industry and
apprenticeships – he’d had a limited response from
other schools. We invited him to deliver sessions
and provide work experience. As his business grew,
he needed new premises, so we suggested he
move onto the school site on the proviso that
he provide ongoing work experience and talks to
students. We now have our own in-school
employer as a resource.
Careers advice needs to be collaborative and
community-based, which is why I set up a
networking group for careers professionals. We
invite employers in to discuss work experience and
internships and universities offering outreach
services. Careers leaders are struggling to find
information and build their networks, so we’ve really
benefited. For me, Benchmark 4 will be hardest to
implement – we need to embed careers better in
all subjects. I’m fortunate to be full-time with three
members of staff, but for those starting out, I’d say
talk to every head of department; you’ll be shocked
at how much is already being done.”
18 // EMPLOYABILITY
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL CAREERS
AND ENTERPRISE, HORIZON
COMMUNITY COLLEGE,
BARNSLEY, SOUTH YORKSHIRE
Sarah leads a dedicated careers and enterprise team and is a
member of the school’s leadership team. Prior to joining
Horizon in April 2018, she spent 26 years working in
private-sector business and is chair of Barnsley Council’s ‘More
and Better Jobs’ task force.
“The Gatsby Benchmarks are ambitious and will probably be
part of Ofsted criteria going forward.
I think that’s a good thing, because although some schools
have always seen the natural partnership between soft and
academic skills in building rounded individuals, many haven’t;
teachers are heavily targeted on grades and progression, so it’s
easy to become blinkered.
I was lucky to join a school whose senior team sets a lot of
store by work-readiness and could see the benefits of having a
careers leader able to complement the skills already in the
leadership team, and support members.
“i get out, I Network; I still
have links with business”
I’m not teaching, so I can devote 100% of my time to a
non-academic curriculum. I get out, I network. I still have links
with business and I have a hard-working team. This year, we’ve
put in a non-academic curriculum that shadows and mirrors the
academic curriculum, working closely with academic staff.
Our role is to instil work readiness in students, but also to give
them a thirst for learning and to show them the opportun