Our mission: ‘At George Mitchell, everything we do, we do with PRIDE’ ensures our students are prepared to take on new challenges and enter into the world of work. We work with students to develop their confidence, resilience and key skills.
We are working to develop a programme that is an integral part of the academic and wider curriculum to ensure students receive appropriate information and guidance, especially at decision and transition points.
We want our students to leave school as secure and healthy individuals who are self-reliant, assured and motivated to succeed in life. We will ensure they are equipped with the skills necessary to explore the many opportunities available to them in the world today.
Alongside their academic achievements, we encourage the personal development of all our students. We run wide ranging activities, from our weekly pastoral curriculum to themed days focusing on careers and post-16 choices. In Year 10, we also run a two-week work experience programme.
We are extremely proud of our increasingly well-recognised careers support provision for our pupils. Information, advice and guidance are critical to making informed choices. We liaise with local and specialist national colleges, training providers, employers and the voluntary sector to ensure that knowledge is up to date. We equip our students with information concerning the needs, demands and trends within the labour market. . Our programme will be tailored to support key student groups to ensure all students enter further or higher education, training or employment.
We work with students’ parents/carers and teachers starting from Year 7 through to Year 11.
We would encourage parents/carers, teachers and employers to access our careers programme by contacting a member of the Careers Team.
More information about Careers provision at GM School can be found on these pages:
Careers: Key Personnel
- Careers Lead – Ms Jackie Ainsworth (Jackie.Ainsworth@georgemitchellschool.co.uk)
- Work Experience Coordinator – Mr Joga Khalsa (Joga.Khalsa@georgemitchellschool.co.uk).
- Careers link Governor –
Jackie Ainsworth
Ms Ainsworth is our Careers Lead. She is a Level 6 qualified careers practitioner with several years’ experience. Ms Ainsworth ensures the careers programme meets all the statutory government requirements. She also develops the programme to meet the needs of all our students.
As a member of the Career Development Institute and Register of Career Development Professionals, Ms Ainsworth has to observe the CDI Code of Ethics. The guidance that she provides to students is always impartial, accessible and free from bias. Ms Ainsworth completes 25 hours of CPD per year and holds a Level 6 Careers and Leadership qualification with the Careers Development Institute.
Place within the Curriculum
There is a planned programme of learning experiences with Careers Related learning outcomes for Year 7 to Year 11 which enable young people to:
- Develop themselves through career and work-related education.
- Learn about careers and the world of work.
- Develop career management and employability skills.
An independent qualified Careers Advisor attends the school at regular and key times throughout the academic year to provide individual advice and guidance to students. All careers advice and guidance given is person-centred, impartial, unbiased, confidential (within legal confines) and meets professional standards of practice.
Independent and impartial careers information, advice and guidance is provided in schools for students from Year 9 onwards by qualified careers advisers who are attached to the school from 15 Billion (Home – 15 Billion EBP).
Careers appointments can be arranged through Learning Leaders/Form Tutors or Ms Ainsworth at school.
Other formal and informal partnerships
The school has a number of formal and informal partnerships arrangements with post-16 providers, colleges, employers, higher education and training providers.
At points across the school year, a variety of employers and external providers are invited into George Mitchell School to talk about different careers. Please see our Provider Access Policy for further details.
Management of CEIAG Provision
The CEIAG Programme is planned and implemented by our Careers Leader (Ms Ainsworth) and the nominated member of SLG (Ms Tomkins), and involves working closely with key staff, students, parents and the wider community.
Staffing
All staff contribute to CEIAG through their roles as Tutors, Subject Teachers, Curriculum/Subject Leaders, and Heads of Year, or as a Careers Professional.
Measuring Impact
The School will assess the impact of its careers programmes on students by completing an annual student survey and analysing destinations data in line with activities that they have taken part in at school. In addition, the views of students and parents will be surveyed after key events e.g. the Careers Information Evening; Year 10 Work Experience. We also us the compass evaluations against the Eight Gatsby Benchmarks. We will constantly update and evaluate our programme based on the introduction of new technology, education and careers information, which will enable us to make sure that we are able to provide the most relevant, up to date and inclusive programme for all of our students.