View Year 10/11 Work Placement information and resources in the dedicated section further down this page.

All students at Notre Dame Catholic College will:

Take part in a careers programme in years 7-13 that helps them to:

• Understand their education, training, employment and other progression opportunities
• Develop the skills they need to plan and manage their own personal development and career progression
• Access relevant information and learning through participation in the range of activities provided in house and external visits
• Make and maintain individual progression plans to help them improve their prospects of success
• Offer feedback and ideas of how to improve the careers programme

Have access to and support with using careers information that is:

• Easy to find and available at convenient times and in convenient locations including online and the Connected Portal
• Clearly labelled, referenced and comprehensive, giving details of all progression opportunities and associated support arrangements such as financial help
• Unbiased and up to date

Obtain careers guidance that is:

• Impartial
• Confidential
• Focused on individual needs and fit for purpose
• Supportive of equal opportunities
• Provided by people with relevant training and expertise

All parents and carers can expect to:

• Be able to make an appointment with a member of staff or specialist adviser to discuss their children’s progress and future career pathway
• Have access to tutors, subjects, learning partners and specialist advisers at parents’ evenings in years 7-13 as well as Options evenings in years 9 and 11
• Be invited to feedback on the careers programme as well as the careers support and information their child/children receive
• Be invited to participate in careers and information events

What are the Gatsby Benchmarks?

The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 standards that define excellent career guidance. The Department for Education (DfE) expects all schools and colleges to be working towards these 8 standards.

Curriculum areas and subjects will contribute to Gatsby Benchmarks 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7. But mostly GB4: Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers.

Teachers: for further information about how to incorporate GB4 into the curriculum and resources please contact Careers Advisor, Mrs G Hall, [email protected].

There are lots of different ways for your students to train or continue their education. It’s important they decide on a direction that’s right for them.

For guidance on all aspects of supporting students including formulation of predicted grades and advising students on personal statements please click here

The school is committed to providing CPD opportunities for the Careers Leader on an ongoing basis. Regular meetings with the school’s Enterprise Coordinator and wider LCR Hub team ensure a robust programme which meets all of the criteria of Gatsby benchmarks and Government Statutory Guidance.

This combined with extensive pupil voice, parent and external provider comments ensures that the career programme at Notre Dame is robust and caters for the needs of all students. We were reccredited for the Quality in Careers Standard Award in October 2022.

Reviews with CEC Enterprise Coordinator and Enterprise Adviser Regular reviews between the Careers leader, SLT and the governing body (Life of the School Committee) Pupil Voice, evaluations for all year groups after each event/activity Internal monitoring which includes, reports from pastoral staff and curriculum leaders.

The Careers Leader conducts an annual careers audit for each curriculum subject. Careers Education is monitored and evaluated through the wider PHSCE programme as well.

There is an annual review of the Year 11 Work Experience Programme to the evaluate how relevant placements have been in relation to the students’ careers plans and the quality of these experiences.

All destinations of year 11,12 and 13 students are collated by the Careers leader, who collaborates with staff from the local authority and the Post 16 Careers Outreach Team to ensure students at risk of being NEET are supported. The Careers Leader monitors the destinations of school leavers for 3 years after they leave.

Some recent examples of our former students destinations include:

Faye Roberts is at Keble College,  University of Oxford Reading Ancient & Modern History. Faye was part of the Liverpool Aspire Programme.

Tom Whittaker is currently on a paid internship for a year with The Anfield Wrap, ahead of his degree in Sports Journalism at UFCB, Manchester.

Adam Abbou – is a working Actor who has recently starred in ITV’s award winning drama Time, Casualty and The Rising.