Careers Information, Advice and Guidance at Villiers High School

At Villiers, our Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme is the beating heart of our community and the engine of our students’ future success. Our vision is to be a partner in every student’s journey from Year 7 through to Year 13, empowering them to become the best versions of themselves and the leaders of their generation.

This journey is woven into the fabric of school life, guided by our core values:

• Honesty: Encouraging students to be self-aware, identifying their true strengths and areas for growth to make realistic, informed decisions.

• Equity: Removing all barriers to participation. We ensure every learner, including those with SEND and from disadvantaged backgrounds, has equal access to high-value and high-quality opportunities and the support needed to reach them.

• Aspiration: Challenging students to reach beyond perceived limits and aim for the most ambitious higher education and career pathways.

• Respect: Building a culture where students value diverse professional paths and engage with employers and community partners with professional integrity.

• Tenacity: Developing the soft skills and resilience required to navigate a changing global economy and sustain success in their chosen destinations.

Our programme is closely aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks and statutory guidance, ensuring a holistic 'roadmap' for every year group. We provide impartial guidance and meaningful experiences that bridge the gap between the classroom and the world of work.

Key components of our delivery include:

• Employer Encounters: Regular interactions with a diverse range of partners, including  GSK, SEGRO, British Airways, Heathrow Airport, UK Border Force and Berkeley Group.

• Higher Education & Training: Deep-rooted links with world-class institutions such as Reading University, Royal Holloway, Oxford Brookes and Ealing Council Apprenticeships.

• Digital Tools & Professional Advice: Full access to Unifrog for independent research and tracking, complemented by expert, impartial careers advice from Connexions.

• Real-World Experience: A robust system of work shadowing and work experience placements that allow students to test their skills in professional environments.

• Employability Curriculum: Deep Learning activities focused on personal finance, enterprise, and the development of essential future skills.

We define success by the confidence and sustained destinations of our learners.  We ensure our students are prepared to thrive wherever they go next.

We evaluate our impact through:

• Rigorous Benchmarking: Using the Gatsby Benchmarks and the Compass Tool to ensure our provision remains world-class and compliant with national standards.

• Stakeholder Voice: Actively gathering and acting upon feedback from students, parents, teachers, and our employer partners.

• Destination Data: Analysing long-term student data to ensure our learners are securing and maintaining high-quality education, training, and employment.

• Continuous Improvement: Using our findings to refine our 'career roadmaps,' ensuring that Villiers remains a school that prepares students not just for exams, but for life.

The Baker Clause:

In January 2018, the DfE also introduced ‘The Baker Clause’ as an amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017. The Baker Clause stipulates that schools must allow colleges and training providers access to every student in years 8- 13 to discuss non-academic routes that are available to them. It is expected that by doing so this will help address the UK’s productivity challenges and address skills shortages experienced across several sectors of the economy.

To ensure we are compliant with The Baker Clause, we have developed excellent links & partnerships with the following organisations & providers, who regularly run assemblies, talks, small group sessions & workshops for our students:

University of West London

Brunel

Kings College

Kingston University

St Mary’s University

West London College

Local colleges (Including Uxbridge College, Hammersmith and West London, Southall College, Richmond College)

Heathrow and BA

ASK Programme (Apprenticeship, Support & Knowledge)

Berkley Homes (A construction company currently involved in the major redevelopment of an area local to the school)

HS2 (A construction company involved in the construction of the rail networks local to the school)

Unifrog - an online Career platform for all Y7-13 students (this provides students with a variety of different pathways into an industry)

6^th Form Speaker Series – inspirational talks from employers and ex students

Annual Careers Conference

We are confident that our Careers provision is wide ranging, inclusive and diverse. Within our Pastoral and PSHCE Programmes, Wider learning offer, Curriculum and additional Careers IAG provisions, we feel that we are giving students the right support, knowledge and skills to be successful in their future at Villiers at beyond. As always, we are open to receiving feedback & suggestions for further ways to continue to develop & refine our Careers programme.

Contact information:

Ms Beth Reynolds

breynolds@villiers.ealing.sch.uk

Ms Shami Bahra

sbahra@villiers.ealing.sch.uk

07903 161690

Villiers High School Provider Access Policy

Introduction

Villiers High School aims to provide excellent information, advice and guidance to its students,

enabling them to make the right progression choices at each stage of their education.

Villiers is committed to complying in full with its obligations in this area under Education Act and associated regulations as set out in the following DfE document:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools

This policy statement sets out the school’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to

pupils at Trust schools for the purpose of giving them information about the provider’s education or

training offer as required in Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.

Pupil Entitlement

All pupils in years 8-13 are entitled to:

• find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a pastoral programme with specific IAG elements which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;

• hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships – through options events, assemblies and group discussions and taster events;

• understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses

Management of provider access requests Procedure

A provider wishing to request access should contact:

Ms Beth Reynolds

Deputy Headteacher

breynolds@villiers.ealing.sch.uk

Opportunities for access

A number of events, integrated into the school careers programme, will offer providers an opportunity to come into school to speak to pupils and/or their parents/carers:

Premises and facilities

The school will make the main hall, sports hall, classrooms or private meeting rooms available for discussions between the provider and students, as appropriate to the activity.

The school will also make available any IT facilities and other specialist equipment to support provider presentations.

This will all be discussed and agreed in advance of the visit with the contact listed above.

Providers are welcome to provide a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature at

the school where it will be made available to pupils through their HoY, the Library and Connexions.