Careers at Goffs Academy
The SLT member responsible for Careers, and our designated careers lead is Kate Dawson (Assistant Principal) and she can be contacted at kda@goffs.herts.sch.uk
The Work Experience Co-ordinator/Administrator is Lorraine Sparrow (Student reception) and she can be contacted at lsw@goffs.herts.sch.uk
The LAB member with responsibility for careers is Debbie Hughes.
Careers information at Goffs
At Goffs, we pride ourselves on ensuring that students are well prepared for future employment and have a range of opportunities to find out more about different careers.
Our Careers programme aims to prepare our students for their future lives beyond school and follows the Provider Access Legislation set out by the government which was introduced in January 2023. This means that all students, and parents, should be made aware of all their options as they progress through school and their post-school options and have at least 2 encounters with providers in every key stage.
Our Provider Access Policy can be found here:
R64-Provider-Access-Policy-Goffs-Sept-2024-2025.pdf
Gatsby Benchmarks
Every young person needs high-quality career guidance to make informed decisions about their future. Good career guidance is a necessity for social mobility: those young people without significant social capital or home support to draw upon have the most to gain from high-quality career guidance.
What are the eight benchmarks?
The eight benchmarks are a framework for good career guidance developed to support secondary schools and colleges in providing students with the best possible careers education, information, advice, and guidance.
They were established as part of Sir John Holman's research into what pragmatic actions could improve career guidance in England. Based on international best practice, they set out what a world-class career guidance system looks like. The Benchmarks are part of the careers strategy (launched December 2017) and statutory guidance for secondary schools and colleges since 2018.
Gatsby Benchmark tracking document 2024-2025:
Gatsby-Benchmarks-tracking-24-25.pdf
Careers Activity Plan
We deliver a structured Careers Plan which is reviewed on an annual basis, and involves all year groups. Below are some of the key activities which we offer, and all activities are linked to the updated "Careers guidance and access for education and training providers" and Provider Access Legislation
All areas of the curriculum support the statutory guidance from the DFE entitled "Careers guidance and access for education and training providers". All subject areas have identified where they can support this and is outlined in Curriculum mapping within departments.
The document below outlines the school calendar for Careers events including Provider Access opportunities which are delivered in line with the relevant statutory guidance.
Careers-timetable-2024-2025.pdf
Careers Providers and Programmes
We work closely with many different organisations including Hertfordshire Services for Young People, Hertfordshire Local Exterprise Partnership, Unifrog, Tesco and Amazon to ensure that students have access to a range of different employers during their time in school.
For example, in Year 10, all students take part in a Careers Fair and Mock Interview Day, before participating in a week’s work experience placement, in the summer term.
Every student in Year 11 has a 1:1 session with a Personal Adviser from SfYP Hertfordshire regarding their plans for their future. Alex Bateson is our dedicated SfYp Hertfordshire Personal Adviser for 2024/2025 and holds a Level 6 qualification in Advice and Guidance. SfYP Hertfordshire is Matrix accredited.
During his sessions Alex:
- will provide a personalised action plan to help students reach their goal
- have access to a range of career exploration tools to help students explore the careers world
- are experienced in providing individualised, impartial careers, information, advice and guidance to young people and their parents/carers
- are knowledgeable about local, regional and national opportunities with access to a wealth of up to date information
- are skilled in tailoring careers information, advice and guidance to individual needs
- can draw in additional resources to support individual needs
- have current, enhanced DBS clearance
Who we work with:
The following organisations support our Careers provision:
| Unifrog | Helps students compare every university course, every apprenticeship, and Further Education courses - then apply successfully. Empower teachers and counsellors to manage the progression process effectively. |
| SfYP Hertfordshire https://servicesforyoungpeople.org/
| Run Navigate Your Future days in school for Year 8 students. Source our Year 10 Work experience placements including site risk assessments. Provide qualified personal advisers to conduct 1:1 interviews with our Year 11 students and some Year 10 students, as needed |
| Young Enterprise | Deliver a range of enterprise activities for Key Stage 3 students and run a day in school for our Year 9 students |
| Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership | Herts LEP manages The Careers and Enterprise Company funded programme in Hertfordshire. Their Enterprise Coordinators work with us at strategic level to support us against The Gatsby Benchmarks Herts LEP supports us to gain up to date and relevant Local Labour Market Information and to keep us connected to employers who support our students to gain more information about the world of work |
| Herts Regional College | Provide direct interventions for targeted students in Year 10 and upward to promote their college, including tours to all students |
| Amazing Apprenticeships | Provide access to an extensive collection of resources and support for teachers, careers advisers and students Offer apprenticeship support for students in Years 10-13 and currently run two sessions for our sixth form students Run Vacancy Snapshot – showcasing some of the world’s largest companies and what to expect from their recruitment processes |
| National Citizenship Service (NCS) | Run a summer school for Year 11 students within which students learn skills that can be useful in the world of work |
| The Brilliant Club | Provide direct interventions for targeted students in the sixth form, to promote university/higher education |
Further information and useful links
We are signed up to The Careers and Enterprise Company – The Enterprise Adviser Network – programme. This is a free provision managed locally by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership to support us to achieve all 8 Gatsby Benchmarks.
Further information about The Careers and Enterprise Company can be found here:
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/
Further information about The Gatsby Benchmarks can be found here:
http://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance
Further information about The Government’s Careers Strategy can be found here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1127489/Careers_guidance_and_access_for_education_and_training_providers_.pdf
Hertfordshire Skills Framework
https://www.hopinto.co.uk/explore-careers/resources/hertfordshire-skills-framework/
This is the culmination of a huge research piece carried out by The University of Hertfordshire to identify the predominant skills and qualities that a large range of Hertfordshire employers have stated are most important for young people to possess and demonstrate in the workplace; it is therefore vital information for students, teachers and parents to be aware of. These skills are going to be embedded through throughout the school both within the curriculum and through wider awareness within work on CVs and in assemblies.
Labour Market Information
Broxbourne Labour Market Information
Hertfordshire Labour Market Information
Employer Engagement
We recognise the importance in working with local employers in order to support our Careers Education and IAG provision we are very keen to establish links with employers who will be able to open our students’ eyes to the world of work.
We currently engage with over 30 different employers through work experience placements for our Year 10 students and our planned Year 9 Careers Fair. We welcome further support from employers within a range of industries. If you would like to support any of the above events or feel you may be offer support in a different way then do please contact our Careers Lead, Kate Dawson kda@goffs.herts.sch.uk
Sixth Form - Careers
You can find out about Careers relating directly to the Sixth Form under the Sixth Form section of our website: https://www.goffs.herts.sch.uk/358/careers-university
