Longcause School Careers Policy Statement including Provider Access Policy Statement  

(To include The Department of Education, July 2021: “Baker Clause” and the Provider Access Legislation, January 2023)

Ownership: Longcause

Date updated: July 2024

Introduction   

Longcause provides a relevant and engaging careers curriculum which meets the differing needs and requirements of our pupils. This is developed throughout a pupil’s time at the school and is always supportive of their abilities, strengths and skills.   

Rationale

High quality careers education and guidance in school or college is critical to young people’s futures. It helps to prepare them for the workplace by providing a clear understanding of the world of work including the routes to jobs and careers that they might find engaging and rewarding. It supports them to acquire the self-development and career management skills they need to achieve positive employment destinations. This helps students to choose their pathways, improve their life opportunities and contribute to a productive and successful economy.

As the number of apprenticeships rises every year, it becomes increasingly important that all young people have a full understanding of all the options available to them post-16 and post-18 including wider technical education options such as T-Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications.

Commitment 

Longcause is committed to ensuring there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access students, for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.  Longcause is fully aware of the responsibility to set students on the path that will secure the best outcome which will enable them to progress in education and work and give employers the highly skilled people they need. That means acting impartially, in line with the statutory duty, and not showing bias towards any route, be that academic or technical. 

Longcause endeavours to ensure that all students are aware of all routes to higher skills and are able to access information on technical options and apprenticeships (The Department of Education, July 2021: “Baker Clause”: supporting students to understand the full range of education and training options, and the Provider Access Legislation, January 2023).

Aims 

Longcause policy for Access to other education and training providers has the following aims: 

To develop the knowledge and awareness of our students of all career pathways available to them, including technical qualifications and apprenticeships. 

To support young people to be able to learn more about opportunities for education and training outside of school before making crucial choices about their future options. 

To reduce drop out from courses and avoid the risk of students becoming SEET (Young people seeking education, employment or training).

• Prepare pupils for the transition to life after Longcause  
• Support pupils in making informed decisions which are appropriate for them   
• Provide pupils with well-rounded experiences   
• Develop personal characteristics such as social skills, communication, independence and resilience   
• Inspire and motivate pupils to develop themselves as individuals and live as independently as is possible  

This policy summarises the statutory guidance and recommendations. It then outlines the provision of careers education, work experience and provider access.   

Statutory requirements and recommendations    

The careers provision at Longcause is in line with the statutory guidance developed by the Department for Education, which refers to Section 42A and 45A of the Education Act 1997.  This states that all schools should provide independent careers guidance from Years 7 -13 and that this guidance should:   

• be impartial   
• include information on a range of pathways, including apprenticeships   
• be adapted to the needs of the pupil  

In addition, the school is compliant with the careers guidance that the government set out for delivery from 5 January 2018: ‘Careers Guidance and Inspiration for young people in schools.’ This states that all schools must give education and training providers the opportunity to talk to students about approved technical qualifications and apprenticeships. Further information relating to this is set out later in this document, under Provider Access.  

Student Entitlement 

Longcause fully supports the statutory requirement for students to have direct access to other providers of further education training, technical training and apprenticeships.  The school will comply with the new legal requirement to put on at least six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships. This will be done in assemblies, in addition to providers attending careers events at school, talks from different employers, visits to careers fairs & visits to workplaces. For a full overview of our careers program refer to the Careers Curriculum overview and strategic plan.

Careers Provision at Longcause   

All pupils have access to the following:   

• Longcause Learning for Life curriculum (LLfL) - Careers and preparing for life after Longcause is a fundamental aspect of our LLfL curriculum  
• Visitors in to school and offsite visits support pupils in developing their understanding of a range of different post 16 pathways.   
• All pupils from Year 9 have access to advice and guidance from our CSW advisor  
• All pupils in Year 10 access a meeting with CSW advisor and school careers leader to explore future pathways  
• Pupils have access, through the local Special Schools Organisation, to relevant careers events hosted at Quay Partnership schools  
• Work experience and experience of a work placement  

Development 

This policy has been developed and is reviewed annually by the Careers Leader (Jill Jarvis) and Line Manager (Anne Hutchinson Head teacher) based on current good practice guidelines by the Department for Education. 

Links with other policies 

It supports and is underpinned by key school policies including those for Careers, Child Protection, Equality and Diversity, and SEND.

Equality and Diversity 

Access to other providers is available and promoted to allow all students to access information about other providers of further education and apprenticeships. Longcause is committed to encouraging all students to make decisions about their future based on impartial information. 

Requests for access

Requests for access should be directed to Jill Jarvis, Careers Leader. Jill Jarvis may be contacted by telephone or email, jjarvis@longcause.plymouth.sch.uk , Tel 01752 336881. 

Grounds for granting requests for access

Access will be given for providers to attend during school assemblies, timetabled Careers or Life lessons, and Careers or Raising Aspirations events that The Longcause is arranging. Students may also travel to visit another provider as part of the trip to be organised in partnership with the school.

Details of premises or facilities to be provided to a person who is given access

Longcause will provide an appropriate room or assembly hall to be agreed. All rooms have computers, projectors and screens provided. The Careers Leader will organise this, working closely with the provider to ensure the facilities are appropriate to the audience.  Appropriate safeguarding checks will be carried out.  Providers will be met and supervised by a member of the Careers Team who will facilitate.

Providers are welcome to leave a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature with Jill Jarvis, Careers Programme Lead.  This will be made available to pupils and families as appropriate.  

Live/Virtual encounters

The Longcause will consider live online encounters with providers where requested, and these may be broadcast into classrooms or the school assembly hall. Technology checks in advance will be required to ensure compatibility of systems.  

Parents and Carers 

Parental involvement is encouraged, and parents may be invited to attend the events to meet the providers. 

Management 

The Careers Leader coordinates all provider requests and is responsible to her senior management line manager. 

Complaints Procedure

Any complaints about this policy should be raised to Jill Jarvis, email:  jjarvis@longcause.plymouth.sch.uk

Jill Jarvis will raise the complaint to Anne Hutchinson, Head Teacher

Monitoring review and evaluation 

The Policy is monitored and evaluated annually by the coordinator and adopted by the Board of Governors. 

Policy Coordinator: Jill Jarvis 

Policy Reviewed: July 2024

Review date: July 2025

Appendix 

Providers who have been invited into Longcause  to date include: 

Babcock

Tech Girls

National Marine Aquarium

FabLab Devon

Destinations of previous pupils from Longcause include: 

Skills Development CCP

Monterey House

Post Bridge

Mill Ford

Achievement Training Learning

Oakwood Court

Eat That Frog

Duchy College

On track (Devon)

Breakthrough Trust (Devon)

Chapel Bridge

Approval and review   

Approved by Governors annually  

Annually reviewed in Term 1 of each academic year  

Signed: Fred Jenkins, Chair of Governors and Anne Hutchinson, Head teacher