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Studying At The Spires College

Careers Guidance

Our students all have access to a qualified careers advisor, Ms Tunnard, and our pastoral team work closely with our careers lead, Mr Davies, to ensure that students all receive high quality, relevant, personalised guidance. We are also supported by Next Steps South West and Careers South West.

Students can build and track their careers portfolio using the Unifrog platform. This platform allows students, staff and parents or carers the opportunity to access up-to-date careers information, guidance and advice on progressing to the next stage in their journey. It also enables stakeholders to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of the careers programme in line with the Gatsby benchmarks.  Our careers programme is measured against these benchmarks. In July 2022 we achieved 100% of the benchmarks. These are reviewed three times annually. 

Mr Davies can be contacted by email: rdavies@thespirescollege.com

Ms Tunnard can be contacted by email: ttunnard@thespirescollege.com

Further supporting information on current opportunities, topics of discussion and guidance can be found at this helpful Padlet, developed by our partners at Careers South West: https://hotswcareershub.padlet.org/jacquelinehobson/yfp4rek12r1g196h

CAREERS IN THE CURRICULUM

Careers is also embedded into the curriculum as subjects build relationships with employers and find opportunities to link the learning to the world of work.

Students work with a wide range of employers including: Stroma Construction, The Royal Navy, The Army, Torbay Hospital, Offshore Turbines, Torbay Pharmaceuticals, South West Highways, Faithful and Gould(Engineering), Next Steps South West, Torbay Development Agency,  Brady Construction, Wain Homes, Kier Group and Torbay Leisure Hotels.

Students have had interactions with regional Further and Higher Education providers including Exeter University, Plymouth University, Falmouth University, Cardiff Metropolitan University and University College South Devon.  However, using Unifrog, our students have been able to engage with Universities from across the country and, indeed, the globe through virtual events.

The College is continuously evaluating our careers provision. Details of this are available from the Careers Lead.

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

Please see the document at the bottom of this page, 'Paths to Careers Parents Guide 2021', for additional information.

Parents can also access the Unifrog platform to explore the resources and information available to students. Please email Mr Davies to receive the parent login code.

INFORMATION FOR EMPLOYERS AND OTHER PROVIDERS

We have had great success working with a number of employers and agencies over the years. We are keen to continue to develop strong partnerships with a wide range of educational institutions, training providers and employers who may contribute to our careers programme through:

  • raising aspirations
  • demonstrating the relevance of the knowledge and skills developed through the academic curriculum to the world of work
  • providing enrichment opportunities including work experience, workplace visits, guest speakers, mock interviews, curriculum support.
Can you help our students with their futures?

As part of our careers provision at The Spires College we are looking to work with a greater number of employers, businesses and organisations in the local area as a means of providing our students with meaningful interactions with as broad a range of employers and career pathways as possible. This may be through companies working with individual subject departments, linking curriculum to careers. It may also be through engagement with our whole-college careers fair, through smaller talks and seminars to students or by offering work experience placements to our Year 12 students. 

If you, your employer or anyone you know would be interested in working with us in any of the ways above please do get in touch by emailing Mr Davies.

We look forward to working with local businesses and employers to support our students in developing aspirations and realising their potential. 

INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS 

All teachers have access to the Unifrog platform and receive regular opportunities for further training and support in its use and how it can support the curriculum. Teachers are encouraged to liaise with the careers lead regarding contacts and links that they may have to employers and agencies, and to work together in enriching the curriculum with links to careers. 

CAREERS PROGRESSION FRAMEWORK AND CAREERS PROGRAMME

The vision for the careers programme; “A creative vision of your best self.”

The careers programme has these strategic objectives:

  • Open students up to a range of career paths & opportunities (Gatsby Benchmarks: 2, 3, 5, 6)
  • Embed personalised aspirational careers guidance for each student (Gatsby Benchmarks: 3, 7, 8)
  • Allow staff to consistently incorporate meaningful and creative future planning into their engagement with students (within, but not exclusive to the curriculum) (Gatsby Benchmarks: 1, 4, 8)
Progression Framework Overview

Careers education at The Spires College will be focused on a key theme each year that will build as students work through the college. Please see the attachment below for more information.

A printable version of the careers programme is available to download below.