‘Supporting students to prepare for their future, their way’
At Wessex Lodge School we aim to provide an individualised education to improve life outcomes. We recognise that supporting students to find the right pathway for them is a large part of this. Choosing which direction to take after leaving school is a big decision. We’re here to support our students and make sure they know all the options and routes open to them. Our Next Steps programme is designed to give our young people the skills, knowledge and confidence they require to find and access a career they will enjoy and thrive in.
Using the Gatsby Benchmarks and CDI Framework as a guide and Careerpilot as a source we have created a careers programme for all students that can be individualised to meet their needs. Alongside dedicated careers lessons students will receive advise from an independent, level 6 Careers Advisor on request.
The Careers Lead is Laura Gregg: LauraG@enhancedlearningservices.co.uk 01985844865
The Gatsby benchmarks are seen as best practice for careers guidance within schools. We use Gatsby benchmarks to measure our program and complete termly Compass evaluations. The Gatsby benchmarks are:
1 Stable careers programme
2 Learning from career and labour market information
3 Addressing the needs of each pupil
4 Linking curriculum learning to careers
5 Encounters with employers and employees
6 Experiences of work places
7 Encounters with Further and Higher Education
8 Personal guidance
Compass Evaluations:
| Date | Benchmark 1 | Benchmark 2 | Benchmark 3 | Benchmark 4 | Benchmark 5 | Benchmark 6 | Benchmark 7 | Benchmark 8 |
| Autumn 1 22/23 | 47% | 80% | 81% | 25% | 0% | 100% | 75% | 87% |
| Spring 1 22/23 | 58% | 100% | 100% | 56% | 75% | 100% | 75% | 100% |
| Summer 2 22/23 | 64% | 80% | 90% | 25% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Our next review will be completed in November 2023.
Our full careers programme for the 23-24 academic year is being finalised over summer and will be added here. We will be incorporating the CDI Framework into the programme. More information on the framework can be found here: https://www.thecdi.net/New-Career-Development-Framework
We use Careerpilot as a source of information during Careers lessons and plan to set up an account for every student. There is a parent zone on their website filled with lots of useful information, which can be found here: https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/parent-zone
Other useful websites include:
The National Careers Service: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
Talking Futures: https://www.talkingfutures.org.uk/
Amazing Apprenticeships: https://amazingapprenticeships.com/
Icould: https://icould.com/
The information on this page will be reviewed in September 2023