Careers Education

Why is Careers Education important?

1. It supports children to prepare for their future

2. Schools are crucial in preparing pupils for their adult lives, teaching them to understand how to engage with society and providing them with plentiful opportunities to do so.

3. It raises children’s aspirations and builds cultural capital.

4.  Research shows that inspiring young people about the world of work needs to start at an early age as ideas about careers (including potentially-limiting stereotypes) are formed at a young age. (Drawing the Future Report, 2018) 

What does Careers Education look like at Earlsfield?

1. We embed careers learning throughout the curriculum by making links between our topics and different jobs and careers. For example, in Year 1, when we learn about buildings, children become architects: they learn what architects are and take on the role of an architect as they plan their model structures. 
2. Visitors from different careers are regularly invited into school to share their experiences and talk to the children about a diverse range of jobs. One example of this happens in Year 2 when, during their topic about the Great Fire of London, a firefighter visits and talks about the skills needed for the job and the experiences they have on a day to day basis. 
3. Our weekly assemblies feature a ‘Person of Interest’. These individuals have been chosen to reflect a diverse range of careers and achievements to inspire our children to open their minds to a wide range of possible aspirations. 
4. We have an annual Careers Week which we are growing each year. This is partially data-driven: for example, in 2022 survey results showed that boys were much more likely to aspire to work in STEM compared to girls. Therefore one of our aims for the week was to address this imbalance through our choices of activities and visitors.
5. We gather data and monitor the career aspirations and attitudes of our pupils through Pupil Voice. This allows us to tailor our careers learning to specific areas of interest, need or stereotyping that arise among our pupils. 

How do we measure the impact of Careers Education at Earlsfield

 Using the Drawing the Future Report (2018) we conduct a similar in depth survey of all pupils from Reception to Year 6. This involves each child drawing a picture of what they would like to be when they grow up. Other information is collected including their favourite school subject and where / from whom they heard about the job. This data is analysed for trends which then inform the themes for future careers learning. 

I just wanted to feedback on Careers’ week as x has spoken about it so much at home. It feels like it had a real impact certainly in Year 2 and prompted lots of conversations around skills, jobs, money and so on. The diverse range of professionals who were able to come and talk to the classes was also noted - we were really impressed.