Future TalentEd Summer Term 2020 Summer 2020 | Page 27

MEET YOUR PEERS
How are you
supporting
young people
during
lockdown?
We asked three careers leaders to
explain how they are continuing to support
young people with careers guidance
during lockdown, and the key
challenges they are facing.
Simon
Wareham
Director of careers
and PSHCE at
Southmoor Multi
Academy Trust,
Tyne & Wear
O
bviously, the best form of advice is provided
directly, face-to-face with students, but since
we are currently unable to offer this, we
have had to find new ways to support our
young people.
First, we have ensured that all students,
parents and colleagues are aware of the direct
careers email address which our careers advisor has access to.
She can respond and phone to speak to our students and their
parents. Our careers advisor is also following up all year 11
and year 13 students who do not have definitive plans for the
following year to ensure that they supported in making decisions.
We are making much more use of our social media channels and
using our careers Twitter page and Instagram account to keep
students and parents updated on the latest opportunities, such
as careers events and resources.
Meanwhile, we are also liaising with all of our local further and
higher education providers to provide opportunities to our
students such as ‘live chats’, webinars and virtual talks. We have
a careers section in the weekly newsletter sent to all parents,
where key careers activities and advice are highlighted. Students
have been given access to careers home-learning activities that
they can do online, and we are keeping our careers websites as
up to date as possible.
“We are embracing opportunities
that we were not aware existed and
so it will benefit our careers
programme in the future”
The biggest challenge is ensuring that we connect with all of our
students and they all receive the information. It’s really difficult
to monitor their progress when we are not together in school. In
addition, depending on family situation, it is often challenging to
get in touch with students and parents in order to follow up on
important careers advice and guidance.
Obviously, students are unable to visit workplaces at the moment
and so this is having an impact on their careers development,
but we are giving them access to employer encounters where
possible, remotely. There are huge opportunities for careers
leaders in the current situation, as it is giving us time to look in
detail at our careers programmes and improve them.
We are embracing lots of opportunities that we were not aware
existed, so it will benefit our careers programme in the future.
This current situation is also really supporting students to develop
their employability and transferable skills as they are having to
be more independent and using more skills in order to manage
their time and access resources themselves.
Sarah Beeton
Head of careers
at St Peter’s
High School,
Gloucestershire,
& Pershore High
School,
Worcestershire
’m continuing to support young people by
I
ensuring they are aware that a wide range of
opportunities will still be available to them
when we come through this pandemic.
For example, I’m compiling weekly careers
bulletins updating students and their parents/
carers about applications to sixth form,
college, apprenticeships and university. I’m also sharing links to
careers webinars, careers websites such as Prospects and SACU,
online internships and courses to brush up on employability skills.
Students and their parents/carers are also emailing me for specific
careers advice and support where required.
The biggest challenges have been not being able to interview
students face to face as well as having to cancel the wide range
of careers events and activities we had planned for the summer
term. However, many employers from different professions, and
careers-related organisations, have come up with imaginative
ways of working.
“Employers from different
professions have come up with
imaginative ways of working”
The government has also launched a free online learning platform
for anyone wishing to boost workplace skills, and UniTasterDays
delivers university guidance webinars every Tuesday to support
post-16 students considering university.
Nichola
Sherrington
Head of careers,
West Hill School,
Tameside
W
e are getting in touch with all pupils who need
help obtaining places at post-16 at an uncertain
time. Vulnerable pupils and potential NEETs
(not in education, employment or training)
are able to complete guidance interviews
remotely. We are also publicising Speakers
For Schools virtual talks with a range of
inspirational speakers (see page 15).
Ensuring that all pupils are engaging in careers guidance is a
challenge. Some families do not have access to suitable IT which
has become even more vital to our communication. Through
donations, we were able to provide 15 pupils with IT resources
before the national scheme was announced.
Opportunities include educators having time to devote to our
own CPD and to review our teaching programmes and resources.
For young people, there is an opportunity to reflect and spend
more time than usual on careers research. We have created a
weekly careers research log.
“Opportunities include time
to devote to our own CPD and
to review our teaching
programmes and resources”
Our year 11 leavers have been offered the opportunity to complete
an online course created by Eton College at no cost to the school
or pupils. We hope that this will help provide them with an answer
to the inevitable interview question: “What did you do with your
time during lockdown?”
Read more profiles of your peers at
www.futuretalented.co.uk