Careers

Creating brighter futures

At Brookthorpe Hall School we aim to provide an individualised education to improve life outcomes, recognising 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 careers programme is designed to give our young people the skills, knowledge and confidence they require to find and access their post-16 pathway that suits their individual needs.

Using the Gatsby Benchmarks and CDI Framework as a guide, Careerpilot and the AQA Unit Award Scheme accreditation materials 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 advice from an independent, level 6 Careers Advisor on request.

Emma Watkins – Careers Lead and AAD Champion

Emma is our Careers Lead and AAD Champion for Brookthorpe after 31 years of retail with a leading supermarket in a variety of roles and stores, Emma felt that her experience would be valuable to our students. She was a Senior Manager for 20 years where she supported young people on work experience, gaining valuable experience of work and shaping many young people’s careers within retail and beyond, enabling them to grow in social and communication skills. Emma is also a Foster Carer working with teenagers, supporting them to reach their potential.

Emma has been in this role for 1 year and teaches the Incredible Futures Careers Curriculum for the Upper Phase and Transition Class. Lower Phase students have weekly Careers lessons looking at personal skills and employability skills. Each Module works towards an AQA Unit Award Accreditation. Careers is not just about employment, it is also about teaching life skills, whether this be cooking, social and communication skills, looking to invite employers and employees to the school to talk to our students about what work involves and what qualifications and/or skills are needed in the workplace.

Brookthorpe are building the Careers plan and look to build relationships with the Community and other educational providers to give a balanced offering to our students. Part of Emma’s role is to build relationships with parents and work together to find the best option for their young person. Further information on how you can get involved with supporting students will be emailed.

Careers Lead, Emma Watkins: Emma.Watkins@brookthorpehallschool.co.uk Tel: 01452 717004

Futures/Careers Advisor, Oli Masters: Oli.Masters@ofgl.co.uk

The Gatsby Benchmarks

The Gatsby benchmarks are seen as best practice for careers guidance within schools. These are used to measure our program and complete termly Compass evaluations. The Gatsby benchmarks are:

Stable careers programme
Learning from career and labour market information
Addressing the needs of each pupil
Linking curriculum learning to careers
Encounters with employers and employees
Experiences of work places
Encounters with Further and Higher Education
Personal guidance

Compass Evaluations

Date	Benchmark 1	Benchmark 2	Benchmark 3	Benchmark 4	Benchmark 5	Benchmark 6	Benchmark 7	Benchmark 8	Total BMs
26/03/25	88%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	80%	100%	6
20/10/23	76%	0%	72%	0%	100%	0%	95%	0%	1

Our next review will be completed October 2025.

The Incredible Futures Careers Programme

The Incredible Futures Careers Programme was created incorporating the CDI Framework into the programme. Information on the AQA Unit Award Scheme accreditation is as follows:

Module 1: All About Me

Module 2: What is a Job

Module 3: Why do we work?

Module 4: Jobs in the Community

Module 5: Investigating Possible Career Options

Module 6: Finding Work

Resources

We have access to Careerpilot, which can be used as a source of information during Careers lessons. 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