Careers Guidance

There is a wealth of strong evidence to suggest that providing young people with opportunities to learn about the world of work and reflect on their place within it can make a real difference to their future lives. Here at Silverdale, we are proud to offer a range of ways for our students to learn about careers and gain experience, first hand.

Career education and guidance is an important part of preparing our students for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. At the end of Year 11, our young people will need to make informed choices about their future learning and career pathways, and at Silverdale we aim to make sure they have the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about their next steps.

From Year 7, Silverdale School provides all our learners with a programme of career education through PSHE lessons, to help them move into post-16 and post-18 choices that suit their skills, interests, personality and values. Students are encouraged to increase their self-awareness, and consider what is important to them in the world of work and beyond. The programme also helps students increase their career and job knowledge, build career planning and management skills.

We are striving to deliver a high quality careers education and guidance, so are focusing on implementing the government recommended Gatsby Benchmarks:

A stable careers programme.
Learning from career and labour market information.
Addressing the needs of each student.
Linking curriculum learning to careers.
Encounters with employers and employees.
Experiences of workplaces.
Encounters with further and higher education.
Personal guidance.

At key decision points in their school life, and when needed, students have the opportunity to have careers meetings. At this time, they can talk about their ideas for the future, look at the range of options after they leave school and plan the steps to achieve their end goal.

We recognise the vital role parents play in assisting young people making career decisions, and welcome enquiries from parents, and can provide support through phone calls, emails and arranging dedicated appointments.

Our careers information on local opportunities for work, volunteering, education and apprenticeships is available through our careers library resources, careers drop ins, assemblies, form tutors and noticeboards.

You can also find more in our Careers Policy, which which can be found on our policies page.

Careers support for students

Work related learning

As part of the PSHE course, all Key Stage 3 students complete a half term of work based around their economic wellbeing each year. Over the course of three years students will cover a range of subjects such as: recognising the difference between wants and needs, managing their pocket money, interest rates, payday loans, and local labour market information and which careers different subjects can lead to.

Enterprise activities

Participation in a Young Enterprise programme can foster positive attitudes towards self-employment. At Silverdale our business team runs the ‘Big Challenge’ competition, in which teams are given £25 put into practice a business plan to try to make as much profit as possible. In 2018 one of our Year 10 teams won the overall prize - resulting in a trip for them to Copenhagen! Each Christmas sees the Enterprise Fair, in which students run stalls to raise money for charity.

Work Experience 2024-25

All Year 10 students complete a week of work experience to develop insight into the day-to-day role of an employee in an organisation, building on skills learned in the classroom and seeing the application of those skills in real life situations. The dates for this are 30th June - 4th July 2025.

Year 11 Post-16 day

In the winter term, Silverdale School hosts a post-16, off timetable day, in which all Year 11 students access a range of workshops to help them make the big decisions about their future. These include: how to search for and chooses courses with a representative from UCAS Progress; CV and cover letter writing hosted by the department for work and pensions (DWP); local labour market information with a representative from the Job Centre’s Schools Outreach (LMI); mock interviews with personnel from local businesses; a talk from the Sheffield College; advice about apprenticeships from the council’s apprenticeships service, Skills Made Easy; Sixth Form taster sessions.

C.V. writing workshops

Interactive workshops that offer individual support to student to build a CV and cover letter to match their skill set and aspirations.

Career and Employability Manager: Helen Elmore

Helen Elmore is a fully qualified and independent Careers Adviser, who organises and delivers the careers events. Mrs Elmore has a one-to-one interview with each Year 11 student to discuss their post-16 options and offer impartial advice. Silverdale’s careers program is committed to offering support which is student centred and the impartiality of our advice is a key part of this. Mrs Elmore also runs drop in sessions for any student with questions about university and careers.

You can contact her at careers@silverdale.chorustrust.org or you can call the school reception on 0114 236 9991 and ask to speak to her.

Useful factsheets

Click on the documents on this page to get some tips on topics such as preparing for interviews or writing a personal statement.

Careers support from employers

Interested in offering your time to our young people but don’t know where to start? Check out our menu of business participation for a way to get involved.

Work experience

Each year in the last two weeks of the school year (typically mid-July), all Year 10 students complete two weeks of work experience to develop insight into the day- to-day role of an employee in an organisation, building on skills learned in the classroom and seeing the application of those skills in real life situations.

Mock interviews

Mock interviews provide our students with an opportunity to practise for a situation which many will have never been in before. During the session, employers ask a range of interview questions, provide feedback on how the student performed and offer advice on how to improve their technique.

Careers talks

Talk to our students about your industry and your journey. This could be as a 15 minute assembly to a whole year group; to a class of children as part of their timetabled lessons for between 15 – 50 minutes; or to a small group who are already interested in your profession.

Mentoring

We are particularly in need of mentors to work with our students with additional learning needs. These children often have the most challenging experience when it comes to finding job. Mentoring, work shadowing and placements can really open doors to them in a meaningful way. If you are interested in working with one of our students we can provide help and information about learning disabilities, and support you to make a real, tangible difference in a young person’s life.

Volunteer as a guest speaker

Do you have expertise in a particular area that would be of interest to our students? Do you have a job or career that they may wish to find out more about? Perhaps you are a former student and want to pass on your life lessons?

Access Provider Statement

Our Access Provider Policy Statement is available on our policies page and sets out the school's arrangements for managing the access of providers to students at the school for the purpose of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997. Students in Years 7 – 13 are entitled:

To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point.
To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships, through options events, assemblies, group discussions and taster events.
To understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

A provider wishing to request access should contact the Careers and Employability Manager at careers@silverdale.chorustrust.org.

Silverdale School