Staff

 

As a member of staff you are an important part of the careers provision for FCC students. Whether teaching or non-teaching, you will come into contact with students and you may well be asked careers-based questions or take part in careers-based discussions.

It is important to remember that even though you are an expert in your own field, you are not a trained careers professional; you are not a Careers Advisor and you are not expected to be one. These professionals are trained to at least a Level 6 specialist qualification.  All Year 11 students will have a 1:1 or small-group careers interview with Mel Ponterosso or Helen Sanders; Year 12 students will have another opportunity to meet with Mel. 

If you feel that a student in a different year group would benefit from a 1:1 careers interview please contact Gill Woodman, Careers Leader, to consider/arrange.

However, we should all try to give good advice or at least point students and parents/carers in the right direction whenever we can.  Our job is to help our students to leave us happy, having reached their potential and prepared for the career pathways ahead of them.

So, what can you do?

Here are some ideas:

  • become familiar with the FCC Careers Programme to see what we offer our students

  • embed careers into your subject curriculum to help students see the links between their study now and when they leave us – Xello is used across the school with students, in Citizenship (KS3 and KS4) or Lifeskills (KS5) lessons – if you are not yet using Xello please ask Gill Woodman to add you as a user so that you can use this resource in your lessons. 

  • show our students what is out there in the world of work beyond the school environment by exploring real-life applications of subject skills – your Futures board should have this information displayed on it

  • reinforce the importance of transferrable employability skills, such as responsibility, teamwork, communication, resilience and problem-solving

  • encourage students to take part in extra-curricular activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh award, NCS (National Citizens Service), or any of the careers opportunities they are offered via the weekly bulletin. 

  • keep careers notice boards in department areas up to date; this includes the Futures board in every classroom

  • look at some of the resources on the staff and student page of the careers website to get a flavour of what is out there for our young people these days

  • become familiar with the different qualifications students are offered, beyond GCSE’s and A Levels

  • refer students to Gill Woodman, Careers Leader, in the Careers Office (S13a)  Never be afraid to admit that you do not know the answer yet, but that you will find someone who does very soon.