Raising Aspirations

Raising Aspirations

DfE Career Strategy 2017 

We want every person, no matter what their background is and no matter where they are from, to be able to build a rewarding career. In a fast- changing economy, it is essential that we make school and work more closely connected than ever before so young people from all backgrounds have the knowledge, skills and experience to succeed. 

Research shows that children as young as 6 years old have ideas about what they can and can't do in the future and that gender and social stereotyping starts at a very early age. Therefore, at Hetton Lyons Primary School we aim to strive to raise the aspirations of all children, so that they can learn skills for life, and be prepared for life after primary shcool.

In September 2019 our school became part of the North East Raising Aspirations Project https://www.northeastambition.co.uk/about . since embarking on this project we aim to help our children to link the learning they do in school with the world of work. The work will also help them to understand that they can be what ever they want to be. We have done this by working towards the Gatsby Benchmarks https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance to provide the children in our school with good, high quality career guidance so that they are able to make informed decisions about their future.

In our school we aim to provde children with valuable, high-quality career based experiences. A child cannot dream about a career as a Scientist, if they do not have a full understanding of the role of a scientist, if they have never met a scientist and do not fully understand the role of a scientist - so it is our aim to expose the children to as many career opportunities and pathways in education as possible before they leave our school in Year 6. We aim to help our children to have ambitions and aspirations for themselves, to help to open their eyes to the range of possibilities their futures hold.  Helping them to learn about the variety of jobs open to them and the fantastic range of opportunities we have in the North East, and to gain a broad understanding of the routes to get into work, including the essential skills and attitudes required to be successful in the workplace.

Please find below useful links that can be used by parents to support your child's developing understanding of careers education and support conversations at home around careers and pathways through education.

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers 

https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/careerometer/

https://www.northeastambition.co.uk/toolkits/labour-market-insights-toolkit

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zdqnxyc

https://nationalcareersweek.com/parentsguide/

https://www.theparentsguideto.co.uk/free-resources

During National Careers Week we worked with people from different industries and learned about career paths, including attending college and apprenticeships. 

Year 6 attended Gateshead College and took part in STEM workshops, the explored campus, worked with lecturers and students and got a taste of College life.

Year 5 took part in a virtual workshop with a Chemical Engineer from Univar Solutions. They found out about the routes to getting a job in this industry, the importance it plays worldwide and the skills which are vital to be able to carry out the roles successfully. 

Key Stage Two worked with the NHS and took part in workshops on The Melissa Bus. They learned about careers within the NHS, the brain, CPR.

Year 4 took part in a virtual workshop with The BBC and they learned all about the roles behind the scenes, the importance of time keeping and also tackled gender stereotypes within the sporting industry.

Year 2 looked at tackling stereotypes within different careers and had a virtual sessions with Budding Futures. they explored the hidden skills needed to be successful in a job, including listening skills, team work and effective communication.