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Student Info
Careers Learning Journey
Careers Support
Who are we?
Mrs Linsell - KMAT Careers Lead
Mrs Florance - Careers Advisor
Mrs Florance and Mrs Linsell
Where are we?
Next door to main reception under the covered seating area.
How can I get in touch?
Appointments for one-to-one personal guidance sessions will be sent out to students.
All students are welcome to call in at breaktimes and lunchtimes, Monday – Thursday (Careers department will be available most times, although sometimes staff will be out at meetings/events)
Ask your teacher to arrange an appointment for you.
Or email the careers staff: Mrs Florance s.florance@twa.kmat.org.uk
Mrs Linsell s.linsell@kmat.org.uk
Explore University Pathways and Critical Thinking
We are pleased to share the presentations from UCL's (University of Central London) recent visit to Westwood Academy. The first presentation, aimed at Year 11, introduces the concept of university, post 16 options, and highlights the importance of ambition and future planning.
The second presentation, designed for Sixth Form students, explores critical thinking using engaging topics like Jeremy Bentham and the Trolley Problem, while also covering study skills, interdisciplinary approaches, and career pathways. These resources provide valuable insights into higher education and skills for future success.
Year 11 Starting your Higher Education journey
Year 12 and 13 - Thinking like a university student
Choosing GCSEs and A-Levels.
We have created these guides to help students with their 'next step decisions' when choosing GCSE options and A-Levels.
The Careers department is also very happy to help, and any student is welcome to come and chat to Mrs Florance or Mrs Linsell
Remember to use Unifrog (This is the school's digital careers platform) Sign In - Unifrog .
All students use their school email address as their username and the password they set when they first logged in. Any students who have forgotten their password can follow the 'reset password' link on the Unifrog sign in page. Any students experiencing problems logging in can contact Mrs Linsell for help s.linsell@kmat.org.
The Westwood Academy: Virtual Work Experience Year 12 – Information for Students and Families
This information sheet explains what virtual work experience is, why it matters, and how students can take part. It includes key requirements, recommended platforms, safety guidance, and who to contact for help. Please read this carefully if you are considering completing virtual work experience during work experience week.
YEAR 10 - 12 WORK EXPERIENCE
Work Experience Guide for students
How to find work experience Year 10 and 12
At The Westwood Academy we follow the good practice guidance laid down by the Eight Gatsby Benchmarks which secondary schools and colleges can use to improve their career guidance programme.
Gatsby Benchmark 6 states that: Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
We will be running Work Experience for Year 10 on July 14th - 18th 2025 and for Year 12 on July 7th- 9th 2025
Placements at this point in time, will be a great help with exploring future career pathways and gaining workplace skills. All work experience can also be recorded on CVs and personal statements ready for employment, apprenticeship or university applications.
Pupils will be spoken to about Work Experience during upcoming assemblies and we will help them as much as we can. They will also be given a Work Experience guide. It is important this is read through carefully as it contains details regarding consent forms and information about Health and Safety and Safeguarding. We will be using the Unifrog Work Placements tool for students to add details of their work experience placements, fill in the necessary forms, and check the progress of employer, parent and school coordinator forms.
All students should be able to login to their Unifrog accounts using their school email address.
Unifrog have created a set of guides about placements which you can find at the link below.
within this set of guides, this is the best one to start with
how to use the placements tool(it includes a short animation of how the whole process works).
If any student needs any help with this please contact Mrs Linsell, KMAT Careers Lead. S.Linsell@kmat.org.uk
IN-PERSON WORK EXPERIENCE.
Each student will be expected to attempt to arrange their own placement with the support from parents, relatives, friends, the school and other contacts.
Any opportunities that the school becomes aware of will communicated to Year 10. The Work Experience guide will give hints and tips and discuss the Health & Safety, Insurance and Safeguarding requirements
There is a CV template on Unifrog with additional guidance and examples of application letters below
VIRTUAL WORK EXPERIENCE.
Virtual work experience companies (document attached)
* N.B This is information for any student as can be carried out to suit a student’s personal schedule. E.g holidays etc.
Due to changing work practices over recent years, many organisations offer hybrid working models which combine working from home as well as in an office / workplace setting.
Virtual work experience is now more widely available and has become another way for students to undertake work experience or occasionally supplement an in-person placement. Virtual placements can have the advantage of a global reach; however, students may not feel that they get the full experience of actually being in the workplace.
For any work experience - whether in person or virtual - to be meaningful and beneficial to the students it is important that there is a clear objective and outcome.
We recommend students look at reputable companies dedicated to free high quality virtual work experience placements. These can sometimes be found on a company website, for example, Coventry Building Society.
These include:
springpodStudents receive a certificate from the employer at the end of the programme for use in CVs, Personal Statements and future interviews.
The sessions all feature live interaction, allowing students to ask any burning questions directly to the experts.
Tasks will be set during the programme which will be marked upon completion, helping students to gain career knowledge and experience
speakersforschools: Virtual and in-person wok experience with top employersOur aspirational engagements, put young people in touch with the very best, to spark their ambitions and the belief in what is possible for the future.
forage - free virtual work experience program from top companiesAt Forage, every student has a chance to get ahead by building a resume, experiencing what the real work looks like and learning critical skills, working with employers world-wide. They provide bite-sized 5-6 hour virtual work experience programs that they claim give students a genuine career advantage with the world's top companies
Remember, pupils can take part in as many activities as they have time for!
Any additional opportunities that come to the attention of the school will be signposted in the school newsletter/
N.B Student Handbooks, Diaries and Feedback forms will be posted on the website in due course.
Any questions please contact Mrs. Linsell (Head of Careers): s.linsell@kmat.org.uk
Careerometer (LMI For All)
Use Careerometer to compare important labour market information for up to three different job roles
How much will I get paid?
Are jobs shrinking or growing in this area?
How many hours a week will I work?
Skillsometer (LMI For All)
Not sure what you want to do in the future?
Use Skillsometer to help you to identify key skills for your future career. You can use this as a guide to help you to understand which careers match your skills.
Post 18 Key Information
Options available:-
- University course
- Advanced, Higher or Degree Apprenticeship
- Further or Higher Education at a college
- A job with training and/or study
- Gap Year
- Internship or work experience placement
University Course:
There are many different types of higher education courses available, and they all include any sort of nationally recognised qualification which is at Level 4 or above (A Levels, BTEC Level 3 and Advanced Apprenticeships are all Level 3 qualifications). A degree starts at Level 4 and progresses to Level 6 in the third year.
Although in the past these courses were only delivered at universities, they are now offered at colleges and also some training providers too. So, if you have Level 3 qualifications you could explore higher level qualifications and see if there's anything suited to you.
Degree courses are generally 3 years but can be longer or perhaps include optional years such as an industry placement abroad..
The application procedure for university is managed via UCAS.
Some universities such as Oxford and Cambridge have additional entrance exams and some courses, such as Medicine, also have an additional admissions test.
Advanced, Higher or Degree Apprenticeship:
If you are doing A Levels or other Level 3 qualifications, such as BTECs or NVQs, you might be considering an apprenticeship when you have completed them.
An apprenticeship is a great choice if you want to train for a specific job sector and earn money at the same time. There are different apprenticeship opportunities developing all the time.
However, there are a few things you need to consider:
- Apprenticeship vacancies for the summer after you finish your A Levels/other Level 3 qualifications are advertised throughout the year and the closing dates can vary. Therefore, if you are undecided about whether to choose an apprenticeship or a higher education route, it is probably best to apply for higher education courses as well as looking for apprenticeship vacancies. If you get an apprenticeship you can always turn down any university offers.
- You can register for alerts about vacancies on gov.uk, look at companies' websites or send off speculative applications to places that you like the look of and are offering the right type of work. Apprenticeships are popular so apply early if possible.
- Remember that for some jobs, there is no apprenticeship pathway, and formal education through a university degree is the only access to these occupations, e.g. vet, doctor, lawyer, etc.
College course
Although many people go to a further-education college at 16, after their GCSEs, you can also attend at 17 or 18.
Colleges offer a wide range of courses including Vocational subjects, Apprenticeships that are based with a paying employer, Access, and foundation courses.
Job with training or study
When you have finished school, sixth form or college you might want to start work, rather than stay in full-time education.
Some employers offer opportunities to gain further qualifications whilst employed
Options for working while training or studying include:
Employer supported training where an employer sponsors or provides relevant training in their skill sector..
Part-time degree
- Vocational degrees - these courses contain strong practical work links, and include subjects such as medicine, dentistry and nursing.
- Foundation degrees - these are preparatory courses lasting one or two years that allow school leavers to gain the entry requirements needed to study for a degree.
- HNC/D - a Higher National Certificate or Diploma is a work-related course that is more vocationally focussed than a traditional degree. Typically, they take between three and four years to complete.
- Employer Sponsored Degrees - Some professional services firms offer school and college leaver programmes where you join the company as a salaried employee and the firm pay your degree tuition fees and often guarantee you a permanent position on completion.
- Distance learning - this involves taking a course where you learn remotely, and don't have any regular face-to-face contact with teachers in a classroom or a lecture theatre such as with The Open University. Student Finance is still available for these options.
Gap Year
Alternatively, if you feel you need a break from studying, a gap year abroad could be the answer. Other than travelling, options include:
- working in a temporary job or gaining work experience
- volunteering both within the UK and Abroad.
- learning a new skill or gaining additional qualifications.
Start a business
Starting your own business can be an immensely rewarding experience, although involves hard work and investment.
If you have a great idea, want to develop it into a product/service that you can sell, and are motivated by challenge and learning skills and knowledge, this could be an option.
Princes Trust and your local LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) are two organisations offering grants, mentoring and support to young people wanting to start their own business.
General Points to Consider and useful websites:
Research universities by reading their prospectuses, websites and attending their open days/ career events.
You can apply to both university and for apprenticeships. If you are at all unsure it is fine to do both to keep your options open.
Ensure course entry requirements match your predicted/target grades. It is always worth phoning the course provider if you have questions or are unsure. There is sometimes flexibility for admissions criteria.
Create a good CV to be in with the best chance. You will probably have a lot more skills and selling points than you realised! The school will run CV writing workshops and there are many online sources if further inspiration is needed.
Apprenticeships and Degree apprenticeships information, including detailed advice on specific sectors.
General career advice,
UCAS. Degree and Apprenticeships
https://careerfinder.ucas.com/jobs/apprenticeship/
https://careerfinder.ucas.com/jobs/apprenticeship/
Government Apprenticeships website
https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
Search over 2,500 positions for Work experience, Internships, Apprenticeships and Graduate Schemes.
https://www.studentladder.co.uk /
General Career Websites
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
Studential.com has in-depth information and advice for all students on A Levels, Apprenticeships, Enterprise, Applying to university & more.
Previously Which University website. Can enter ‘A’ levels into a search to match potential courses. Then links to Universities offering courses and detailed information.
https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/a-level-explorer
What Uni? Similar to theuniguide with ideas for course, links to Open days etc.
Princes Trust . Business and employment advice and start-up schemes. .
https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/support-starting-business
Remember!
The school’s careers service can provide further support if required.
