At the Esteem South Academy, we strive to provide opportunities for our students to access an array of career learning opportunities. In accordance to the Education Act 2011, section 42A, we ensure a personalised and varied careers package for our students to provide them with the skills to seek out further education and employment in the future.

In accordance with the Gatsby Benchmarks, a framework which defines the best career and employment provisions, all schools should aim to achieve the following 8 criteria for their students:

• A stable careers program
• 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 Workplaces
• Encounters with further education
• Personal Guidance.

At the Esteem South Academy we provide the following opportunities:

1. Raising Aspirations Employability Programme for Year 10-11.

2. A programme that will be supported through key worker sessions that opens up the possibility to a variety of different careers paths through exploration of key skills and areas of interest- Gatsby Benchmark 1, 3.

3. Volunteering- Students support various charity events at the school, including the Macmillan Coffee Morning, Christmas Bazaar’s and Summer BBQ’s- Gatsby Benchmark 4 & 6.

4. Independent Living Skills- Students are taught various life skills including cooking, gardening and laundry to prepare them for living independently- Gatsby Benchmark 3.

5. Life skill Workshops- Workshops are organised for the students on a variety of life skills including banking and first aid- Gatsby Benchmark 3.

6. Employee Encounters- People from different organisations and career paths come to the centre to educate the students from Key stage 2,3 & 4 on their field of work- Gatsby Benchmark 5.

7. Academic & Vocational curriculum- Sessions cover life skills and employability e.g. learning how to write a C.V. and developing employability skills- Gatsby Benchmark 3, 4.

8. Derbyshire Skills Festival- Students from Year 9, 10 & 11 attend a local careers festival to find out about a variety of career choices and how to work towards their chosen career path- Gatsby Benchmark 7.

10. Progression Pathways- Students will attend a variety of local colleges, apprenticeships and 6th forms to look at future education options- Gatsby benchmark 7.

11. Level 7 qualified Careers Guidance Practitioner- The Careers Guidance Practitioner conducts 1:1 sessions and small group sessions providing impartial advice and guidance for Key Stage 3 & 4.- Gatsby Benchmark 8.

12. Access to up-to-date Local Labour Market Information- Academic sessions to cover local labour market information for students to support their understanding of opportunities in different areas- Gatsby Benchmark 2.

13. Work Encounters- Students in Year 10 & Year 11 will get the opportunity to speak to different professionals from a variety of career paths in their establishments– Gatsby Benchmark 5 & 6.

The Esteem South Academy Provider Access Legislation Policy sets out the centre’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to students at the Academy for the purposes of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer. This complies with the legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education act 1997 (the ‘Baker Clause’).

Students in Years 4 – 11 are entitled to: find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point; hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships – through options evening’s, assemblies and group discussions and taster events; understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

Careers Guidance & Information

Local post 16 providers:

Apprenticeships Information: