Careers Education

Excellent Futures – Careers at HGA

At Harris Garrard Academy we believe that a thoughtful, well-planned and implemented careers programme is an essential pillar in building a strong foundation for our students as they prepare for their future.

Our careers programme is based on the GATSBY Benchmarks and Baker Clause and is part of our HGA Promise. HGA Excellent Futures is a comprehensive careers education programme that includes networking experiences, community engagement, and knowledge of local, regional, and national workplaces to support students in realising their potential and shaping their futures.

Our careers vision

Our careers provision raises aspirations, instils ambition, and promotes achievement for our students. We engage, support, and empower our students to build confidence, resilience, and motivation. Students aim high, develop their skills and talents, and achieve their goals.

At an early age, children are exposed to careers and work-related information that develops their sense of enquiry not only about careers and higher/further education but also about their individual skills and aptitudes.

We work to promote careers in a wide range of fields with multiple pathways to success that challenge stereotypes and discrimination, including further education, training, and apprenticeships. You can download our Careers Education Policy and Providers Access Policy/Baker Clause from the bottom of this page.

Harris Garrard provides accurate and focussed careers information, advice, and guidance to meet our students’ individual needs ensuring informed choices. Our Careers Lead, Laury Ntoko, can be reached by email at L.Ntoko@harrisgarrard.org.uk.

Our careers team

Many pupils have high aspirations but are unaware of how to plan for reaching them. Our quality careers guidance will broaden horizons and build cultural capital for our students whatever their background, allowing them the opportunity to find their path to a rewarding career.

Our Careers Advisor is John Milne (john.milne1@harrisfederation.org.uk) from our Harris Federation Careers Team. Students can contact them at any time or drop-in for advice and guidance on Thursdays in the Careers Corner. Click HERE to visit the Harris Federation Careers Education website.

The world is changing rapidly, and it is important to recognise the exciting new opportunities that are available. To prepare our students for this dynamic labour market, we provide information, guidance and explicit teaching of: 

• employability skills, career pathways and progression routes in the local labour market 
• job applications and interviews 
• educational institutions, courses, qualifications, entry requirements and costs 
• employment sectors, employers, jobs, salaries and employment trends 
• jobs, training and apprenticeships 
• financial planning 

Labour market information

When considering exciting opportunities for future careers, it’s important to have a good understanding of employment prospects within different industries, ie. is it a growing or declining sector?

Please use our Labour Market Information for All widget below to explore which careers are projected to grow to help guide your decisions.

It provides access to a selection of UK headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects for different occupations, as well as description of the occupation.

Simply type in the title of the job in which you are interested and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you. You can then look up another two occupations and compare. You can also select ‘display the UK average’ and compare the information with the occupation you have selected.

Our careers programme

Our careers programme is comprehensive and tailored to our students’ needs. This means our careers education is:

• embedded into the tutorial programme across all years
• embedded into the assembly programme across all years
• embedded into academy days across all years.
• including Higher Education, Further Education, training and apprenticeship talks throughout the year
• promoting Green Careers Week
• promoting National Careers Week
• promoting Enterprise Week and links with business
• promoting National Apprenticeship Week
• meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks
• ensuring access to quality information about apprenticeships and other non-academic routes

Download our Careers Curriculum and Delivery Programme

How do we measure and review the impact of our careers progranme?

At Harris Garrard Academy, the impact of the careers programme is measured through a combination of student outcomes, engagement tracking, and alignment with national benchmarks. The school uses the following methods to evaluate and refine its careers provision:

Destinations data: The academy closely monitors the post-16 and post-18 destinations of students, including the percentage who stay in education or training, enter apprenticeships, or become NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). This data is reviewed annually to assess the effectiveness of guidance and support.

Gatsby benchmarks: The careers programme is designed to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks, a national framework for good career guidance. Regular reviews ensure that the programme remains aligned with these standards.

Student feedback and participation: Engagement in careers activities such as work experience, mentoring, and academy days is tracked. Student voice is also used to inform improvements.

Use of digital platforms: Tools like Unifrog and the Skills Builder framework allow students to reflect on their progress, record activities, and assess their development of key employability skills.

Annual review and policy updates: The Careers Education Policy and Delivery Programme are reviewed regularly to ensure they remain relevant and impactful. These documents are publicly available on the school’s website.

Sixth Form retention and progression: The school tracks how many Year 11 students continue into the Sixth Form and how many Year 12 students progress to Year 13, using this as an indicator of satisfaction and success in careers guidance.

This multi-faceted approach ensures that the careers programme at Harris Garrard Academy remains dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of its students.

Next review date: February 2026