Student Services

Staff
Personal Tutor System
Careers Education
I A G
Work Related Learning/Enterprise
Work Experience
Connexions
Alternative provision

Staff

Daniel Hearnden

Overall responsibility for the department and its staff. Mr Hearnden ensures that the delivery of all Student Services related activities and work is of the highest standard, this includes the management and organisation of the school's academic reporting procedure and all Parent Consultation Days and Evenings.

Emma Darby

Apart from Sixth Form responsibilities, Miss Darby has Day to day responsibility for setting up, monitoring and reviewing the most appropriate college or alternative provision placements for recommended Key stage 4 pupils. She also ensures that pupils on placement achieve tothe best of their ability, through ongoing individual support, a strong working relationship with placement providers and regular reviews.

Rachel Reynolds

Mrs reynolds is the initial point of contact for the Student Services department and has day to day responsibility for Student Services administration and co-ordination of year 10 work experience.

Personal Tutor System

At Bishop Challoner there is a whole school focus on teaching and learning and a drive to raise levels of attainment across all areas of the curriculum.

A key part of this process is individual dialogue between teachers and students. This occurs at many levels across the school:

with subject teachers during curriculum time
with Heads of Department
with Heads of Year
with parents/guardians
with Personal Tutors

One of our key strategies to ensure that this occurs regularly and for every student the majority of this is delivered through the Personal Tutor System.

All students are allocated a Personal Tutor who takes a professional interest in and shows concern for his/her students academic and pastoral well-being throughout the whole of their secondary school career. Every teacher in their role as a Personal Tutor will have responsibility to make sure that students are able to:

KS3
Make choices in Year 9
Reflect on their strengths
Plan targets

KS4
Assess qualities, skills and achievements so they can set personal goals
Manage praise and criticism in a positive way and learn from their experiences
Negotiate and plan Post 16 choices

There are regular meetings of Personal Tutor Groups during which time there are discussions with individuals/year groups, as required.

Students are encouraged to compile a folder of evidence for their Personal Development Portfolio.

Tutors work with students to set targets, following the publication of assessment data.

Tutors distribute and discuss reports at annual parents evenings and during consultation days.

Tutors offer individual counselling and advice to students as necessary, liaising with other staff and with parents/guardians, where appropriate.

The member of staff responsible for the Personal Tutor System is Daniel Hearnden.

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Careers Education

CEG Policy - pdf

IAG

Bishop Challoner Catholic College
Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) Policy

At Bishop Challoner IAG is part of the personalised support and guidance that young people receive from Year 7 onwards. It includes activities such as assessment, information giving, advice, guidance, counselling, support, enabling, coaching, mentoring, advocacy and referral. These activities help young people to focus on their choices, find the answers to questions, resolve issues, clarify their thinking, make informed decisions and implement realistic plans for future learning and work.

We aim for all IAG to be as impartial as possible, learner focused and provided in response to individual need. All young people require initial IAG. This is the most basic and generic form of IAG and features strongly in careers education and the Personal Tutor system. Some young people require further support and this is provided through in-depth and/or intensive IAG according to individual need with trained staff.

We have statutory duties in relation to career-related IAG. We must:

provide comprehensive, up-to-date information on learning and career opportunities to young people in a location that is accessible for all
make available impartial advice and guidance for young people that is differentiated to meet their individual needs - this may be provided by a range of people from within and outside a school or college.

Additionally, we must give external IAG providers (e.g. Connexions services) relevant information to help them in their work with young people (e.g. learner achievements and destinations) to ensure that individuals receive appropriate advice, guidance and support.

The National Standards for Young People's IAG:

define the government's expectations of the IAG services that Local Authorities, through Children's Trusts, will commission and manage
are the benchmark for the level of IAG services that local consortia must provide in order to fulfil the Diploma Gateway requirements
provide a framework for assessing and improving IAG provision and practice.

Using the Standards as a framework for assessing and improving IAG helps to ensure that provision is responsive to young people's needs. It also facilitates the self-evaluation and assessment that are the starting point for all quality assurance activities, including inspection.

How does IAG at Challoner connect with the Careers Education and Guidance Policy?

Good quality careers education underpins effective career-related IAG. Careers education helps young people to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to make successful choices, manage transitions in learning and move into work. Career-related IAG helps them to use and apply their learning so that they make choices and transitions that work for them.

The IAG flows from learning activities that give young people the time, resources and support to engage in a range of IAG activities such as:

handling information that is relevant to their personal needs, aspirations and situations
embarking on the processes of self assessment and portfolio building
engaging in individual learning and progression planning
getting help and advice to gain experience of different opportunities in learning and work
getting help and advice with the different stages of an application process
getting help to tackle specific personal issues and to implement learning and career plans

IAG activities within careers education generally reveal additional IAG needs that cannot be met through the careers programme. These range from the need for basic help to plug information gaps through to the need for expert help to identify and articulate skills sets and career interests and to develop personal strategies to tackle barriers such as lack of self confidence, low aspirations and stereotyped thinking.

Some of the additional IAG needs identified can be met through adjustments to the careers programme. Some can be met through self-referral (e.g. using drop-in sessions, targeted workshops, surgeries and help lines) and group work or additional one-to-one sessions with an experienced practitioner such as a careers teacher, tutor, mentor, careers or personal adviser. Other needs require specialist input from a qualified practitioner and are generally met through referrals to specialist staff and agencies.

The diagram below indicates where IAG can be accessed by Bishop Challoner students.

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Work Related Learning / Enterprise

Bishop Challoner Catholic College
Career, Work Related Learning and Enterprise 11-19 Policy

Introduction

Rationale

'Economic wellbeing 11-19: career, work related learning and enterprise', (2008) replaces the nine element framework for work related learning developed in 2003. It takes account of the government's 14-19 reform programme, the strategy for enterprise, and developments in careers education, information, advice and guidance. It provides a context for the school to fulfil their legal responsibility to provide opportunities for careers education at key stage 3 and for careers and work related learning at key stage 4.

Commitment

The school is committed to providing a planned programme of careers, work related learning and enterprise.

The school endeavours to follow the Framework for career, work related learning and enterprise 11-19 to support economic well being (QCA, 2008), the National Framework for CEG 11-19 in England (DfES, 2003), the Young People's IAG Standards (DCSF, 2007) and other relevant guidance from DfES, DCSF, QCA and Ofsted that appears.

We aspire to develop and promote a whole school approach to work related learning and to deliver the statuary requirement for all students using the nine elements of provision as outlined in the framework.

Development

The policy was developed and is reviewed biennially in discussion with teaching staff; the school's Connexions personal adviser, students, parents, governors, advisory staff and other external partners.

Links with other policies

This policy supports and is itself underpinned by a range of key school policies, especially those for Careers Education and Guidance, Information, Advice and Guidance, teaching and learning, assessment, recording and reporting achievement, citizenship, PSHE, equal opportunities and diversity, gifted and talented, children in care and SEN.

Students' Needs

The programme is designed to meet the needs of students at this school. It is differentiated for each year group to ensure progression through activities that are appropriate to student's stages of career, learning, planning and development.

Entitlement

Students are entitled to career, work related learning and enterprise which meets professional standards of practise.

Through appropriate use of the framework:

We aim to enable every student to learn through work, about work and for work and to be able to practice enterprising skills and behaviour that will equip them appropriately for life's inevitable pace of change and uncertainty- in the work place, in family, home life and in further study.
We aim to enhance the curriculum by adding relevance and increasing interest through the use of real life contexts, case studies, simulations and practical experiences.
We aim to support the wider development of vocational learning with the introduction of the Diploma in school.
We aim to develop quality links with businesses, the local community, other learning providers and with our partner support agencies.
We want to equip students with the key skills, attitudes and qualities necessary to make a successful progression to adult and working life.
We want to ensure that the benefits and experiences gained from enterprise and work related learning are valued, assessed and reported on wherever possible.

Implementation

Management

The Head of Student Services manages the programme and is responsible to a Vice Principal. He works alongside the Head of Business and Enterprise and Head of PSHE and is responsible for the work of the Student Services Officer, Administrator, Connexions PA and BXL/EBL Advisor. Work Experience is planned and implemented by the Head of Student Services and the Administrator.

Staffing

All staff contributes to the delivery in their roles as subject teachers, form tutors and personal tutors. Specialist sessions are delivered by the PSHE team. Heads of Department are ultimately responsible for implementing work related learning elements into their subject curriculum and schemes of work.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes group work, sessions delivered by specialist staff in form time and personal tutor time, career, work related learning and enterprise days, information and research activities (OLC/Library), through the work experience programme.

Students are actively involved in the planning, delivery and evaluation of activities.

Assessment and Accreditation

The intended learning outcomes and minimum provision at each key stage are based on the framework and are assessed using assessment for learning (AfL) techniques.

Partnerships

An annual partnership agreement is negotiated between the school and BXL (formerly Education Business Links) which identifies the contributions to the programme that each will make. Other partnerships exist within the south network collegiate with business and learning providers.

Resources

Funding is allocated in the annual budget in the context of whole school priorities and particular needs of the area. The Head of Student Services is responsible for the effective deployment of resources. Sources of external funding are actively sought.

Staff Development

Staff training needs are identified as part of the partnership agreement with BXL and in conjunction with the school inset co-ordinator. Funding is provided both from BXL and from school funds. The school will endeavour to meet training needs within a reasonable period of time.

Monitoring, Review and Evaluation

The partnership agreement with BXL is reviewed termly. The programme is reviewed annually by the Head of Student Services, Head of Business and Enterprise and a member of SMT to identify areas of improvement and good practice. There is a work related learning audit that is completed by Head's of Department and students annually.

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Work Experience

Connexions

The partnership that exists between Connexions and Bishop Challoner is a strong one. Good organisation is the key to its success. Connexions deliver one to one interviews and group work in school throughout the year and we work closely with them to ensure that these events run smoothly. At least every half term a meeting takes place with key members of staff who are directly involved in the work with Connexions i.e. Student Services staff and SENCO as well as staff involved in highlighting potential NEET pupils in different year groups i.e. Attendance Officer and Behaviour Support. These meetings provide an excellent opportunity to make sure pupils receive the correct level of support according to their individual needs. Work carried out in school is agreed by Connexions staff and Students Services and is subsequently drawn up in the Partnership Agreement. This is then followed to ensure that work is meeting agreed objectives, which in turn equates to pupils receiving the required information, advice and guidance. Progress of work being done is reviewed at the half termly meetings.

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Alternative Provision

Alternative provision at Bishop Challoner aims to prepare students for the world of work by equipping them with the necessary skills and experience in vocational areas which will inspire them to fulfill their potential and enable them to make a valuable contribution to society.

South Birmingham Collegiate

Bishop Challoner RC College is part of the South Collegiate which consists of 14 Secondary schools, South Birmingham College and work based learning providers. This gives a number of pupils in years 10 and 11 the opportunity to participate in one of a number of vocational programmes one day a week. The most popular amongst our students in recent years have been: Motor vehicle, Construction and Beauty. If pupils are interested in this option and pass the assessment test, they begin a two year level 1 programme in their preferred vocational area.

Alternative to collegiate

For those students who are not suited to the collegiate arrangements, alternative placement are found when appropriate which better suit the needs and interests of the pupils. We have strong links with a wide range of work based learning providers and projects in the local area which provide pupils with a unique opportunity to experience their preferred area of interest and work towards vocational qualifications.

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