Careers Information Advice and Guidance

Motivation, Careers and Community Lead: Michael Rafferty m.rafferty@warriner.oxon.sch.uk

Careers Administration Support: Anna Morton a.morton@warriner.oxon.sch.uk   

Both Mr Rafferty and Mrs Morton can also be contacted by telephone through the main Reception on 01295 720777.

 Careerpilot offers a wide range of online tools and information about careers.

The Warriner School has a proactive strategy for the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) that we provide to young people.  The strategy is embedded within a clear framework outlined below.  It reflects the school’s ethos and meets the needs of all students by focussing on the Eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance:

1.  A stable careers programme 
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

We provide access to a range of activities that inspire young people, including employer talks, a careers fair, motivational speakers, college and university visits.  We also consider the needs of students who require more sustained or intensive support before they are ready to make career decisions.  Mentoring is an important part of delivering against the duty of the school to deliver impartial careers advice.  Careers education is provided across the year groups during Tutorial time where weekly activities, tailored to the year group, are provided across specific terms throughout the school year.  In addition to this, enrichment activities support careers awareness and subjects are encourage to integrate careers into their individual curricula.

Support for all years delivered as modules within the Tutorial framework

From the start of life at The Warriner, pupils are coached into being aware of the reason that they are at school.  The greater this awareness, the clearer the goals of the students and the more motivation is evident.  This self-motivation is invaluable in terms of success for young people.  We actively encourage the ‘I want to be a…’ philosophy from an early age.

Year 7 focus: Personal attributes - developing self-awareness with a view to future career choices  

Year 8 focus: The importance of education in allowing choice – ensuring pupils understand the benefits of a good education and experience

Year 9 focus: Qualifications and gaining experience – focussing on the importance of choosing the correct options and using the school environment to support qualifications with achievements and experience.

Year 10 focus: Skills for employment - utilising the tools of work experience, CV and letters of application writing and mock interviews to introduce students to the process of embarking on a career.  Exploring places of further education is also part of enrichment.

Year 11 focus: Preparation for post 16 opportunities – ensuring that students develop a goal for their next stage of education in order to provide purpose to their studies.

Years 12 and 13 focus: Working with the future in mind - Sixth Form students are provided with comprehensive advice and guidance from the outset on Post 18 options including; the UCAS progress; apprenticeship routes and alternative options.  We utilise a number of guest speakers throughout the year to ensure students are given a broad range of options to consider as well as visiting a number of universities for open days and careers events.  All Year 12 students are required to undertake community service and at least one MOOC over the course of the year to ensure that all applications and CVs are of the highest calibre.  A further week of work experience is also mandatory which should support post 18 applications.

Please contact Mr Rafferty if you would like further information about our Careers programme.

Impartial Careers support
The Warriner School invests in the services of professional (level 6) careers advisors to support appropriately with extra careers advice.  Individual appointments can be arranged where this support is required. Appointments are booked through their tutor.

We are fervent supporters of the value of work experience which allows students to gain key insights into the world of work, its demands and opportunities.