QUARRYDALE ACADEMY AND D2N2

FIRST CONTACT My first introduction to LEP and D2N2 was in 2016 when I attended a workshop and met my designated school Enterprise Coordinator Berni Dickinson.

Information I was informed of the ambition of D2N2 to implement the Employability Framework for all young people.

End of Workshop By the end of the workshop, I understood about D2N2 Employability Framework and how the framework links to Careers Statutory Guidance and the Ofsted Common Framework. I also had an overview of the D2N2 Employability Toolkit and how to embed the framework into the schools CEIAG policy and the SIP (School Improvement Plan).

D2N2 Assessment I then completed the Assessment for schools/academies which enabled our academy to go through a rigorous process to assess where we were in terms of achieving the framework and the 10 Employability Goals.

10 goals 1. Self-motivated 2. Self-Assured 3. Aspirational 4. Informed 5. Experienced 6. Achieving 7. Accountable 8. Resilient 9. Entrepreneurial 10. Co-operative

Introduction to enterprise adviser At the next meeting I was introduced to the academies Enterprise Adviser Peter Roberts from Collis Engineering who informed me he was an ex Quarrydale pupil which was quite apt.

writing together a careers programme Peter and myself discussed how his role could benefit the academy and how he could offer advice on developing our careers and enterprise strategies and employer engagement, drawing on his expertise of the local business networks.

Meeting the academy careers governor Peter and myself then had a meeting with the Careers Governor to plan the academies Career Programme for 2017-2018. We did also meet last year and planned the 2018-2019 Career Programme reflecting on what went well and what didn’t in the previous year. In the past this is a meeting I would have had with the SLT.

Support from enterprise adviser Having Peter as Quarrydale’s Adviser has assisted the school in many ways. Peter has and continues to offer support to the school by visits to his workplace, offering work placements to pupils, attending Mock Interview day, speaking to the pupils in assembly and networking with other local businesses. He also supported the school in the Junior Enterprise Competition last year.

Careers local Through D2N2 and Peter’s support I have been successful in obtaining two Careers Local Enterprise Grants which has enabled the school to support young people who are at the risk of NEET and raised awareness of the employment opportunities locally.

To conclude Completing the D2N2 Employability Framework Assessment enabled the Academy to have a clear strategy which helped develop and link to the School Improvement Plan and helped write the Careers Policy.

What’s next I have worked in education for 15 years and seen lots of changes in Careers. The new DofEd Careers Statutory guidelines came out in October 2018 advising that schools should adopt the new Gatsby Benchmarks and meet them by 2020. There is also the New Ofsted Frameworks coming out in Sept 2019 with information on how careers in schools will be assessed. The workplace is changing at an incredible rate, with more advanced technology. Some trades are dying out whilst we will have jobs in the future that don’t even exist now and it is essential that schools move forward and prepare children of today for the jobs of tomorrow. With the support of my Enterprise Adviser I am sure we will work hard to accomplish this and we are currently working on the Careers Programme for 2019/20.