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Careers Advice

At Southampton Hospital School, we are committed to maximising the life chances of all our young people. We aim to prepare our students for life beyond the hospital and the school. We strive to ensure that where appropriate and possible, students leave SHS with self-awareness, awareness of opportunities available to them and feeling confident and well informed to make life decisions.

To help achieve this we offer a bespoke careers education package to young people who are at the stage in their lives that this is pertinent and essential. Many of our young people have had prolonged periods of absence from their own schools and as a result have missed opportunities to engage in careers education, interviews and events. We aim to fill this gap wherever possible and allow young people to consider a range of career options, giving students the tools to make informed decisions regarding their own life-long-learning and career development. On admission, we work closely with young people and their families to determine if careers education is an immediate priority during their stay. A bespoke programme of learning is then planned and delivered.

Students are entitled to careers education and guidance that is impartial, unbiased and integrated into their experience of the whole curriculum. Individuals will be treated without prejudice and have an entitlement to careers education regardless of race, gender, religion, ability, social background or sexual orientation.

At SHS we understand and are guided by the eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance identified in the Good Career Guidance report:
1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of the workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

Due to our context, there are unavoidable limitations on the opportunities we can offer young people in relation to these benchmark statements. However, we work to eliminate these limitations by finding alternative ways of working that ensure young people are not disadvantaged further by their medical condition or absence from school.

Ways in which we will work with young people:
• On admission all Year 10 and 11 students will be offered support and guidance with selecting and applying for appropriate post 16 education routes
• Home schools will be contacted to arrange interviews if one is deemed necessary
• A bespoke programme of careers education will be delivered to year 8-11 students using the PSHE Association resources where appropriate and where there is a need
• The impact of a health condition upon chosen careers will be explored with individual students
• Year 11 students are accompanied by staff on local college visits
• Lessons may be moved on site at local colleges for children who need extra support with transition.
• Referrals will be made to other services such as STEPS and Teen New Futures, to further support transition to post 16 education for vulnerable students or students at risk of becoming NEET
• Speakers, volunteers and visitors from the world of post-16 education and the world of work will be invited into the school
• On-line encounters and interviews with inspirational people from different professions are arranged