Careers Related Learning

CSW Investor in Careers logo

Investors in Careers full accreditation

After a robust validating process, we are delighted to announce that Leigh Academy Dartford has achieved the Investor in Careers Award which fully incorporates the Gatsby Benchmarks. This is an excellent achievement and recognises the quality and breadth of our careers provision.  

We are one of very few primary schools to achieve this – well done to the staff in ensuring our children have high aspirations and goals.  A careers programme that opens the world of opportunity!

Leigh Academy Dartford recognises the importance of developing lifelong learners who are prepared to enter the global community. Through careful curriculum planning, learners are exposed to a range of careers and professionals from Nursery to Year 6.

Our students explore links to careers and apply their learning to real-life contexts during our IB Primary Years Programme curriculum. Staff facilitate and encourage high aspirations and ambitions for all our learners, supporting them in becoming Determined, Persistent Achievers who are Learning to Change the World.

We use current research into careers, education and employment to inform our careers related learning strategy. We ensure that staff, learners and families have access to high quality resources both in and out of school.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… restaurant owners. . 

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

How we organise ourselves

We are… refuse collectors, librarians, shopkeepers.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  zoologists, vets.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

Rocky’s animals, mobile farm – visitor.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… caregivers. 

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are… architects. 

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

How we organise ourselves

We are… refuse collectors, librarians, shopkeepers.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  vets, entomologists.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

Rocky’s animals, mobile farm – visitor.

EYFS & KS1 Sports Day

We are… authors, performers, actors.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… geographers. 

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are… historians, museum curators. 

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

We are… zoo keepers, gardeners.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

EYFS & KS1 Sports Day

We are… artists, influencers.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… therapists, farmers, personal trainers.

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are architects (Samuel Pepys inspiration).

We are builders, architects, historians.

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

We are… software engineers, entrepreneurs.

How we organise ourselves

Dartford Community Nurse – visitor.

We are… doctors, nurses, healthcare workers.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  conservationists, environmentalists.

How we express ourselves

We are… engineers.

Science & Art week, Dr Marcia Philbin, CEO Faculty of Pharmacology – virtual visitor.

Around the world in 80 7 days

Dartford FC – sport visitors.

EYFS & KS1 Sports Day

Famous Chefs, International Food Tasting

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… nutritionists, dietitians.

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are… archaeologists.

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

Arctic Explorer – virtual visitor.

We are… geographers, explorers, environmental campaigners.

How we organise ourselves

Volcanologist – virtual visitor.

We are… geologists, volcanologists, chefs.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  farmers, bee keepers, ecologists, botanists.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

KS2 Sports Day – athletes.

Famous Chefs, International Food Tasting

We are… Egyptologists.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… dentists, counsellors.

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are… electricians.

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

We are… Environmental Agency River Wardens.

We are… town planners, flood scientists.

How we organise ourselves

We are… museum curators, historians.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  sustainable developers.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

KS2 Sports Day – athletes.

Famous Chefs, International Food Tasting

We are… musicians, performers.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

Lawyer – virtual visitor.

We are… criminal lawyers, forensic investigators.

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are… astronomers, physicists, aerospace engineers.

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

We are… environmental scientists, environmental lawyers, geoscientists.

How we organise ourselves

We are… caterers, town planners.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  journalists, audio engineers.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

KS2 Sports Day – athletes.

We are… poets, government advisors.

Who we are

Class Jobs & Roles applications and votes.

We are… botanists, zoologists, biologists.

Where we are in place and time

COP26 climate change days

We are… pilots, doctors, MPs.

How the world works

Enterprise Week and E-safety Day

We are… scientists, investors, charity volunteers.

How we organise ourselves

We are… nutritionists, personal trainers, cardiologists.

Sharing the planet

Earth Day – We are conservationists..

Playground Buddies Focus.

We are…  chefs, fashion designers, historians.

How we express ourselves

Science & Art week, Activity Week

Around the world in 80 7 days

KS2 Sports Day – athletes.

We are… producers, directors, playwrights.

Gatsby Benchmarks

  • A stable careers programme
    Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers.
  • Learning from career and labour market information
    Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
  • Addressing the needs to each pupil
    Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
  • Linking curriculum learning to careers
    All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
  • Encounters with Employers and Employees
    Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
  • Experiences of workplaces
    Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
  • Encounters with further and higher education
    All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
  • Personal Guidance
    Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be timed to meet their individual needs.

Clubs & Careers at Dartford

At LAD, we go beyond our curriculum when planning and exploring links to careers. Our staff provide a range of clubs each term that are carefully planned to expose learners to careers.

Clubs we have offered:

  • Science Club: We are scientists!
  • Gardening Club: We are gardeners!
  • Football, Rugby & Hockey Clubs: We are athletes!
  • Construction Challenge: We are engineers!
  • Music Club: We are musicians!
  • Chess Club: We are mathematicians!
  • International Cooking Club: We are chefs!
  • French & Spanish Clubs: We are internationally minded!

A Mirror & a Window

Our careers programme has two guiding principles:

  • A mirror – we aim to represent all of our students in our visits and visitors. We ask ourselves, can our students see themselves in the role models we present?
  • A window – we aim to expose children to the wider world, to raise awareness of the variety of careers and paths they could follow.

 

Student Careers

LAD has a dedicated range of class careers that students choose to apply for at the start of the year or term.

Each of these class roles provides careers-related learning activities and opportunities to develop a wide range of skills.

  • Academy Council
  • Digital Leader
  • Reading Ambassador
  • Sports Captain
  • Eco Warrior
  • Wellbeing Warrior
  • Science Monitor

50 in 11: High Aspirations, High Ambitions

Exposure to a wide range of career and employment opportunities will support our staff to:

  • Broaden our learners’ horizons and aspirations
  • Excite learners about the subjects, increasing motivation and attitudes to learning
  • Challenge gender and social stereotypes
  • Improve academic attainment.

By 2025, Leigh Academy Dartford will have fully implemented our ‘50 in 11’ challenge.

This aims to provide our learners with 50 careers related events, talks, visits, visitors and experiences by the time they move on to secondary school aged 11. We believe that this is the best way to prepare them for life beyond Primary school and the world of work.

 

Resources & Support

We continue to put together a range of resources and links to support staff, learners and families investigate diverse careers and to help raise aspirations.

Careers & Education Research Finding

Education and Employers research ‘Starting Early: Building the foundations for success’ revealed:

  • Children as young as five have ingrained stereotypical views about the jobs people do, based on their gender, ethnicity, and social background
  • Most children’s career aspirations are based on family, friends, and the media, with less than 1% knowing about a job from someone visiting their school
  • Aspirations are narrow and out-of-sync with labour market demands
  • Career aspirations are surprisingly persistent over time, similar at age 17-18 as among primary school children. Aspirations ultimately only resolve in later harsh entries to the labour market, as supply jarringly adjusts to demand

We, therefore, have a duty to:

  • help children see the relevance of learning and building positive attitudes towards school, particularly among the most disadvantaged
  • provide children with access to role models who can inspire them and broaden their horizons, showing that their background does not need to determine their future
  • ensure children do not rule out career options for themselves, simply because they do not realise the details and benefits of the full range of opportunities open to them

Our emphasis on careers education at Leigh Academy Dartford is on exploration, diversity and making learning fun.

For more information, contact our Careers Lead and Assistant Principal, Bernadine Baptiste: bernadine.baptiste@dartford.latrust.org.uk – 01322 224453