At Bramfield House School, we recognise and celebrate that all of our young people are different and, as a result, their education and career pathways will be planned on an individualised basis.
Careers education for pupils at Bramfield House School will be relevant, specific, planned, and delivered carefully to meet their individual needs.
We use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Benchmarks and the Career Development Institute framework to develop and improve our careers provision and to ensure we fulfil our legal duties as well as raise the aspirations of our young people. For further information, please refer to our Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance policy, here.
Careers Lead and Examinations Officer: Sarah Kett – sarah.kett@bramfieldhouse.co.uk
Careers Advisor (Regional Futures Advisor OFG): Beckie Gillham-hardy – Beckie.Ghardy@ofgl.co.uk
Bramfield House School and the Baker Claus
Introduced in 2018, the Baker Clause was authored by the former education secretary, Lord Kenneth Baker. The guidance stipulates that schools must allow colleges and training providers to access every student in years 8-13 to discuss non-academic routes that are available to them.
Updated in July 2021, the government’s Statutory guidance for schools and guidance sets out the following, ‘Schools and colleges have a responsibility to set students on the path that will secure the best outcome which will enable them to progress in education and work and give employers the highly skilled people they need.’
So, what does this mean in real terms?
Bramfield House School act impartially and do not show any bias towards any route, be that academic or technical. We promote a full range of options for all our pupils.
Parents and Carers
As a parent/carer, you play a vital role in supporting our careers program. Together, we can support your young person on their future career path. We are keen to work with you to develop the employability skills and qualities to set our young people up for life. We will give your child the tools that they need to succeed in whichever walk of life they wish to follow.
If you would like to contribute to the careers programme, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Sarah at sarah.kett@bramfieldhouse.co.uk
Apprenticeships – What are they?
Apprenticeships combine real work with training and study. Unlike college or university, you’ll apply what you learn directly on the job, gaining hands-on experience and skills.
As an Apprentice, you’ll:
- Train for the workplace: gain skills directly relevant to your job
- Get hands-on experience: work on real tasks and projects
- Earn a salary with employee rights: receive pay and entitlement to employment rights such as sick leave and holiday pay
- Spend at least 20% of your working hours training or studying: allocate a portion of your time to learning and development
- Complete ongoing assessments: regularly evaluate your progress and finish with an assessment
Apprenticeships take 8 months to 6 years to complete, depending on:
- The type of apprenticeship
- The level you choose
- Your previous experience
If you take a break from learning, it may take longer to finish.
Please use the following link to find out whether an Apprenticeship could be your next step – https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/
Work Experience
The objective of work experience in Year 10/11 is to provide students with the opportunity to experience the world of work first-hand and to develop their employability skills. Where possible, students should seek a placement in an environment linked to a career which they are considering for their own future. If this is not possible, then placements that use similar skills and qualities will be considered to help with building transferable skills. During the placement, students will develop their communication skills, learn about the expectations of a workplace and aim to develop skills which are specific to their placement role.
Most students will be offered the opportunity to undertake a work placement in Year 10 or 11. This experience may be limited by the availability of suitable placements therefore, it is highly welcomed and encouraged for parents and carers to reach out to their child’s class team or Sarah (Careers Lead) at Bramfield House School if they know of a suitable placement or can recommend individuals or businesses that may be able to offer work experience for their child. For those who may be unable to access an external work experience, Bramfield House can help to provide internal work experience for pupils, which could include supporting our Maintenance Team or our Catering Team.
A work experience briefing will be held for students before their placements to ensure that they understand how to approach their placement and the procedures to follow if there are any problems with the placement. Necessary and relevant health and safety information will also be covered through the Careers Lead, gaining all necessary documents and completing checks in line with the OFG Work Experience Policy. To view this policy, please click here.
Students are not permitted to undertake placements outside of England and Wales since the Health and Safety regulations outside of this area are not comparable to those in England and Wales. Students may not request a holiday from the school in order to undertake a work placement outside of England and Wales; in this circumstance, the student should arrange the placement in their own time.