Careers
The Careers Department at Invicta Grammar School
Vision Statement
At Invicta we aim to inspire and empower every student to explore, discover, and pursue their unique career aspirations. Through a dynamic and inclusive careers education program, we equip students with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to make informed decisions about their futures. By fostering partnerships with industry, higher education, and the wider community, we strive to provide meaningful experiences that help students develop a sense of purpose, ambition, and resilience. We believe in a future where every student has the opportunity to unlock their full potential and contribute to a diverse and evolving workforce."
Our Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) provision aims to:
- Give students relevant careers information and guidance through curriculum learning, one-to-one advice and a range of activities, events and trips.
- Display the full range of routes available to young people post-16 and post-18 and to provide personal guidance.
- Offer individual impartial support to students to choose the pathway that is right for them.
- Expose students to the world of work through work experience placements as well as curriculum-related workplace visits.
- Enable students to consider their own strengths, skills and motivations and to evaluate how these impact future career decisions.
Measuring Impact
Measuring the impact of our careers education is crucial in ensuring that students are receiving the guidance and support they need to make informed decisions about their futures. Below are our key methods for assessing the effectiveness of careers education at Invicta Grammar School:
- Career Decision-Making: Thorough surveys and interviews we track how many students feel confident in their career choices and post-education plans.
- Participation Rates: We measure student participation in career-related activities such as work placements, career fairs, workshops, guest speakers, or employer encounters.
- Post-School Destinations: We analyse the destinations of students after they leave school—whether they progress to further education, apprenticeships, vocational training, or employment.
- Student Feedback: qualitative data from student surveys and focus groups gives us an insight into student satisfaction with careers education, the relevance of the resources, and whether it has influenced their career choices.
- Staff Perceptions: We collect feedback from teachers, tutors, and careers staff about the effectiveness of careers education curriculum and resources.
- Work Experience Quality: Measuring the quality and impact of work placements, internships, or vocational experiences sheds light on how these experiences contribute to career readiness.
- Employer Engagement Metrics: we track the number of employer events, guest speakers, mentorship opportunities, or industry partnerships the school has and evaluate how these interactions enhance students' knowledge of the workplace.
- Alumni Tracking: we conduct follow-up surveys or interviews with alumni to assess how careers education impacted their long-term career decisions, job satisfaction, and career progression.
- Post-16 Success: we track students' success in accessing post-16 pathways such as apprenticeships, higher education, or employment. As this can give an insight into how well our careers program prepares students for life beyond school.
- Parent Feedback and Involvement: Through surveys we collect feedback from parents on the careers education their children are receiving. We also track the involvement of parents in career events such as information evenings, work experience discussions, or one-to-one career guidance meetings.
- Comparison with National Frameworks: Comparing the school’s careers education with national standards or regional benchmarks, such as the Gatsby Benchmarks enables us to assess its quality and effectiveness in delivering comprehensive career guidance.
- Ofsted Reports/Accreditations: Review feedback from external evaluations, such as Ofsted inspections or career quality standards, to gauge the impact and quality of the careers program.
Key Roles:
Careers Leader: Mrs S Skelton
Careers Advisor: Mrs A Thomson
Co-ordinator : Mrs K Jillians
Careers Governors: Mr C Taylor and Mrs S Miles
For more information about Careers Education at Invicta Grammar School please contact our Careers Leader s.skelton@invicta.viat.org.uk or the School Office on office@invicta.viat.org.uk
Click here to view our Careers and Provider Access Policy
Click here to view The Gatsby Benchmarks
We will next be reviewing our Careers Policy and provided information in September 2025.
Information for Students
All students at Invicta Grammar School have a log-in to our one-stop CEIAG platform Unifrog, which parents can also use as a key resource. Here you can research various post-16 and post-18 pathways, find out more information about a variety of careers, and track your skills and academic engagement. There are numerous informative webinars which run throughout the year, so it is worth checking back frequently.
Our Careers newsletter which is sent to parents termly also has key updates for parents and support in key periods where their daughter/son has to make decisions regarding the next steps. Please also check the Parent bulletin where any careers advice or updates will be posted.
Resources:
Careermap:
https://careermap.co.uk/career-advice
Careermag for Students is a free termly magazine subscription designed to help you make career choices, with information on careers and qualifications.
Careers Research:
- nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
- www.careerpilot.org.uk
- www.prospects.ac.uk·
- www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree
- https://icould.com/explore
- https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/careerometer/ : check live Labour Market Information
University Research:
Study Abroad:
Apprenticeships:
- www.notgoingtouni.co.uk
- www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
- www.cxk.org/resources
- https://pathwayctm.com
Post-16 Education:
- https://www.tlevels.gov.uk
- https://www.kentprospectus.co.uk/information/young-people-and-parents/your-options-after-year-11
Work Experience:
Information for Parents/Carers
Our Careers newsletter which is sent to parents termly has key updates for parents and support in key periods where their daughter/son has to make decisions regarding next steps. We also encourage parents/carers to check the weekly Parent bulletin in which any careers advice or updates will be posted.
Resources:
- The UCAS Guide for Parents is a very useful tool for parents/carers. It has advice and tips covering all parts of the UCAS process.
- Careermag for Parents is a free termly magazine subscription, designed to help you support your children with information on careers and qualifications.
- UCAS Website
- National Careers Service
- Education Business Partnership Kent
Information for Industry Professionals
The success of our CEAIG provision relies on our network of professional contacts. We offer the following opportunities with the aim of increasing our student’s awareness of career pathways, building transferrable skills for the workplace and offering practical placements:
- Bi-annual Careers Fair
- Lunchtime talks focused on a particular professional field
- Interview practice
- Student Mentoring
- Student Work Experience Placement opportunities
If you are interested in engaging with the school to offer work experience, work opportunities such as apprenticeships or school leaver programmes, career talks or anything else employment or career-related, please contact a.thomson@invicta.viat.org.uk
The Careers and Enterprise Company has some handy guides on work experience and supporting careers activities in schools.
Information for Teachers and Staff
Invicta Grammar School staff can use their Unifrog accounts to access subject-specific careers advice and how you can link careers to your lessons.
https://www.unifrog.org/teacher/resources/shared/working-in-posters-stem
https://www.unifrog.org/teacher/resources/shared/working-in-posters-the-humanities
https://www.unifrog.org/teacher/resources/shared/working-in-posters-the-creative-arts
Subject in a Box is a free lesson resource from Loughborough University, designed to help teachers provide students with an insight into degree-level study while engaging in an interactive lesson.
