Careers

Intent

At The Sky Academy, education in careers is a fundamental component of our Personal Development programme, designed to prepare our students for life beyond school. We believe all students, regardless of their individual needs or starting points, are entitled to high-quality, impartial careers guidance that broadens horizons and nurtures ambition. Through a structured and progressive programme, we help our students to understand the full range of opportunities available to them and support them to make informed decisions about their post-school journeys.

From Year 6 through to Year 11, all students have access to structured learning that builds progressively throughout their time with us. Alongside dedicated lessons and cross-curricular links, our aim is to provide meaningful, high-quality encounters with a wide range of employers and providers, delivered through assemblies, workplace visits, talks, project-based learning, and careers events. In doing so, our hope is to provide as many opportunities as possible for our students to gain understanding in the world of work, enhance their personal and social development, recognise their own strengths and interests, and empower them to be ambitious and confident about their decisions. We are committed to fostering resilience, ambition, and a strong sense of self-belief so that our students leave The Sky Academy ready to contribute positively to society and succeed in their future careers.

Implementation

Aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks, careers education at The Sky Academy ensures our students gain high aspirations, confidence, and a clear sense of direction in their post-school pathways.

In Lower School, Careers is taught within the PSHE curriculum using the PSHE Association scheme of work. Key Workers, who have strong, consistent relationships with their students, lead learning with support and oversight from the Careers Lead, ensuring careers education is personalised, developmentally appropriate, and reflective of each student’s SEMH and SLCN needs.

In Upper School, Careers is delivered by our subject-specialist Careers Lead, providing students with expert guidance, targeted support, and structured preparation for future pathways. Students work towards nationally recognised foundation for employment – Level 1 BTEC Workskills qualification – enabling them to develop practical employability skills and build confidence in readiness for post-16 destinations.

Our model ensures that every student – regardless of need, starting point, or background – receives high-quality careers guidance that supports informed decision making and raises long-term aspirations.

Impact

The impact of our careers programme is evaluated through a combination of ways.

These include:

• tracking engagement in careers lessons, employer encounters, and work experience to monitor participation and identify individual support needs.
• monitoring students’ progress towards Level 1 BTEC Workskills qualifications in the Upper School, ensuring they develop essential employability skills.
• gathering student voice through surveys and discussions, helping us to capture students’ confidence, ambition, and readiness for future pathways.
• conducting individual careers interviews, which provide personalised insights into students’ interests, strengths, and next steps.
• evaluating participation in college taster sessions and transition activities to assess preparedness for further education.
• analysing post-16 destination data to ensure students’ progress into appropriate further education, training, or employment.
• reviewing our provision against the Gatsby Benchmarks, supported by feedback from external partners, to ensure ongoing quality and compliance.
• using the Compass+ tool to track, benchmark, and report on the effectiveness of our careers programme and identify areas for improvement.