Raising Aspirations at Western
Raising Aspirations Lead: Andrew Temperley
‘Experience is the teacher of all things’
Raising Aspirations at Western aims to combat early-career stereotypes by integrating career education and essential skills development directly into the curriculum from an early age. Based on evidence that aspirations are formed by age 3-4 and narrowed by age 6, this approach uses classroom-based learning, employer engagement, and data-driven tracking to expose pupils to varied career paths. Key strategies include aligning with Primary Gatsby Career Benchmarks, working alongside the North East Ambition Primary Network, and utilising a skill-building approach to foster critical skills. By focusing on local labour market information and challenging stereotypes through experiential learning, Western ensures pupils believe in their potential, guided by the principle that if they can see it, they can achieve it.
At Western, we believe that all children have the potential to flourish and we want to provide them with the experiences and opportunities to help them become whatever they aspire to be in life. We aim to provide children with a range of encounters in the world of work, routes into work and employability skills that will help them to go on and achieve their goals. Western is enrolled in the Start Small; Dream Big national primary careers programme. The programme is headed by the Careers & Enterprise Company and supported by the Department of Education. Research has shown that low aspirations can be shaped by biases and/or commonly accepted stereotypes that can develop as early as the age of 7. The project is designed to further raise aspirations, challenge career stereotypes and to expose pupils to a range of experiences by further embedding careers related learning opportunities within the curriculum.
What does a Careers programme look like at Western?
- We make purposeful links with the world of work within curriculum lessons
- We provide children with a range of tailored opportunities to learn from real world experiences, interact with employers and discover what life is like in the work place
- We support children in making links between what they are learning in the classroom and how they can apply their knowledge and skills to a potential career
- We ensure that children begin to understand and develop the skills required within a workplace setting
- We deliver a financial literacy programme so that children can understand and manage their finances when they are older
- We help children understand the opportunities available to them in the local and regional labour market along with the various pathways into these roles, including further and higher education.
Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of eight clear guidelines used across England to define world-class careers guidance in schools, colleges, and training providers. They serve as the foundation of statutory careers guidance and help young people make informed decisions about their future pathways.
A stable careers programme (GB1) – Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance. At Western, this is set out in our enrichment curriculum which shows how we enhance our curriculum and raise aspirations through careers activities, visits, visitors and other experiences.
Learning from career and labour market information (GB2) – Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. At Western this is set out in our PSHE curriculum and additional information is available on our school website (see career and labour market information links).
Addressing the needs of each pupil (GB3) – 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. At Western the curriculum is designed to reflect the diversity of our school population and wider community population. Children are given opportunities to apply for, and undertake ambassadorial roles within school, for example Head boy and girl, School Councillors; OPAL Ambassadors, Wellbeing Ambassadors, Peer Mentors, and ‘class jobs’.
Linking curriculum learning to careers (GB4) – 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. At Western each curriculum subject has careers links which teachers highlight and discuss with the children, promoting a wide range of future career paths.
Encounters with employers and employees (GB5) – 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. At Western this is set out in our enrichment curriculum which shows how we enhance our curriculum and raise aspirations through careers activities, visits, visitors and other experiences. This information is available on our school website. Across the year, we invite employers and employees to hold workshops and assemblies in school to discuss their chosen careers. Each year we have a Careers Week where employers and employees are invited into school to talk to the children about their careers. We also actively look for additional encounters with employers and employees for our children across the year.
Experiences of workplaces (GB6) – 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. At Western this is set out in our enrichment curriculum which shows how we enhance our curriculum and raise aspirations through careers activities, visits, visitors and other experiences. This information is available on our school website. We also actively look for additional experiences of workplaces for our children across the year.
Encounters with further and higher education (GB7) – 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. At Western we have visits to feeder secondary schools and visitors from these also visit the children within our school setting. We also have strong links with a number of local universities/colleges/further education sites and our children visit these or visitors from the universities come into school.
Personal guidance (GB8) – Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career’s adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. Each year we have a Careers Week where employers and employees are invited into school to talk to the children about their careers. Our children are able to ask questions about all of the different careers and particularly those that are of interest to them.