Key Stage 4 Careers

A programme preparing students for the decisions ahead — exploring post-16 pathways, the labour market and the world of work, while building the confidence, resilience and study skills to succeed at GCSE and beyond.

Programme Leader: Ms Cerys Parker · cerysparker@ficedu.org · +44 (01394) 282388

Our careers lessons are linked to The Gatsby Benchmarks to provide a stable careers programme at FIC:

Learning from careers and labour market information
Addressing the needs of each pupil
Linking curriculum learning to careers
Encounters with employers and employees
Experiences of workplaces
Encounters with Further and Higher Education
Personal guidance

Units of Work

topic learning content
1-2-1 Tutorials The programme opens — and returns regularly throughout the year — to one-to-one tutorials: a chance to reflect on academic work and any personal concerns, discuss possible solutions, set academic targets, and develop each student’s career aspirations.
Personal Development & Work Experience Students learn what a personal development plan is and create their own, mapping a route towards the career that interests them — and consider what work experience is and why it is so relevant to their next steps.
Exploring Possibilities What comes after Sixth Form? Students become aware of the options available after full-time education and the possible range of jobs, learn how to research employers, and discover that different qualifications can lead to the same goal.
Labour Market & Pathways Which way now? Students learn what Labour Market Information is and how it reveals the careers needed now and in the future, gain a thorough understanding of the qualifications available after Year 11 — and the importance of good grades in the core GCSE subjects — and complete a personal action plan. They then explore what different jobs entail across a variety of sectors, weighing up the positives and negatives of each.
Careers in Science & Maths Two subjects that open doors. Students discover the skills that studying science and maths provide, the different career routes linked to the three sciences and to maths, and the wide variety of jobs closely associated with the skills these subjects develop.
Choices & Decisions Students learn how actions have career consequences and how to make positive choices, then develop an effective decision-making process — understanding what good decisions need and recognising who can help with information and advice.
Confidence & Resilience Setbacks are part of every career. Students identify challenges — including those posed in the workplace — plan how to overcome fear, and apply positive thinking to real-life situations, learning strategies to build resilience, stay positive and learn from experience, even when it is negative.
Exam Success Practical preparation for the exams ahead. Students learn the common errors made when revising, the different ways to revise and how to plan a revision timetable — then explore the science behind fight or flight, recognising that stress is only helpful in the short term and learning how to manage stress and relaxation.
Relationships & Planning Students consider what relationships are built on and how to build them with others, then turn to planning for the future: defining their own skills, qualities and interests, making plans and decisions about post-16 education, and setting targets and goals with the right support.
Entrepreneurism & Self-Employment Could a hobby become an income? Students explore how their interests could be turned into an income source, discuss the pros and cons of being self-employed, and consider which option might be best for them.
Wellbeing & Work-Life Balance Students define what mental health means and explore why we might say we are OK when we are not, learning about a variety of mental illnesses and their symptoms, strategies to maintain positive mental health, and the importance of a good work-life balance.
Money, Fairness & Rights Students learn to make personal financial decisions by weighing up different types of finance, explore equality, diversity and stereotyping and the inequalities that impact the workplace, and identify employment rights and responsibilities in the UK — including the gender pay gap.

topic learning content

1-2-1 Tutorials

The programme opens — and returns regularly throughout the year — to one-to-one tutorials: a chance to reflect on academic work and any personal concerns, discuss possible solutions, set academic targets, and develop each student’s career aspirations.

Personal Development & Work Experience

Students learn what a personal development plan is and create their own, mapping a route towards the career that interests them — and consider what work experience is and why it is so relevant to their next steps.

Exploring Possibilities

What comes after Sixth Form? Students become aware of the options available after full-time education and the possible range of jobs, learn how to research employers, and discover that different qualifications can lead to the same goal.

Labour Market & Pathways

Which way now? Students learn what Labour Market Information is and how it reveals the careers needed now and in the future, gain a thorough understanding of the qualifications available after Year 11 — and the importance of good grades in the core GCSE subjects — and complete a personal action plan. They then explore what different jobs entail across a variety of sectors, weighing up the positives and negatives of each.

Careers in Science & Maths

Two subjects that open doors. Students discover the skills that studying science and maths provide, the different career routes linked to the three sciences and to maths, and the wide variety of jobs closely associated with the skills these subjects develop.

Choices & Decisions

Students learn how actions have career consequences and how to make positive choices, then develop an effective decision-making process — understanding what good decisions need and recognising who can help with information and advice.

Confidence & Resilience

Setbacks are part of every career. Students identify challenges — including those posed in the workplace — plan how to overcome fear, and apply positive thinking to real-life situations, learning strategies to build resilience, stay positive and learn from experience, even when it is negative.

Exam Success

Practical preparation for the exams ahead. Students learn the common errors made when revising, the different ways to revise and how to plan a revision timetable — then explore the science behind fight or flight, recognising that stress is only helpful in the short term and learning how to manage stress and relaxation.

Relationships & Planning

Students consider what relationships are built on and how to build them with others, then turn to planning for the future: defining their own skills, qualities and interests, making plans and decisions about post-16 education, and setting targets and goals with the right support.

Entrepreneurism & Self-Employment

Could a hobby become an income? Students explore how their interests could be turned into an income source, discuss the pros and cons of being self-employed, and consider which option might be best for them.

Wellbeing & Work-Life Balance

Students define what mental health means and explore why we might say we are OK when we are not, learning about a variety of mental illnesses and their symptoms, strategies to maintain positive mental health, and the importance of a good work-life balance.

Money, Fairness & Rights

Students learn to make personal financial decisions by weighing up different types of finance, explore equality, diversity and stereotyping and the inequalities that impact the workplace, and identify employment rights and responsibilities in the UK — including the gender pay gap.