The best way to predict your future is to create it –

Abraham Lincoln

Maidstone and Malling Alternative Provision are committed to inspiring achievement through inclusion and support. We work together to enable all our pupils to reach their highest level of personal achievement and to take pride in themselves and their futures. Having a stable Career’s Programme enables us to support students to gain knowledge of the requirements needed to consider the next step of their educational journey. As well as next steps, our programme informs students about career sectors, local opportunities and experiences of the workplace.

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance programmes make a major contribution in preparing young people for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life.  A young person’s career learning journey supports the progress they make in learning and work. As such, we fully believe that all pupils need a programme of activities to help them choose options and career pathways that are right for them through our statutory responsibility of supporting pupils from Key stage 3 through to Year 11. This allows us to support pupils to manage their future career options, sustain employability and achieve personal and economic wellbeing throughout their lives. 

Effective CEIAG within MMAP ensures that the provision:

• Actively encourages and inspires young people to consider all options, so they can select the best way forward for their interests, motivations, learning styles, abilities and aspirations
• Consistently consults with students, parents, staff and local business to inform continuous improvement
• Is actively led and continuously developed by the Careers Lead and Advisor

The CEIAG programme is flexible alongside the main programme, targeted support is also delivered to offer bespoke guidance for each pupil.  Our main programme includes activities such as careers education sessions, career guidance activities e.g. group work and talks from professionals, careers fair, work-related learning, as well as individual learning activities.

All staff are responsible for delivery of the main programme, this will be through a predominantly taught approach within lessons, all staff will be expected to contribute through roles as tutors and curriculum subject teachers in addition to specific staff responsibilities for CEIAG.

Our Careers Team:

• Careers Lead – Lee Aitken-Cooper
• Careers Link Governor – Tanya Kelvie
• Programme Co-ordinator and trainee Careers Advisor – Marie Albrow
• Careers Teacher – Sarah Skuse
• Careers & Enterprise Company Careers Consultant – Louise Rochford

We continually measure and assess the impact of our careers programme by collecting and evaluating feedback from a variety of stakeholders including students, staff, parents/carers and providers. Student’s careers knowledge is also evaluated using the Future Skills Questionnaire from the Careers & Enterprise Company, designed to measure the career readiness of students. A programme of monitoring and self-assessment is in place and the careers provision is reviewed annually using collected data and the Compass+ evaluations. MMAP is also termly evaluated with support from our Enterprise Co-ordinator from the Careers & Enterprise Company. We measure the effectiveness of the programme with reference to our destinations data for Year 11 in comparison to national and equivalent figures.

The aims of our Careers Programme are mapped against the Gatsby Foundation Benchmarks of Good Careers Guidance. Information about the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks can be found here - 8 Gatsby Benchmarks