Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance
Careers lead: Mrs S Walter Phone: 01946 820356
Email: walters@changinglives.education
West Lakes Academy Careers
Introduction
At West Lakes Academy we are committed to delivering high quality careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for all of our students. We understand that all young people need to prepare themselves for progression through learning and education into adulthood. Our aim is to equip our students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to make effective choices, understand their career and progression routes, and enable them to manage smooth transitions on to the next stage of either learning or employment.
At key milestones throughout the students’ education we will provide support, advice and guidance to ensure realistic and informed decisions are made to help them to progress to higher education, apprenticeships, and the world of work.
We provide impartial advice and ensure the advice given is in the best interest of the student. Career education has never been more important for young people. They are bombarded with complex choices which need considering and planning such as; What KS4 subjects do I take? Do I choose vocational or academic subjects or a mixture of both? Which extracurricular activities would enhance my CV? And, of course, which career would I find interesting, is achievable and would suit my lifestyle?
Each year group follows a careers education program which aims to raise aspirations and provide students with a better understanding of the pathways they need to follow to help them to achieve their goals. Students will investigate careers during curriculum time and tutor time, with a whole school initiative known as Exploring Careers.
Throughout the year visiting speakers, further education providers and local employers from different organisations will attend the academy to provide the students with inspiration, advice and inform them of professions and careers that they might not have experienced or considered previously. Students take part in a wide range of careers activities such as, enterprise events, industry days, STEM activities and university visits for first-hand experience of further and higher education. In addition to these activities there are a wide range of free resources that students can take advantage of. These can be found in a number of different formats, e.g. online, booklets and prospectuses, in the careers section of the library.
West Lakes Academy is committed to providing a planned programme of activities, careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) for all students in years 7-13, regardless of students’ culture and ethnicity, background or ability. All students will benefit from the planned events and activities to help them make informed decisions in preparation for life, work and as responsible adults, making a valuable contribution to society and their communities.
Loading...
Reload document
Open in new tab Employers
Why volunteer your time?
As an employer, you should never underestimate the positive influence you can have on young people. Sharing your experience and workplace with young people allows them to meet role models and see examples of jobs they might like to do in the future. However much time you can offer, you can make a real difference.
Sharing your career journey can be powerful. Your insights, unique industry knowledge and experience can make a difference to the options a young person considers for their future career.
You could be the role model who changes a young person’s life, just by showing them what is possible.
Benefits to your business
When deciding whether to provide young people with work experience/employer engagement activities you should consider all the benefits they not only bring to the student, but also to your business.
- Employee engagement and development: employees can build on their supervisory and leadership skills whilst sharing their knowledge and expertise with young people.
- Insights into your business: understand how young people view your business.
- Access to skills: tap into the minds of digital natives.
- Build business-relevant skills in young people to support your recruitment strategy and develop your future workforce.
- Give back to your community and build relationships with schools and colleges.
- Raise a positive profile and bust myths about your business and industry.
- Embrace online delivery to enable more young people to gain valuable insights into careers and industry opportunities.
Opportunities Available to Support
| Activity | Description |
| Employer Talk | Share your career journey. Whether in an assembly, classroom setting or hosted virtually, sharing your career story is a great way to help students understand the realities of the world of work and inspire them about a career path they may never have considered. |
| World of work/work ready skills | World of Work Days focus on being work ready. The workshops vary each year but could include – · CV Preparation · Interview Skills · Job Research and Application Processes · Personal Finance/Budgeting · Local Labour Market Information · Employability Skills Career speed networking Knowledge around different careers available
|
| Mock Interviews | Each year we provide opportunities for our year 10 and 12 students to practice their interview skills and we are always looking for employers to support them. A mock interview is a shorter version of an actual job interview. It gives young people an opportunity to practice how to prepare for an interview, rehearse what to say and do during an interview and build confidence in speaking to professionals in addition to reflecting on feedback. Whether it’s face-to-face or virtual, a mock interview is useful in helping students review their answers to common interview questions and assessing other factors such as mannerisms and body language. |
| Work experience | Work experience for young people comes in many different forms from one day to a full week spent working in an organisation. Work experience is time spent in a workplace learning about a job role, a company or a career sector. Most work experience is unpaid.
|
| Company visits | Company visits offer an inspiring and informative opportunity for a group of students to visit your workplace, learn more about your business and experience aspects of the different future career opportunities available to them. Visits could include tours, workshops or events and usually last a half or full day. If you offer educational visits already, consider building in career talks from younger employees, trainees or interns as part of that visit. |
| Mentoring | Employers could provide 1-1 mentoring for particular students within the academy to help them gain a better understanding of certain professions or employment areas whilst discussing their individual careers aspirations. This support can really help to boost a student’s confidence, self-esteem and develop their employability skills. The amount of time required will vary but on average it would be 1 hour per month per student. |
| Curriculum Offer | Do you recall sitting in some lessons at school and wondering what the point of that particular subject was and whether you were ever going to need that knowledge again? A few years later and many of us are now using what we learned at school in our jobs. You can bring subjects to life by assisting departments in school to link subject matter to your business sector, and build meaningful career links and employability skills into their curriculum. |
| Apprenticeship talks | It’s vitally important all young people are aware of all the options available to them post 16. A great way of them understanding more about their options when it comes to apprenticeships is to hear from current or recently graduated apprentices. Directly hearing about the experiences of apprentices will help to ensure equal careers guidance for both academic and vocational pathways, and challenge views about the suitability of different apprenticeships across genders. |
| Enterprise projects and competitions | Developing enterprising skills and behaviours in our young people is really important for Cumbria’s future economy. We need more people to start and grow their own businesses to respond to new market opportunities and create future jobs. Running enterprise projects and competitions encourages our young people to build their careers in Cumbria. Many of the Cumbria Careers Hub partners offer opportunities for employers to work with them to deliver enterprise projects and competitions in school. |
Useful Employers Links
Cumbria Careers Hub https://www.careershubcumbria.co.uk/employers-volunteers/
The Careers and Enterprise Company https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/employers/
Enterprising Cumbria https://enterprisingcumbria.org.uk/welcome-enterprising-cumbria
Amazing Apprenticeships https://www.amazingapprenticeships.com/zones/employer/
Inspira https://www.inspira.org.uk/about-us/support-for-employers
Futures for All https://www.futuresforall.org/employers
Parents
CEIAG Parents and Carers Entitlement Statement
All parents and carers can expect to:
- Discuss their children’s progress and future prospects
- Have access to tutors, subject teachers and careers specialists at parents’ evenings in Years 7-11 and Options evenings in Year 9
- Offer feedback and ideas on how to improve the careers program
Helping your child to navigate their futures can be a difficult task especially with the variety of options available.
I would like to draw your attention to the Cumbria Careers Hub. It is a really useful resource to help parents navigate the careers landscape and offer valuable informed advice on their child’s next steps. Please follow the link . https://education.careershubcumbria.co.uk/
The site includes:
- Career paths
- Guidance in finding your child work experience placements
- Tips for mock interviews
- CV and cover letter writing
- Finances
- Employment in a wide range of industries across Cumbria
- FAQs and so much more
Work Experience
Year 10 2nd – 6th March 2026
Year 12 6th – 10th July 2026
Our placements are organised through your child’s Unifrog accounts. All communications and information about your child’s placements will be received by alerts and emails from Unifrog.
To add your child’s work experience placement details to Unifrog please see the guide video below.
https://www.unifrog.org/student/help/52
Useful Parental Links
Amazing Apprenticeships Parent and Career Zone – https://amazingapprenticeships.com/parent-zone/
Choices Magazine – https://www.amazingapprenticeships.com/resources/?type=parents-packs#top-of-page
Inspira https://www.inspira.org.uk/
Students
CEIAG Students Entitlement Statement
All students at West Lakes Academy will:
Take part in a careers education programme in Year 7-13 that helps them to:
- Understand their education, training, employment and other progression
- Develop the skills they need to plan and manage their own personal development and career progression
- Access relevant information and learning from taster activities and experience of work
- Offer feedback and ideas on how to improve the careers programme
Have access to, and support with using, careers information that is:
- Easy to find and available at convenient times and in convenient locations, including online signposting
- Clearly labelled and comprehensive, giving details of all progression opportunities and associated support
- Unbiased and up to date
Obtain careers guidance that is:
- Impartial
- Confidential
- Focused on individual needs and fit for purpose
- Supportive of equal opportunities
- Provided by people with relevant training and expertise
Unifrog
Unifrog is the platform that we use with our students to support them through their careers journey at West lakes Academy. This can be accessed here – www.unifrog.org.uk
All student usernames are their academy email. If a student forgets their password this can be reset independently from this homepage using their username.
Work experience
Year 10 2nd – 6th March 2026
Year 12 6th – 10th July 2026
How to register your work experience placement – https://cdn.unifrog.org/video/g6k0b9a2zb/720.mp4
Useful Links
| Resource | Description |
| https://www.inspira.org.uk/ | Information about the Labour market in Cumbria, what support is available |
| https://www.unifrog.org/sign-in | Student platform |
| https://education.careershubcumbria.co.uk/ | Your go to resource to helping your child navigate their future choices |
| https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ | For young people aged 13-16. CV Builder, job profiles and lots more. |
| https://www.amazingapprenticeships.com/ | Supports parents, educators and employers in everything about apprenticeships and T Levels |
| https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/ | Provide information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work |
| https://icould.com/ | Features films of real people talking about their careers and the route they took |
| https://www.futuresforall.org/ | Support in accessing real-world experiences, hear from inspirational speakers, and discover new opportunities. |
| https://www.careersbox.co.uk/ | Free online library of careers related films, news and information |
| https://www.ucas.com/ | Information about university courses and applications |
| https://www.successatschool.org/ | Information about careers sectors, APPRENTICESHIPS, UNIVERSITIES AND MUCH MORE information and advice |
| https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ | Find friendly and supportive discussions on everything from GCSEs to uni life, from A-levels to Ucas applications. |
| https://www.u-explore.com/page/home-page | An employer-led digital platform for young people to develop skills, explore careers, and engage in virtual work experiences. |
| https://www.gov.uk/education/further-and-higher-education-skills-and-vocational-training | University and college qualifications. Apprenticeships, traineeships and internships. Funding for further education providers. |
| https://higherin.com/ | Supports students aged 14 – 24+ to find their dream apprenticeship, placement, internship and graduate role all in one place |
| https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/ | information, advice and guidance on careers in the NHS |
| https://notgoingtouni.co.uk/ | Aims to help young people make informed decisions showing opportunities outside of traditional university |
| https://www.goconstruct.org/ | Information about careers in the construction industry |
| https://barclayslifeskills.com/ | To learn about life skills, interview skills, application and CV writing |
| https://www.kingstrust.org.uk/ | Get free support to develop the skills and confidence you need to find a job or start a business. |
| https://www.applytouni.com/ | Information about applying to university |
| https://www.how2become.com/ | Career interviews and assessments made easy. |
Staff
Careers Lead – Mrs Siobhain Walter
What is the role of a careers lead?
Enterprise Advisors – Mike Nichols (PACTEC) and Ben Whiteley (Cavendish Nuclear)
What is the role of an enterprise advisor? https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/0oadstmp/enterprise-adviser-role-description-2023.pdf
Careers is everybody’s responsibility. See below a brief outline of what this involves at West Lakes Academy.
| Drive Team responsibilities ● Ensure there is a named member of SLT who has primary responsibility for Careers provision ● Ensure the Academy meets and exceeds the statutory careers requirements |
| SLT responsibilities ● Ensure the annual Careers Plan is completed and signed off. ● Ensure that the agreed careers objectives are understood and implemented across the academy. ● Ensure the Careers Leader is prepared for OFSTED inspections. ● Ensure the Academy meets and exceeds the statutory careers requirements. ● Provide support to the Careers Leader and ensure that the agreed resources are made available during the year. ● Review progress and achievements versus the careers plan and make adjustments as necessary. ● Recruit, retain and support the careers leader. |
| Middle Leader with overall responsibility for careers provision ● Ensure the careers programme is adequately resourced to deliver the agreed careers plan. ● Work closely with the Careers and Enterprise Adviser to maintain a strong link with local employers and to continuously improve on the careers service provided at the Academy. ● Act as the ‘careers champion’ to ensure that whole academy acceptance of the careers plan is achieved! ● Complete a minimum of 1 days’ work experience in a local business to understand how the school could best serve its business community. ● Audit current teaching practices in terms of careers delivery. ● Prepare and deliver the careers plan. ● Report progress to the SLT team. ● Bring any problems that you are unable to resolve to the attention of the SLT. ● Ensure you engage with all your stakeholders including, Local Authority, Local Colleges and Universities, SLT, teachers, support staff, students, parents, local businesses and guest speakers. ● Put systems in place to ensure that you deliver measurable year on year improvements to the careers programme. ● Be the Academy focal point on all matters relating to careers education and training and ensure the SLT are kept informed of industry or legislative changes which may impact their responsibilities. |
| Head of Sixth Form responsibilities ● Ensure all Y12 students have prepared draft CVs and/or personal statements. ● Organise and deliver appropriate activities and work experiences. ● Support the students with their individual career action plans, paying particular attention to those in the NEET risk group. ● Work with the senior lead for careers education to ensure students make a smooth transition to year 12 and are supported onto the right pathway. ● Organise work experience ● Organise the individual Inspira interviews. ● To track all activities and engagement through Unifrog |
| Heads of Year responsibilities ● Take responsibility for careers education, information advice and guidance for their respective year groups, ensuring all students participate in year group CEIAG activities. ● Disseminate all CEIAG information to form tutors and ensuring all year students receive any advice needed. ● Support the Lead in Careers with delivery of activities and aspects of the program to ensure its effectiveness to all students during tutor and assembly times. ● Organise regular employer engagement assemblies and report these through Unifrog and social media. ● To track all activities and engagement through Unifrog |
| Teachers, form tutors and teaching support staff responsibilities ● Ensure you are familiar with the school careers plan and its objectives. ● Ensure that career readiness and careers education are embedded in your term and lesson plans. ● Review your lesson plans in relation to linking to current jobs and career pathways. ● Monitor the effectiveness of your embedded activities and improve as necessary. ● Feedback specific student needs (or opportunities) to the Careers Leader ● To track all activities and engagement through Unifrog |
| Administrative and support staff responsibilities ● Support the careers leader in delivering the careers plan and achieving its objectives. ● Contribute towards the development of an atmosphere (within the academy) of learning, confidence and ambition. ● Explore and adopt measures which enable you to deliver your services efficiently. ● Support communications and planning of work experience opportunities.
|
Unifrog
At the academy we use Unifrog to track and resource our careers provision.
https://www.unifrog.org/sign-in
Contact Christine Buchanan with any account login issues
Want to access more information and resources?
My Learning My Future
My Learning, My Future is a suite of Benchmark 4 resources to support subject teaching staff, from 27 subjects at KS3, KS4 & Post 16, to engage students in curriculum learning by highlighting the relevance of their subjects to future careers, opportunities and pathways
https://resources.careersandenterprise.co.uk/my-learning-my-future
