Careers

The Careers Library

We are fortunate to have a large, comfortable room, currently equipped with two computers, two large tables, seating for 24 students, and with access to the Archive Room (used for interviews), and to the Careers Office, which is now shared with SENCO staff. The Office also has a computer and printer, plus a pleasant working space.

The Library is divided into two distinct areas : University Information and Careers Information.

The University section contains prospectuses, videos and DVDs on a wide range of Higher Education institutions, together with information on Open Days, Courses and Gap Year opportunities.

The Careers section contains booklets and information sheets on a wide variety of careers, in addition to magazines from various institutions, which highlight opportunities in many different fields.

We also have several Connexions files, containing information on many issues affecting young people, such as finance, family problems, addiction, bullying, and health problems.

The Careers Library also has a large selection of books, which are regularly updated, containing information and advice on choices of subjects, how to get into various careers, student finance, scholarships and bursaries, working abroad, voluntary organisations, and much else.

All materials in the library are for reference only, although permission is sometimes given for a student to take material home over a weekend, in which case the loan is recorded.

Every year, volunteers from Year 12 act as Careers Librarians, spending a free period each week in the library, sorting through post, stamping and filing any new material, and removing out-of-date information. They are also of invaluable assistance in manning the library at lunchtimes, ensuring that the room is used sensibly, and in acting as 'ushers' to the various speakers at the bi-ennial Careers Evening in February.

The library is used regularly by sixth-formers as a quiet space for private study, thus easing the pressure on the main library. It is also used for study club after school (for students with organisational problems), and for some examinations, HoD meetings, and meetings with personnel from outside school.

Careers Education and Guidance

Many of the tasks that used to fall within the remit of the Careers Department are now undertaken by SMT, notably the arranging of individual interviews for Year 11 students, and the practice interviews for Year 12 students. Similarly, much of the PSHE programme lower down the school comes under the overall heading of Careers Guidance, but is delivered by the relevant form tutors.

However, Years 7 and 8 are being encouraged to visit the Careers Library, and Year 9 complete the Pathfinder Profile, enabling them to ascertain their particular areas of strength and weakness, and to consider careers for which they might be well suited.
Year 9 are now also offered the chance to attend the Careers Evening.

Year 10 students are offered the opportunity to do the Morrisby Profile, which is arranged in conjunction with Connexions staff. The test takes place at Judd, usually immediately after the summer exams. Feedback is given in groups, in the Autumn term of Year 11, and students generally seem to find the process helpful.

Year 11 students take part in the Work Experience Scheme over a 9-day period after they have taken their GCSE examinations. The school has a large database of placements, many of which have been offered to our students for many years, and boys are asked to make their choices at the start of the Autumn Term, so that firms can be contacted well in advance of the W/E fortnight. Boys may, alternatively, find their own placements, although each one has to be checked by East Kent EBP for Health and Safety and Insurance provision.

This scheme is invaluable for the students, but the role of the Work Experience Administrator is essential in collating the information, contacting the firms, and confirming the placements. The Head of Department liaises with the relevant form tutors, chases up boys who fail to meet the deadlines, and has weekly meetings with the Administrator to check on progress. It is also the role of the HoD to allocate staff to supervise boys during the fortnight, and to arrange the de-briefing sessions on the final day of the scheme.

Year 12 students may access Coursefinder online, to assist them with University choices, but there is a wealth of information and guidance available to them from their tutors, the Head of Sixth Form, Head of Year 12 and Head of Year 13. They are also encouraged to make appointments for individual interviews with the Connexions Adviser, who issues them with a personal action plan, to enable them to research their university courses and careers.
Students are notified in assemblies of the many courses and workshops on offer, and we regularly send students to courses at Nottingham, Cambridge and Kent Universities, in addition to many others.
Year 12 students also have practice interviews with volunteers from a variety of professions, who offer advice and encouragement on how to present themselves to best advantage when being interviewed.

Year 13 students are offered advice and help with their UCAS application, and also avail themselves of the UCAS Directory , available in both the Careers and Hands Libraries. They are also made aware of the many bursaries and scholarships that are available, and many of our students have been successful in gaining these.

It should be stressed that students are given help and encouragement with ANY career path they wish to follow, and not only with the route to University. There are always a few students who wish to leave Judd at the end of Year 11, and sometimes in Year 12, and we do our best to ensure that they are given the advice and help they need.

In conclusion, we aim to provide all students at The Judd School with the advice they need to make informed choices, and to enable them to reach their potential, both during and after their time with us. It is a privilege to be involved in this area of their development.

AG