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Queen'scroft High School

careers

Careers at Queen’s Croft High School are delivered through our Aspire Curriculum, as part of our Preparation for Adulthood approach.

Aspire supports pupils from Key Stage 3 onwards to develop aspirations, explore future pathways and build the skills and confidence needed for adulthood. Our careers education is inclusive, personalised and closely aligned with pupils’ Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) outcomes.

Our Aspire Careers Curriculum

The Aspire Curriculum supports pupils to:

  • explore a wide range of future pathways

  • develop aspirations that are realistic and meaningful

  • understand the world of work

  • build employability and independence skills

  • prepare for post-16 and post-school transitions

Careers learning is embedded across the curriculum and strengthened through Sixth Form provision, including work experience, community projects and transition planning.

How to find out more about our careers programme

  • Pupils can find out more through careers lessons, their Learning Journals, and their class team.
  • Parents and carers can find out more through this website, careers events, annual reviews, and the school office. Career action plans for Years 9 to 11 are emailed home.
  • Staff are supported through staff meetings and CPD led by the Careers Leader.
  • Employers and providers can contact the Careers Leader through the school office.

Personal guidance

Every pupil has access to independent careers guidance from a Level 6 qualified adviser from Staffordshire County Council's Careers and Participation Service. Meetings last 45 minutes and are linked to annual reviews. All Year 11 and Year 14 pupils have a one to one appointment, Year 9 and Year 10 pupils have one to one meetings in the spring and summer terms, and Year 12 and 13 pupils take part in group sessions.

Quality in Careers Standard

We're proud to hold the Quality in Careers Standard, the national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG), and we're delighted to confirm that our most recent external assessment, carried out in March 2026 by Staffordshire County Council, has confirmed that we're fully meeting the Standard across all eight Gatsby Benchmarks, with no actions required.

This outstanding result reflects the tireless hard work of our Careers Lead, Jane Bradbury, and the whole school community in developing our Aspire careers programme. The assessor described the programme as an exemplar of sector-leading practice, noting that it delivers outstanding career-related learning that benefits pupils, staff, and the wider community.

Highlights from the assessment include:

Fully meeting the Standard in all eight areas, covering stable careers provision, labour market information, individual pupil needs, curriculum links, employer encounters, workplace experiences, further and higher education encounters, and personal guidance.

Outstanding pupil outcomes, with Queen's Croft achieving 0% NEETs (pupils not in education, employment or training) in both summer 2025 amd Summer 2026, and our Aspire programme recognised for equipping every pupil with the skills, confidence and knowledge to secure an appropriate post-16 destination.

Exceptional pupil and parent feedback, with students describing careers activities as fun, confidence-building and genuinely useful in preparing them for the future, and parents reporting that they couldn't imagine the school doing anything better.

GREAT Fridays, our talent and enrichment programme, was specifically highlighted as exemplary practice in a peer-to-peer review, and the school's strong community partnerships with local employers and organisations were praised as a key strength.

Through a structured, personalised and evolving careers programme, our pupils are supported to explore future pathways, develop confidence, and make informed decisions about education, training and employment. The Quality in Careers Standard is achieved through rigorous external assessment and is fully aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Career Guidance and the Department for Education's statutory guidance.

How we measure the impact of our careers programme

We evaluate the impact of our careers programme by looking at what pupils learn and experience, and at where they go when they leave. We use the following evidence.

  • Destinations and NEET data: We record the destination of every Year 11 and post 16 leaver and share this with Staffordshire County Council to monitor September Guarantee offers and actual leaver destinations. We also monitor retention after pupils move on. In both summer 2025 and summer 2026, 0% of our leavers were NEET. Our destinations are published on our Destinations & Alumni page.
  • Career related learning outcomes: Careers learning is assessed through Evidence for Learning, which links pupils' progress to their EHCP outcomes. Pupils also record their encounters and learning in their own Learning Journals, which show progression year on year.
  • Gatsby Benchmarks: We use Compass+ to map encounters and experiences against the Gatsby Benchmarks and to track progress over time.
  • Pupil, parent, and carer feedback: We gather views through Future Skills questionnaires, Learning Journal feedback, annual reviews, and parent and carer feedback.
  • External review: Our programme is assessed against the Quality in Careers Standard. See the section above for our March 2026 result.

How we use this evidence

The Careers Leader meets fortnightly with the Senior Leadership Team to review progress. Destination and retention data is analysed to identify areas for development, which are recorded in the School Improvement Plan. The careers section of the School Improvement Plan is reviewed half termly by the Senior Leadership Team and the governing body, and termly by the Trust. Governors receive a Careers and Personal Development report each term, and the link governor meets regularly with the school to evaluate the impact of current initiatives.

Current priorities

Following the March 2026 assessment, our priorities include:

  • offering more meaningful employer encounters, and encounters with further and higher education providers, to Year 7 and Year 8 pupils
  • linking opportunity providers to Key Stages of learning
  • continuing to develop work experience assessment so that it is recorded in Evidence for Learning
  • strengthening engagement with parents and carers, including families who travel from outside the local area

Preparation for Adulthood

Aspire forms a key part of our wider Preparation for Adulthood offer and supports pupils in the following areas:

  • employment and work-related learning

  • further education and training

  • independent and supported living

  • community participation

Aspire provides a coherent framework for careers education across the school, linking learning, experiences and transition planning.

Further information can be found on our Work Experience & Employability, Community Projects, Life & Living Curriculum, and Destinations & Alumni pages.

Provider Access and Key Information

In line with statutory guidance, we provide access to further education and training providers to support pupils in making informed choices.

Further Education and Training Opportunities

Pupils and families are supported to explore a range of post-16 and post-school options, including visits, open days and provider engagement.

Examples of providers and opportunities we share include:

These opportunities help pupils and families understand the wide range of pathways available after leaving Queen’s Croft.

staffordshire mencap training academy open evening flyer.pdf

 

Careers Guidance and Support

Careers guidance at Queen’s Croft is supported by experienced staff who work closely with pupils, families and external partners.

For careers-related enquiries, please contact:

Jane Bradbury
Assistant Headteacher and Careers Lead
📧 j.bradbury@queenscroft.staffs.sch.uk

Callum Huckfield
Work Experience Co-ordinator
📧 c.huckfield@queenscroft.staffs.sch.uk

P16 Careers Team (ID 1180)

Careerometer

The Careerometer tool can be used to explore and compare information about different occupations.

The widget provides access to headline data relating to:

  • pay

  • working hours

  • future employment prospects

Information is organised by occupation. Pupils can type in the title of a job they are interested in and compare different career options.

 

In Summary

The Aspire Careers Curriculum at Queen’s Croft High School supports pupils to explore future pathways, develop employability skills and prepare for adulthood.

Through a structured, personalised and inclusive approach, pupils are supported to move forward with confidence into further education, training, employment, independent living or adult support provision.

Careers policy and review date

Our full Careers Education, Information and Guidance Policy is available Here. This information was last updated in October 2026 and will next be reviewed in May 2027.

 

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