Careers
Careers at Westacre
Why do we teach Careers?
At Westacre we aim to inspire our pupils' aspirations and self-belief. It is a shared belief that for a child to work hard and achieve their potential, it needs to be purposeful; Careers can offer this. By developing a knowledge of what their futures hold, it allows the pupils a chance to see the end goal, to understand where they are trying to get to.
With aspirations being a key driver of the school, Careers plays a key part in raising goals and giving the children steps to achieve them. This is done through a range of strategies: Careers theme days, bespoke planning within PSHE and elements being written into planning across all year groups and all curriculum subjects.
For more detail in terms of how Careers is implemented across the curriculum we teach in Westacre, please open the Careers Strategy Document below:
Careers Contact Details in Westacre
Careers Lead Name: Mr Cotton
E-mail: office@westacre.worcs.sch.uk
Phone: 01905 772795
Mr Cotton is our Careers leader. If you have any questions to ask him about the Careers provision at Westacre, please contact the school office.
Careers 2019-20
Worcestershire Skills Showcase
Wednesday 4th March offered Year 7 the chance to mingle with future employers in Worcestershire at the Skills Showcase held at the Chateau Impney, Droitwich. Here, pupils were able to talk to a whole host of professionslas from a range of different employment sectors. Pupils were able to use hand tools to craft things out of wood, control a robot made of Lego, fix an McClaren car as well as get up close and person with a snake! The children's attitudes and enthusiasm was fantastic and they were a real credit to the school.
This visit was just a part of Westacre's involvement in National Careers Week, with a series of clips being shown during class registration slots and a dedicated lesson to expanding knowledge of careers delivered to all classes in school.
Careers Day- investigating personal traits
Creative Careers Week- Trip to Blue Print
Westacre Careers Strategy
Year 7 Careers Day 8th November 2019
Careers 2018-19
Botanical Beauties Make a Difference
Yesterday, the winners of the Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts enterprise challenge visited their chosen charity, Glovers Piece mini farm, to make a donation of £200. The children were given a tour of the farm and got to meet some of the animals and children their money will be supporting. Well done girls!
Careers Day in Year 7
On Thursday 7th November 2019, we will be folding a careers day for year 7s where they will have the chance to listen and ask questions to people across a wide range of sectors. Each lesson will be focused around what each individual job does, what qualifications are needed and what skills are required to ensure success.
If you are a parent, carer or someone form a local business that feel you could offer something for the day, please contact Mr Cotton (careers lead) via the school office.
Thank you.
Blood Sweat and T-Shirts
The future of Droitwich’s economy is looking strong if our Blood, Sweat and T-shirts project is anything to go on. Some of the products this year have reached new heights; there are candles created out of old wax crayons, recycled drawers being turned into table mats and a whole host of other fantastic products on sale. The children have worked tremendously in their teams, showing a determination to make as much money for charity as possible and demonstrating a fantastic amount of empathy for those children around the world who face working tirelessly every single day.
The sale itself was a huge success with the children earning just over £600 meaning we are able to support charities again this year. A donation will be going to Oxfam, the charity we support each year, as well as Glover's Piece, a care farm just outside Worcester.
The winning group, who raised just over £90 were Botanical Beauties (Sophie Pegg, Chloe Hodgson, Grace Rusby, Mya Slavin and Indiya Hancox) who created small plant pots from corks along with hair ties made from old clothing. They clear are entrepreneurs of the future.
Westacre Middle School Careers Strategy Document.
Year 7 Interview success.
Friday 15th March was a chance for all of year 7 to prepare for what life in the job market it is like. They spent the morning considering their dream jobs, achievable jobs and nightmare jobs and began considering the skills and qualifications they would need to achieve them.
Following this they looked at the wages they could hope to earn in different employment before working out their own individual cost of living- this did leave many children in a state of shock.
The day was finished with the children having the opportunity to interview each other for a range of different jobs. It was brilliant to see them so articulate in the interview scenarios, both in their roles as the employer and potential employee. The children then gave feedback to each other about how they interviewed, again this was done in an exceptionally mature way.
The follow-up homework gave children the chance to apply for their dream job via a letter of application. Jobs available were: chocolate tester, games designer, dog trainer, Lego master builder and travel blogger. After much debate, a shortlist of candidates was drawn up and they had the opportunity to be interviewed by our Senior Leadership team in school.
The successful applicants were:
Oliver Barker- Lego Master Builder
Grace Rusby- Travel Blogger
Annabel Brannan- Chocolate Taster
Guilherme Rodrigues- Games Designer
Chloe Hodgson- Dog Trainer
Year 7 take first steps on their career paths
It has been a particularly successful and enjoyable week in year 7 with the children having the opportunity to explore a range of different future careers.
On Wednesday, we went to the Chateau Impney, to the Worcestershire Skills Showcase, where pupils had the opportunities to talk with companies from all different sectors of employment. Each stall was run by a professional and it was great to see so many pupils discussing their futures and trying the activities that were on offer. They had the chance to hammer nails in the construction zone, use robotic arms and virtual reality headsets in the technology zone, and talk to the army about what their futures could hold.
Thursday was a chance to build on the success with a visit to the NEC and the BIG BANG fair. Pupils saw a range of STEM companies (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and were again given the chance to find out more about the wide variety of opportunities there are out there for them.
Friday was a chance to consider what they had discovered and begin looking at where to go next. Pupils spent time considering their future cost of living- some of them may need to tighten their belts somewhat- along with what wages they may hope to achieve in the jobs they envisage themselves doing. The week was ended with the chance to apply for a dream job through a letter of application and we look forward to shortlisting the successful candidates to then have interviews with Mrs. Evans.
The pupils have really shown maturity this week and it is great to see them thinking about their futures at such a relatively young age. Well done Year 7.
Big Bang Fair and Worcestershire Skills Showcase
