Careers Education

At Heart of the Forest School careers education, information, advice and guidance is at our forefront ensuring students are equipped with the correct tools and values to help prepare them for adulthood. We support pupils to consider their future options, realise their potential and decide how their skills and experiences fit with opportunities in Further Education.

As a SEND school we take a person-centred approach to the delivery of our careers program to ensure that it is appropriate yet ambitious for each individual student. Whilst expectations are exceptionally high at Heart of the Forest, the perception, methodology and delivery of ‘Careers’ may differ to that on offer in a mainstream setting.

Our overarching aim is to provide students with a comprehensive careers program to help them to develop knowledge, skills and attributes that will equip them to lead a fulfilling and as independent as possible adult life. This further includes;

• Improve quality of life through the development and acquisition of work-related skills, which could be used in supported employment, supported volunteering or to complete tasks more successfully in their everyday life.
• Ensure students develop an awareness and understanding of different roles in the workplace
• Enrich life experience through work related Enterprise activities.
• Develop students’ knowledge of the different options that are open to them after year 11 and year 14
• Improve self-esteem and mental health.
• Improve the possibility and probability of paid work, which could include permanent paid full-time employment.
• Ensure that Students and families have the relevant support and guidance so that they feel fully informed about the opportunities open to their young person

Careers information, advice and guidance is a vital part of the curriculum offered at Heart of the Forest School and provides a significant contribution to preparing young people for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of life. The school aims to deliver impartial careers guidance to help students make informed choices about their future and this is adapted to meet the wide range of needs within the school.

Our careers program is underpinned by the Gatsby Benchmarks and Careers Statutory Guidance, January 2018. As a school, we will measure the quality of careers education available against the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks and will continue to use the Compass self-assessment tool to indicate areas for further development.

How can you work with Heart of the Forest Community Special School? 

For students at our School, careers and employability education is about increasing independence and enrichment in all areas of life. We welcome support from the local community in the following ways:

Show us what you do – Come in to our school and talk to us about what you do, or make a short video presentation, using straightforward language, about your workplace or role. It would help our students if you could show them some of the equipment that you use. You could even provide an encounter box of sensory objects that represent what you do for our students to explore.

Let us visit you – Our pupils enjoy visits to the local community, so please let us know if our pupils could visit your workplace to see what you do. We would have to complete a risk assessment first but would love to hear from you.

Work with us – Some of our pupils would benefit from a work placement. This might be every week for a short session, or maybe just for a week to have an immersive experience or even just a one-off work experience encounter. We would support our pupils during any such placement.

If you are interested in finding out more about working with us, please contact Kelly Lindenberg or Kelly-Ann Fletcher

Kelly.lindenberg@hofschool.co.uk/kelly-ann.fletcher@hofschool.co.uk