Careers Education and Guidance (CEG)

ETHOS

Queen Margaret's has a whole school approach to CEG and the personal development of each individual girl through an agenda involving staff, parents and outside agencies.

In January 2005 the school was awarded the Quality Standards Certificate for its provision of CEG.

PROGRAMME

The Careers Education and Guidance programme is integrated into the PSHE curriculum. In the senior school, tutorials and an extensive range of challenging and informative events focusing on higher education and career opportunities support the programme. Individual guidance is available throughout the school.

LOWER SCHOOL

Year III has 10 hours of CEG with a syllabus that focuses on:

Choice of GCSE subjects for Years IV and V and the links between school subjects and careers.
Emphasis upon starting to develop self-awareness (strengths, abilities and interests) and informed decision-making.

GCSE - YEARS IV AND V

Year IV has 10 hours of CEG

In Year IV girls begin to think about the world of work and their possible place within it. Consideration is given to factors that influence career decision-making. Girls review the relationship between their own views about work, their particular strengths, abilities and skills and specific career areas.

In June, all girls take a psychometric test (Morrisby Profile).

Year V

The focus of work in Year V is to help girls make well-informed and realistic choices for their Advanced Levels and to consider their next steps in higher education. They begin to identify and plan to meet future goals, to develop skills in analysis of information in relation to self, to research longer term career interests and to develop skills in information research and retrieval.

In addition to Morrisby feedback sessions, girls consider post-16 options and undertake personal careers investigations.

Consideration is given to career skills including

CVs and letters of application
Interview techniques
Work experience.
Different employment situations

NB All work experience placements must meet the requirements of
current Health and Safety legislation.

SIXTH FORM

Both Lower and Upper VI are allocated 20 hours of study, either in groups or individual tutorials. Emphasis is placed on personal action planning and encouraging individual research activities.

A tailored programme of support for international students has been developed.

Lower VI

The focus lies with exploring post- 18 options, Higher Education institutions and appropriate courses. Emphasis is placed on girls making their own informed decisions about future career paths.

To support these objectives, girls in LVI:

Attend Careers/HE group sessions
Have access to a wide range of HE/Careers information
Attend HE/Careers talks (also open to parents)
Can visit HE Institutions
Access information on Gap Year opportunities

Girls are also introduced to the UCAS process, attend one-to-one careers tutorials and, post-AS examinations, attend the QM- based Careers and Higher Education Event.

Upper VI

Girls receive guidance to support their university applications and to prepare them for student life beyond Queen Margaret's

Topics covered include

UCAS applications
Interview support and mock interviews as appropriate
Finance for HE
Expectations for university
Managing transition
Coping with stress
Study skills
Strategies for examination success

Parents of Sixth Formers Applying to Higher Education

......…how parents can make the most of web based tools.
There is much information available that will help girls to approach higher education with confidence.
Helpful websites for 'parental browsing' about all aspects of the process include: http://www.thegooduniversityguide.org.uk
The Good University Guide has moved its newspaper links from the Times to the Independent.
The website -

offers advice on choosing courses
provides UK university league tables by subject
gives entry standards
publishes degree results
outlines graduate work prospects
allows you to customise your search.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) http://www.ucas.ac.uk is the UK central organisation through which applications are processed for entry to higher education. UCAS also provides information and services to students, parents, advisers and HE staff. In the Course Search facility you may access 'entry profiles' about courses and follow links to a university and specific departmental websites.
At http://www.ucas.ac.uk/parents/ you will find all the information you need to support your daughters with their choices and application; you may even register for a free parent's guide.