Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Part of the University of Bolton Group

Good Career Guidance are:

The GMCA assesses the College (annually) on how they met the benchmarks. We are delighted to announce the College met 100% of all the assessments in each of the eight benchmarks. Take a look at the activities and hard work undertaken by our staff to ensure our students have an excellent careers experience.

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Contents

Page 4 A stable careers programme

Page 6 Learning from career and labour market information

Page 8 Addressing the needs of each pupil

Page 10 Linking curriculum learning to careers

Page 12 Encounters with employers and employees

Page 14 Experiences of workplaces

Page 16 Encounters with further and higher education

Page 18 Personal guidance

3. Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Bolton College has met

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

1. A stable careers programme

Activity

Bolton College is primarily based in Bolton, but operates a number of Community Learning Centres in the surrounding area. It provides a range of courses that include vocational education, work-based learning, ESOL courses, Diplomas, Apprenticeships, Access courses and Higher Education courses.

The College is a Matrix Accredited College for its Quality Standard for Information, Advice and Guidance, 2022.

The College’s Student Experience Team includes a team of two Trainee Careers Advisors, who are currently working towards their Level 6 Qualification in Information, Advice and Guidance and two Information and Advice Officers of which one is qualified to Level 6 and the other Level 4. They report to the Student Experience Manager who is line managed by the College’s Group Lead.

Catherine Langstreth, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Stakeholders, is the nominated Careers Leader and is responsible for effective leadership and management processes. Catherine is supported in accessing funded training to develop them in their role. The programme is underpinned by strategic planning, staff accountability, systemic embedding of careers delivery and effective evaluation of the impact on students including whether they reach positive, personally valued destinations.

Having a Careers Lead at Senior Management level allows for strategic oversight of the careers provision and for a strong channel to the Senior Management Team. The Student Experience Manager also manages other areas including enrichment, work experience, and the pastoral and wellbeing teams.

The team endeavours to make the service as accessible as possible and this is promoted well across the College. The careers programme is an integral part of the College mission and commitment to students. The programme is well regarded by students, parents, staff, employers and other agencies including link schools and community partners.

There are Learning and Development Mentors in each vocational area. They refer students to the Careers Team for one-to-one interviews and work closely with the team to plan group tutorials for the academic year.

Governors and senior leaders are committed to careers for all. They promote a culture of high expectations and rigorously monitor achievements and destinations of students on all courses to ensure that they make good progress from their starting points. They are proactive in identifying and taking steps to overcome shortcomings in the careers programme.

Monthly reports and an annual Self-Assessment for the Student Experience Team helps to shape the focus points for the academic year. The main objectives of the team are to improve the destinations of leavers, engage with the student population through methods they find relevant and accessible, and provide a service that improves student experience. Progress towards these objectives is measured through student usage statistics, feedback, surveys and student destinations.

Bolton College’s Learning for Skills, Careers and Life Policy is designed to meet all eight Gatsby Benchmarks, in line with the expectations of the DfE, Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and Ofsted. This is published on the College website and is updated annually.

Feedback is obtained at all parent events, including interview evenings, open evenings and parents’ evenings.

4. Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

100% of the 18 assessment areas in benchmark 1

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

2. Learning from career and labour market information

Activity

The Curriculum Management Group undertake an annual Curriculum and Review Activity –‘Strategic Planning of Curriculum (SPOC)’. This process uses trusted data sources to ensure that all curriculum areas at the College:

• Align their curriculum to Bolton and Greater Manchester Priorities

• Consider opportunities for growth and gap analysis

• Reflect on curriculum outcomes and impact from previous year

• Involve stakeholder engagement in their curriculum design

• Review the performance of all ages including Apprenticeships, Higher Education and Income Generated

• Introduce new developments for the coming year.

All study programmes focus on progression to learning at the next level or to employment. In order to support this, students have access to high-quality information about local and national labour markets, skills shortages, predicted growth areas and what employers are looking for from applicants.

The Careers Team have significant input to the tutorial curriculum, PowerPoint presentations and supporting notes on topics including career and labour market information and options after they turn 18. As well as this, tutorials also cover topics such as writing effective personal statements, interview techniques etc. All these materials are accessible via the Moodle platform.

To ensure information is kept up-to-date, the team run annual training for Learning Development

Bolton College has met

100% of the two assessment areas in benchmark 2

Mentors, Personal Tutors and teachers on subjects such as UCAS applications.

Although the College shares information online, the Student Services Centre and Learning Resource Centres are equipped with careers books, posters and prospectuses. Staff encourage students to use the College online learning environment to access career and labour market information.

The Careers Team also offer weekly drop in sessions, such as CV workshops, job searching clubs and job application support.

The College uses events and encounters with employers to bring labour market information to life. This is planned and shared via a careers calendar with annual events including a Higher Education Fair and Careers Fair as well as events to recognise National Careers Week and National Apprenticeship Week. Guest speakers (from industry) / encounters with employers are planned within vocational classes. Parents are encouraged to use good sources of careers and in some cases labour market information via Parent Portal and the College website.

The College’s Schools Liaison Team works closely with schools in the local areas to ensure that young people are aware of the full range of career pathways open to them.

6. Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

3. Addressing the needs of each pupil Activity

ProMonitor is used to record and track the student journey right from starting point until end of programme / destinations. This is accessible to College staff, students and parents. It allows the College to keep effective track of academic progress, letting teachers and managers see, at a glance, whether students are achieving their potential or if more support is needed. Key information stored on this system is as follows:

• Individual Learning Plan

• Initial Assessment

• Markbook (progress tracking)

• Positive Behaviour Policy

• Appropriate Comments

• Academic Reviews

• SMART Targets

• Safeguarding

• Learner Support.

The College ensures that students are guided through their College journey:

• Before entry (via the Transition Team)

• On their course (via formal, termly one-to-ones)

• As they leave (via My Next Steps)

• Ad-hoc (as and when necessary).

These meetings are all recorded on the students’ ProMonitor system.

It tailors its careers provision to challenge and support students with diverse needs including:

• Students aged 16 to 18 who may be undertaking high-quality academic education, Apprenticeships or technical education

• Students up to the age of 25 when they have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

• Adults.

Students are signposted / referred to the relevant support service should this be required.

All students have an individualised pathway with clear study and/or employment goals. Routes could include an Apprenticeship or progression to higher education. Students make good progress from their individual starting points. From the outset of their College careers, achieving their qualifications at the end of their courses is linked to making progress on a personally valued pathway.

The College provides enhanced careers input for those with low levels of prior attainment with the aim of developing their career thinking and work readiness skills to enable them to make informed decisions about their next steps.

The College refines teaching, learning and assessment methods to overcome barriers to learning and to meet the needs of employers and students.

8. Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Bolton College has met

100% of the eight assessment areas in benchmark 3

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

Activity

From their earliest contact with the College (open days / evenings and interviews), students understand that they are taking their course to progress into their chosen careers.

The College designs its curriculum in response to local and national priorities. It provides excellent opportunities for students to develop the skills and knowledge that they require to be successful when they take their next step.

The College holds the Quality in Careers Standard, which requires that students benefit from an embedded careers programme.

This is implemented through the tutorial programme as well as in vocational subjects via the following methods:

• Careers learning as a subject in its own right – via the tutorial curriculum

• Careers inputs that are integral to a course, e.g. courses with dedicated career planning modules

• Incorporating career learning within curriculum areas, e.g. skills teaching, creativity, enterprise and employability, within subjects

• Course experiences, e.g. encounters with employers and employees, encounters with further and higher education providers, experience of work

• Careers enrichment activities, including those that are scheduled in students’ own time and those that are more closely tied to study programmes, e.g. social action, competitions, challenges, performances, national awareness events

• Various workshops and drop in sessions offered by the Careers Team.

10. Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Bolton College has met

100% of the three assessment areas in benchmark 4

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

5. Encounters with employers and employees

Activity

Alongside its work experience programmes, the College runs a variety of initiatives designed to boost employability skills and networks, including:

Visiting speakers from employers representing a range of occupational areas in response to student interests

Students benefit from a wide range of well-planned employer encounters linked to their study programme, helping them make informed choices about future careers and to develop employability skills. The College has extensive partnerships with employers and other organisations that enable all students to understand the opportunities open to them and to progress.

Every student is provided with the opportunity to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This is done through a range of enrichment activities, including visiting speakers, and enterprise schemes, and includes students’ own part-time employment where it exists.

Students participate in at least two meaningful encounters with an employer, one encounter being delivered through their curriculum area.

The College uses ProMonitor to record and take account of students’ part-time employment and the influence this has had on their development.

Bolton College has met

100% of the three assessment areas in benchmark 5

A defined employer engagement structure incorporating work experience

The College has a track record of sustaining and improving employer engagement with demonstrable benefits for all groups of students. Students seeking to enter employment upon completion receive support that is as well-rounded as that given to students considering university.

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

6. Experiences of workplaces Activity

All students have the opportunity of first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities and to expand their networks.

By the end of their study programme, every student will have had at least one experience of a workplace, in addition to any part-time jobs they may have.

Activities and placements are an integral part of students’ study programmes and, where appropriate, are differentiated and linked to their current career plans.

The different models of work experience are as follows:

The College has a work placement team that works closely with teachers and lecturers to match students to opportunities and liaise closely with employers. It also supports students in finding their own placements.

Activities are chosen according to their fitness for purpose, e.g. work shadowing enables a student to find out about a job when there are practical reasons why they would not be allowed to do this through work experience.

Experiences provide students with insights into employability skills, technical skill needs and contemporary labour market issues.

Work Placement Officers and Learning

Development Mentors talk to students about their experiences of workplaces (such as school and privately arranged work experience, part-time jobs, volunteering) to facilitate reflection and ensure progression in learning. College staff also facilitate group planning and debriefing so that individuals can learn from each other’s thinking and experiences.

The College gives students advice on how to learn from their part-time jobs and how to combine part-time work with their studies in a way that does not damage their College success.

College has met 100% of the single assessment area in benchmark

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

7. Encounters with further and higher education

Activity

Students fully understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them.

This includes both academic and vocational routes, colleges, universities and in the workplace. Students have informed discussions on the pros and cons of different Higher Education options, e.g. study in a Further Education college compared with a university, full-time university degree or a foundation degree combining academic study with workplace learning.

By the end of their programme of study, every student will have had a meaningful encounter with a range of providers of learning and training that may form the next stage of their career. This includes, as appropriate, Further Education colleges, Higher Education and Apprenticeship and training providers. This includes the opportunity to meet staff and students via Further Education college visits, Higher Education fairs and visits, and talks from Apprenticeship and training providers.

The College promotes the full range of ‘next step’ learning opportunities for its students including:

• Apprenticeships and training

• Higher level technical education, e.g. foundation degrees, HNCs, HNDs

• Bachelor’s degrees.

Bolton College has met

100% of the three assessment areas in benchmark 7

This happens in a variety of ways including visits, careers and Higher Education fairs and events, visiting speakers, and taster sessions.

The College identifies able but socioeconomically disadvantaged students who would benefit from extra support so they can choose and make progress on a learning pathway that is commensurate with their abilities.

16. Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Bolton College Gatsby Benchmarks

Benchmark

8. Personal guidance Activity

The College employs two full-time Careers Advisors as well as two full-time Information and Advice Officers. All students have access to personal guidance.

Personalised support tailored to individual abilities and needs is a wrap-around provision related to and building on a stable careers programme. Personal guidance complements programme support and helps students to build a positive concept of themselves, to develop realistically high aspirations and to take ownership for the skills and knowledge they need to manage their own careers and transitions.

It enables students to personalise and contextualise the range of information, advice and employer encounters they receive. Personal guidance enables students to review their thinking in relation to career ideas and pathways, to consider their transferable skills and to develop the curiosity to explore alternatives. These skills, in conjunction with the ability to use labour market information confidently, equip young people with the knowledge to manage not only their immediate career plans but also any future changes in direction.

The Careers Team work closely with a range of staff in College including Learning Development Mentors, Personal Tutors and Teachers to ensure there is a comprehensive network of support available to students.

Bolton College has met

100% of the two assessment areas in benchmark 8

The College supports schools and prospective students in their local communities and the Careers Team contributes to open days and student induction. College teams will identify students at application and enrolment who will need personal guidance and support to develop their confidence and social capital.

Part of the University of Bolton Group