Skip to content ↓
Future Academies Watford

Future Academies Watford

Careers Education

Careers Education Information and Guidance is an important part of preparing young people to make the most of the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life. 

Our programme empowers young people to plan and manage their own futures. A summary of the programme is available to download below.

Read about our approach to careers education, our commitments, responsibilities and evaluation plans in our Careers and Provider Access Policy available in Future Academies Watford Policies.

Our Careers Team 

  • To find out more about our careers programme, give any feedback or contribute to careers education at Future Academies Watford, please email careers@watford.futureacademies.org or phone 01923 672 964.
  • Senior Leader with responsibility for careers: Fran Heaphy.

Students

Our careers provision at Future Academies Watford is designed to give as much information, advice and guidance as possible to our students, so you can make informed decisions about your future.  

​All staff at the school are here to help you. It is crucial that you discuss your next steps with people who will give you good, sound advice based on up-to-date information. You might talk to your teachers, Form Tutor, Head of Year, our Careers Leader as well as members of your family. 

​If you would like to book a 1:1 careers information, advice and guidance session, please email careers@watford.futureacademies.org using your school email and give your name, year group, form and why you would like to book the session.

​Volunteering is an excellent way to boost your CV or UCAS application by developing your skills and gaining valuable experience. It is also a great way to give back to your local community. Here are a few ideas to get started:

  • Ask your Form Tutor or Head of Year if there are any roles or clubs you can join in the Academy.
  • If you have your own idea for a new extra-curricular club, speak to your Head of Year.
  • Join a local volunteering programme: GoVolHerts.
  • Think about joining a local Cadet Force: Find a detachment | Army Cadets UK.
  • Volunteer atWatford General Hospital: West Herts Teaching Hospitals 

Online work experience:

These organisations offer many opportunities to gain valuable information and experience in different roles and sectors:

There are lots of useful websites for researching careers listed in the Parents & Carers section of this careers area on our website. Also, look at the Apprenticeships & T-Levels and University sections.

Parents & Carers

This area of our Careers Website is aimed at helping parents and carers source up-to-date information to help support young people make decisions about their future studies, training, and employment.

​Unifrog: We are rolling out Unifrog, which is an online careers platform. If your child has an account, you could ask them to log in and use their account to do some research, or you could contact our Careers Leader, Fran Heaphy, if you would like your own account. Unifrog has information on careers, different qualifications and study options including college, sixth form, university and apprenticeships, so it is a great first port of call when looking to help your child with their career decisions.

​Go to Sign In - Unifrog to access.

​Educational Options: 

Helping your child decide their next options, whether that be their Key Stage 4 subjects, or what to do after completing Year 11 or 13 is important, which is why we provide parents and carers with specific information and guidance at these key transition points.  

There are a variety of routes and qualifications, including apprenticeships available once your child leaves Future Academies Watford. Please click on the links below to find out more about some popular destinations for our students. Also look at the information on the Apprenticeships & T-Levels and University in this section of our website.

Post 16 Options:

Specialist Colleges:

Types of Jobs: Students who have a vision of where they want to be in the future are likely to find it easier to plan their next steps. To help students and parents get an idea of what jobs are out there, we recommend using the Careers Search function on Unifrog and looking at some of the following websites:

​Local Labour Market Information:

Providing our young people with current information on the labour market is crucial to allowing them to make informed decisions about the next steps they choose to take in their career journey. Many jobs that exist today did not exist 10 years ago and there will be jobs available in 10 years’ time that we cannot anticipate now. For this reason, we also ensure our students develop essential, transferable skills such as communication, problem-solving, resilience, character, integrity, judgement, leadership, and teamwork.   

For students at Future Academies Watford, it is important to keep up to date with what is happening locally, nationally and internationally. In Hertfordshire, there are many new and exciting opportunities which are available to young people. For information about the local labour market, click here.

Communicating with parents and carers: Parents and carers receive information about careers, work experience, study options and careers events via letters, newsletters, and at Options and Parents’ Evenings. 

Teachers

Future Academies Watford is committed to providing high-quality Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance to help inspire students and enable them to make rational, informed career decisions.  

Fran Heaphy is the SLT lead on Careers. She is responsible for designing our careers programme and for supporting our staff to deliver careers education and guidance by providing resources, advice, and staff briefings. It is, however, the strong belief of the school and the trust that the provision and delivery of careers education is the responsibility of all staff at Future Academies Watford. 

At Future Academies Watford we would like all subject teachers to: 

  • Use the ‘My Learning My Future’ teacher resources to highlight the relevance of your subject to future careers.
  • Have a prominent display that links subject learning and skill development to different careers.
  • Develop links with employers and specialist organisations to enrich subject learning.
  • Invite alumni and other inspiring speakers to talk to students about how your subjects link to future pathways.
  • Organise external visits by students to local employers / specialist workplaces such as museums, theatres, recording studios, law courts, etc.
  • Record career related teaching in schemes of learning - and encourage students to update their activities on Unifrog.
  • Take part in National Careers Week by starting your lesson with a careers focus, such as talking about your career pathway or showing a short film where people explain the relevance of skills developed in your subject to their role. 
  • Explore ways of developing projects for students with a local employer or specialist organisation that enable them to use the skills and knowledge learnt in the classroom in the ‘real-world’. 

Subject teachers are supported to develop and integrate careers learning opportunities into their schemes of learning through INSET sessions and discussions with our Careers Team.

Useful websites:

All staff are given their own Unifrog account. Unifrog is an online careers platform with lots of information on careers, different qualifications and study options, training, and apprenticeships,

Employers

Local employers - we want to work with you.

At Future Academies Watford we are educating your future employees. You can play a vital role in raising the career aspirations, broadening the horizons, and developing the employability skills of our young people.

We are always looking for employers to inspire our students, broaden their horizons, and develop their skills and understanding about the fast-changing world of work. 

​​Ways to support our Careers Programme:

  • Give an inspiring talk about your industry and / or career path. 
  • Help bring a subject to life by showing how it is used in the workplace. 
  • Offer a work experience placement at your premises. 
  • Support employability workshops delivered by our specialist partners.
  • Host a visit to your workplace.
  • Prepare students for job and apprenticeship interviews as part of our mock interview programme. 
  • Develop a project for students that enables them to use the knowledge and skills learnt in the classroom in the ‘real-world’.
  • Mentor a student as part of a structured programme. 
  • Run a hands-on workshop with activities relating to your area of expertise. 
  • Be part of our discussions about pathways after leaving school, e.g. apprenticeships. 
  • Help champion specific issues and challenge stereotyping about job roles and sectors. 
  • Support employment routes for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and offer a work experience placement that is co-supported by the school. 

​What to expect:

By getting involved, you will be developing the skills of our future workforce and your own and / or your colleagues’ skills, forge community links and build a positive profile for your organisation.  

​We will support you whatever you choose to do to ensure we maximise the use of your valuable time. Interested in getting involved? Please contact our Careers Leader, Fran Heaphy via careers@watford.futureacademies.org, and she will:

  • Be your main point of contact for logistics and other enquiries.
  • Help to organise the activity and any briefings and training you might need.
  • Provide you with logistical information and explain our safeguarding requirements.
  • Conduct a short evaluation with you to ensure we are getting things right.

Apprenticeships & T-Levels

During Years 7-13, students will learn about apprenticeships from their teachers, our Careers Leader and a range of apprenticeship providers.

Apprenticeships are available to anyone aged 16 and over. They are a mixture of work and learning. It is most common for learning to take place either in a block at the start of the apprenticeship or one day per week at a training provider. Students at Future Academies Watford can start an apprenticeship after completing their studies in Year 11 or Year 13. Students must ensure they have an appropriate back-up plan, whether this is further study or employment, because applying for an apprenticeship is highly competitive. 

​An apprenticeship gives you free structured training, an understanding of the workplace and the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge whilst getting paid. Apprenticeships usually last between one and five years, depending on their level. The levels available are:

  • Intermediate (Level 2)
  • Advanced (Level 3)
  • Higher and degree (Levels 4-7)

There are apprenticeships for many different job roles and most sectors, from healthcare to financial services, the creative industries to construction, digital and tech roles to sport and fitness. 

Apprenticeships are advertised on the national apprenticeship website, and you can search by distance from home and sector. Unifrog also features a live Apprenticeship Search function. The Careers Team at Future Academies Watford can also provide advice and additional information can be found online here: 

T-Levels are technical qualifications combining classroom learning, alongside an industry placement, and they are designed for young people as an option following GCSEs (post-16). 80% of the qualification is classroom based and 20% is spent undertaking an industry placement with an employer in the workplace. The training provider is responsible for finding the employer(s) that will provide the industry placement. Students can find their nearest T-Level here:

University

During Years 7-13, students learn about university alongside other study options including college and specialist institutions. Students will also visit a university during Years 7-9 and in Year 12. 

It is never too early to start considering whether university will be the right path for your career aspirations. Considerations include whether a degree is necessary for your future career, and if so, which university and course is right for you. 

​In Year 12, students are given the chance to visit universities, and are offered guidance on UCAS, student finance, and support and advice about the whole university application process.  

​Unifrog is an excellent place to start when looking for information. You can use the Subjects Library to see what university course could be right for you. While the UK Universities Search tool allows you to compare university courses to see how they match up against each other. Unifrog is also used to develop your personal statement and references as a part of the UCAS process. 

​We also encourage students to consider studying abroad and provide support for those who wish to pursue this.  

Below are some links that you may find useful. 

​University information:

​Admission Tests:

​Studying abroad:

​Gap Year:

Alumni

We would like to keep in touch with our former students. We are interested in what you are doing now and know that hearing from our alumni is very inspiring for our students.  

Join our alumni network on LinkedIn.

  • Click on the 'Me' icon at the top of your LinkedIn home page.  

  • Go to ‘View Profile’ and click on Education and start typing in Future Academies Watford, and it should come up as an option. Click on it and ‘save’. 

The Education section won’t appear if you don’t have any education entries listed on your LinkedIn profile. To add an Education section to your profile and to populate it: 

  1. Click the 'Me' icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage, then View Profile. 

  1. Click Add profile section in the introduction section. 

  1. From the Core dropdown, click Add education. 

  1. Type your education information into each applicable field, including Future Academies Watford. 

  1. Click Save. 

Ways you could support our careers programme: 

  • Provide a work placement.
  • Host a visit to your workplace.
  • Prepare students for job and apprenticeship interviews as part of our mock interview programme. 
  • Get involved in extracurricular clubs and activities.
  • Give an inspiring talk about your experience of university, being an apprentice, or your industry, career path and job role.
  • Help bring a subject lesson to life by showing how it is used in the workplace.
  • Mentor a student as part of a structured programme. 
  • Run a hands-on workshop with activities relating to your area of expertise. 
  • Be part of our discussions about pathways after leaving school, e.g. apprenticeships. 
  • Help champion specific issues and challenge stereotyping about job roles and sectors. 
  • Support employment routes for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and offer a work experience placement that is co-supported by the school. 

Or maybe you have your own ideas. Please email Fran Heaphy at careers@watford.futureacademies.org if you would like to support our careers programme.

Cookie Policy