Stoke Damerel Community College Careers Curriculum aims to help all students make a successful transition to adulthood and the world of work.

We achieve this through:

• Supporting all our young people to achieve their full potential

• Empowering our young people to plan and manage their own futures

• Providing impartial comprehensive information on all available options

• Raising all our students’ aspirations

• Supporting inclusion by promoting equality, diversity, and social mobility and challenging stereotypes

• Enabling young people to sustain employability and achieve personal and economic well-being throughout their lives

• Promoting participation and enjoyment in lifelong learning

We deliver a planned programme of careers education for every year group, in line with statutory guidance for schools, the Gatsby Benchmarks and the CDI Career Development Framework  with tailored support at key transition points. This includes access to impartial information, expert independent advice, and guidance.

We take a whole-school approach, working closely with parents, carers, employers, external agencies, and further education providers. Additional support is provided for vulnerable learners and those with additional needs, ensuring every student can move forward with confidence. Students and parents are made aware of this entitlement through our college prospectus, electronic newsletter, website and other standard communication channels (when appropriate).

Lucia Gallie

lgallie@sdcc-smhc.net 

• Associate Assistant Headteacher
• SMT Link - Personal Development Lead
• Careers and Work Experience Oversight
• PSHE
• Character Curriculum
• Parental Engagement
• Clubs and Extracurricular Oversight
• High Flyers Programme
   

Katherine Duncan

kduncan@sdcc-smhc.net 

• Careers and Employability Manager
• Develop external links to support CEIAG within curriculum areas
• Support the development of employability skills 
• Develop links with local and national employers 
• Signpost students to appropriate CEIAG advice and information 
• Provide 1:1 impartial Information Advice and Guidance to students
• Support the delivery of the careers advice programme
• Liaison with local FE colleges, training providers and Universities
• Liaison with the Enterprise Adviser
• Review and evaluation of the career programme
• Oversight of Next Steps South West contract

Sophie Jarvis

sjarvis@sdcc-smhc.net 

• Careers Work Placement Coordinator

Our promise to our students

We want every student to:

• Aim high and believe in their potential

• Have the knowledge and confidence to plan their next steps

• Feel supported and included, whatever your background or ambitions

Our careers curriculum is implemented in a variety of ways, for example, explicit taught content through our PSHE programme and Curriculum Collapse mornings, opportunities for bespoke sessions with guest speakers as well as trips and visits.

The structured programme also includes focused events such as various work experience periods – up to 50 hours between Y7 – Y13, an in school careers fair, university open days, apprenticeship fairs and visiting speakers.

Example Careers Content KS3 - KS5

7	Who am I?  Exploring possibilities?  What is a career? What is an entrepreneur?  What is a work-life balance?  Careers and the future.
8	What are my interests? Superhero CV’s, Challenges and rewards of work. Creating a life you want. What does success look like to me? Careers and the Climate.
9	What are my skills? What comes after school? Decision-making – what comes after KS4? Taking control of your career journey, working and earning, what is the labour market, and why is it important?
10	Reflecting on my career journey, exploring different employers, what type of career is best for me? Work Experience prep, Wellbeing in the workplace, In-person, hybrid, remote – what works best? Work Experience
11	What are my employability skills? Post 16 Choices: decision-making, researching, volunteering and paid work, money talks? Is AI a threat? 1:2:1 career guidance interviews. Mock interviews.
12	Personal guidance, Post 18 Choices, Setting goals, how to network and be enterprising, balancing life and work, Work Experience, 1:2:1 career guidance interviews
13	Personal branding, interview basics, confidently managing transitions, being self-employed.

Every student at Stoke Damerel Community College has a Unifrog account. They will have been given a log in when they joined the school.

In their own words Unifrog is an online platform that ‘helps students find futures. They bring all the available information into one comprehensive, user friendly platform that helps students make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications.’

We will use Unifrog in school during our careers sessions as it will empower our students to manage their progression and record their achievements effectively. We do recommend that families also take an interest in their child’s Unifrog account – to see if they can help, and understand how their child is feeling about their future.

Work experience is a learning activity first and foremost. Committing to a work experience placement doesn’t mean you’re committing to a career in that industry. So, if you’re not sure what you want to do yet, don’t panic! Work experience is never wasted as long as you go into it with an open mind, plenty of enthusiasm, and a desire to learn. The most important thing at this stage is to choose something that aligns with your skills and interests, and will challenge you and allow you to grow.

* It builds your self-confidence and allows you to show an employer you have the right attitude to work and that you are flexible, enthusiastic and willing to learn

* It could help you decide if the career path you have chosen is right for you and you will have the opportunity to network with employers

* It can give you experience of using skills which you can mention on your CV

* It gives you a chance to feel what it is like to be a worker, not a student!

 

Year 10 and Year 12

Your week-long work experience placement is from 13th July – 17th July 2026. There is an expectation that ALL students complete this week of work experience. You will be provided with a booklet containing lots of resources to get you started. You will need to organise this work experience yourself, but your tutors, head of year and the Work Experience coordinator can help.

 

Work Experience process

Deadline for confirming placements: Friday 13th February 2026

Students must contact potential employers to express their interest in completing a work experience placement. This communication should outline:

• Why they want to undertake the placement?

• What they hope to gain from the experience?

• How it connects to their future plans?

Once a placement is agreed, students should log the details under the Placements section in Unifrog. 

It is essential that they accurately enter the name and contact details of the person they will be working with. 

Unifrog will then generate a risk assessment and contract for completion. Once this is submitted, families will receive a notification of the placement. If they are happy with the details and complete their section, the form will be returned to the Careers Lead.

The College will then review the submission, with particular attention to the risk assessment, before finalising the placement.

During the placement, students will be expected to complete a diary and reflection questions to ensure they are engaging with the placement in a meaningful way.

We would strongly recommend students, where possible, seek further work experience including beyond year 10 and 12 during school holidays (these placements, however, cannot be approved by the school).