Careers Programme Information

At Paxman Academy our aim is to prepare students for life beyond school by providing them with a range of careers-related guidance and opportunities for learning about the world of work. 

Careers Team at Paxman Academy:

Contact number 01206 413813

Nick Goodman

Antony Cunningham (Assistant Headteacher)

The careers provision is composed of the following careers elements:

Careers advice: 

We work with a highly qualified Careers Advisor to provide impartial careers advice and guidance to students. During their school career all students will receive an individual interview and all students have the opportunity to book additional interviews. Group sessions on different aspects of further study (E.g. Post 16 pathways – what apprenticeships are and how to apply) and careers (e.g. job sector requirements – what subjects and experience are needed to become a dentist). 

Curriculum focuses: 

Career knowledge, skills and experiences are developed in lessons. Topics and individual lessons within subjects focus on different aspects of careers. E.g. managing finances in ICT, employment sectors in Geography, persuasive writing in English. STEM in science. 

Careers, Well-Being and Opening Minds programme: 

Students participate in focussed sessions and days on different aspects of PSHE, Citizenship and careers during Opening Minds. These sessions and days are tailored to meet the needs of specific year groups e.g. College applications for Year 11, mock interviews for year 10 and interview skills, enterprise skills for Year 9 and options for Year 8 and unifrog for year 7. 

Careers events: 

We provide opportunities for students in every year group to develop their careers knowledge, skills, expertise and experiences. These career events take a variety of forms, from taster days at college to designated options weeks in school when Year 9 are making GCSE choices. 

Careers links: 

We work closely with local education and training providers to ensure that students and parents are aware of the different pathways available to them e.g. A-levels, vocational courses, apprenticeships, technical qualifications (Education and training providers). 

Our careers provision is constantly developing to ensure that students are motivated and prepared to successfully navigate the next stage of their lives. To ensure that the careers provision is engaging, comprehensive and effective we use the Gatsby Benchmarks. The Gatsby Benchmarks were developed by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation using national and international research. They provide guidance for ensuring excellent careers provision in school and all schools are required to work towards these benchmarks. These benchmarks are focused on the areas shown below: 

Benchmark 1: A stable careers programme 

Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information 

Benchmark 3: Addressing the needs of each student 

Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers 

Benchmark 5: Encounters with employers and employees 

Benchmark 6: Experiences of workplaces 

Benchmark 7: Encounters with further and higher education 

Benchmark 8: Personal guidance 


1:1 Careers Guidance Interview

Directions, who are our Independent Careers Advisors, are available for 1 day a week, to meet with every student in Year 9 & KS4 to offer Careers Advice. 

Our Careers assistant is available to visit form groups and guide students through possible career paths. Students are always welcome to drop into the library outside of lesson time to ask questions and pick up publications from our local Post 16 providers.


Post 16 Provider Information Assemblies 

During Year 10 parents evening we host a number of local post-16 providers to meet with students and parents/carers to discuss possible options after leaving Paxman Academy.

In the first term of Year 11 we dedicate most of the assembly time to inviting our local Post 16 providers into school to host information assemblies to give our students an invite into life after Paxman Academy. We encourage all our students to visit and apply to as many providers as possible to give them a broad selection to choose from. 

We will offer a launch day each year for the incoming year 11 students to meet and greet prospective Post 16 providers in person. 

We are always looking for new links so please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you would like to be involved.  


Excursions to Post 16 Providers/Employers and school visitors 

We work closely with our local Colleges and Industry and will often arrange excursions to local industries to give students insight into the world of work.


CV/Personal Statement Workshops 

We offer all students advice to provide a high-quality personal statement to support their Post 16 applications. We offer form tutor advice, impartial careers advice guidance and sessions on how to create a personal statement and offer feedback on how to improve it to help with their application process. 

Careers Software: Student’s at Paxman Academy have access to ‘Launch your Career’. This is an online software that provides all the information students need to make important decisions about future careers and what subjects, courses and training they can do to reach their career destination. If unsure of what careers they might be interested in, ‘Launch your career’ can give students ideas based on their likes and dislikes. Packed with information on what employers are looking for, what can be earned and what qualifications are needed, ‘Launch your career’ is a student’s passport to exploring the future.

Paxman Academy will work hard to ensure all students receive high quality Careers Guidance (CEIAG) through a range of sources. All students have the opportunity to succeed in the right setting after they leave Paxman Academy. This provision includes:

  • 1:1 Careers Guidance Interviews 
  • Post 16 Provider Information Assemblies 
  • Bespoke Future Skills Programme delivered in Tutor Sessions 
  • Trust Careers Convention 
  • Apprenticeship Application support through the Essex Skills Board 
  • Excursions to Post 16 Providers/Employers 
  • Mock Interviews 
  • CV/Personal Statement Workshops 

The Government tracks how well we are doing by monitoring our NEET data (Students Not in Education, Employment or Training). These figures will be collated each year when our students take up a place with a local college/employer and the data is shared with us. 

* no current NEET data available as we are not yet full in

Careers Delivery Programme YR 7-11