Careers in the Curriculum

Careers is a school priority and has the full backing of the school’s Senior Leadership Team. Stormont House is working hard towards embedding Careers throughout the school curriculum by providing students with access to accreditations and employability skills that will improve their chances of gaining meaningful employment in the future. Embedding of Careers has included:

  • Incorporating Careers into Schemes of Learning for all subjects
  • Preparing for Adult Mapping of all subjects (Careers is 1 of the 4 outcomes)
  • Dedicated employability focused subjects:
    • BTEC Personal Social Development (PSD)
    • BTEC Workskills
    • Preparing for Adulthood
  • Regular Staff Careers CPD & Teacher Collaboration
  • Regular Careers Assemblies
  • Access to employers through workshops and work place visits
  • Mentoring
  • Access to Alumni through talks and assemblies.
  • 1 year long internal work experience
  • 2 external work experiences
  • World of Work week.
 
WOW Week
 
We annually have a careers week and last year this took the form of WOW (World of Work) week. I t was a week filled with Career focused lessons and activities. Every class did a fantastic job in transforming their classrooms into a place of work in the 6 weeks leading up to WOW Week. The places of work that each class transformed their tutor room were:
 
  • 7MO - Stormont Hospital
  • 7MU - Stormont-Murphy Building Site
  • 8E - Art Gallery with a Live Art Exhibition - One Minute Sculptures
  • 8N - Fashion Mania Fashion House
  • 9A - Classroom Games Testing and Design Company
  • 9C - The Museum of Curiosities
  • 10B - Wembley Stadium
  • 10O - Stormont Supermarket
  • 11G - Stormont Post Office
  • 11M - Stormont Train Station
  • 12H - Cine 12 Cinema
  • 12M - T-Raj’s Café
 
Once every classroom was transformed students took part in experiencing their tutor groups place of work. Each student became an employee of their place of work and learnt about the different roles and responsibilities in that sector of employment. In addition to tutor rooms being transformed, students took part in practical work sessions in the following areas:
 
  • Sports Hall - Stormont House Leisure Centre
  • Science room - Who stole Mr Nelson’s Beigel? Crime Scene Investigation
  • Art room - Stormont Pottery
  • DT room - Stormont Jewellery Shop
 
We were also lucky enough to have some external employers and organisation’s work with students. Yr 11 worked with Yarrow Film Studio’s and learnt about film production, getting the opportunity to create short films. Yr 8 and 9 got to take part in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Career’s workshop funded by Hackney Music Service and run by Conductive Music. Conductive Music’s workshop put the arts in STEM to create STEAM. Students explored the physical world through arts and technology: understanding conduction and music through sound, electricity, pitch, and resistance by using every material, such as a ruler, a pencil, or a desk and even each other to control a computer or make the table sound like a piano - incredible!
 
All staff and visitors raised our students’ aspirations and gave them an inspiring insight into the plethora of career possibilities that are available to them. Remember there is a job out there for everyone! 
 
Work Experience
 
Work experience is an opportunity to introduce our young people to the world of work, and layer up the skills needed to help them get a job in the future. Students have access to:
 
  • 1 year of Internal Work Experience in Year 10
  • 1 week External Work experience in Year 11
  • 1 week External Work Experience in Year 12
Each work experience has a programme of preparation for work and debriefing to maximise the learning from their experience, which is delivered through PfA, PSD and Workskills lessons.
 
Due to COVID-19 work experience has been in school or virtual over the last 2 years but this year we are going back to in person work experience.
 
Year 10 Internal Work Experience

Students begin their work experience journey by undertaking a year's internal work experience in Year 10. Students go through a full recruitment process. They have to apply for a role in school that supports the school community by filling out an application form, then preparing for and attending a professional interview. Once they have been successful at interview students have to carry out the tasks assigned to them in their job description and take part in a formal appraisal process with their assigned Line Manager.

Year 11 Work Experience

In Year 11 students undertake a week of external work experience the school aims to carefully match student’s interests with their placement and these are in a range of sectors such as Retail, Media, Childcare, Sports and Leisure, Hospitality, Horticulture and more. Students undertake a variety of placements at law firms, charity shops, schools and nurseries, sports centres, farms, museums, libraries, media companies and much more. 

Year 12 Work Experience

Building on Year 10 and 11 work experience, Year 12 students undertake another weeks work placement which is closely linked to the course they are studying at college or the job sector they want future employment in. During all of our external placements the students are visited by members of SHS staff and complete a work placement diary. We encourage as much independence and aim for our students to travel to and from the placement independently or supported by members of SHS staff.

Employers we have worked with include:

  • Linklaters - Law Firm
  • Williams Lea TAG - Business process outsourcing
  • Mediorite - Media company
  • Smoke and Mirrors - Video Production
  • Young Hackney Sports Unit
  • Various Hackney Schools:
    • Queensbridge Primary School
    • Daubeney Primary School
    • Randal Cremer Primary School
    • St Scholastica's Primary School
    • Millfield's Primary School
  • Hackney Children's Centres:
    • Linden
    • Wentworth
  • Hackney City Farm
  • Hackney CLR James Library
  • The Waterhouse Restaurant
  • Paternoster Chophouse Restaurant
  • Marsh's Hair and Beauty
  • CV Hair & Beauty
  • TA Motors Mechanics
  • S8 Build - Construction Company
  • Sense Charity Shops
  • London Transport Museum

Feedback from employers is always excellent, praising their commitment and enthusiasm as well as their professionalism in the workplace. Each year students build on our reputation of sending out fantastic ambassadors for our school and young people with excellent employability skills.