Futures and Careers Programme

At John Ferneley College, we are passionate about supporting students through the process of deciding upon the direction they take after finishing school. We provide impartial guidance and advice on further education, training or employment across KS3 and KS4 and involve many outside agencies such as employers and education providers.

Our Head of Futures for KS4 is Mrs Lindsey Geraghty ([email protected]), and our KS3 Futures Lead is Samm Stanley ([email protected]). If you have any queries about careers, higher education or work experience please contact them on the above email addresses.

From Year 7 onwards you will get lots of opportunities to think about what their next best steps will be. As part of this we will be shining a spotlight on events we put on with guest speakers from the world of work and education. We will share the impact this can have on helping you to think about their futures and what has inspired their careers education journey so far.

Leicestershire’s Labour Market

WethinkLeicesterandLeicestershireisanamazingplacetoliveandwork. Asone of the most vibrant areas in the East Midlands there is a lot to shout about. In Leicester and Leicestershire over 99% of local businesses are micro (0-9 staff), small (10-49 staff) or medium enterprises (who employ 50 to 249 staff). If that sounds interesting, you could visit the World of Work website which has much more information on the local labour market with easy-to-read facts and figures.

Business Support Network for School – Local Businesses

Contact us on [email protected] and we’ll be in touch directly to talk about how you can make a difference in our school. Being part of our business support network will provide you moments of great satisfaction but striving to make a difference can also be an exciting challenge! Having employers like you helping to inspire young minds and transform attitudes through a range of activities and opportunities is the foundation of an excellent careers programme as set out by the Gatsby Foundation’s eight Benchmarks of good practice and the Careers and Enterprise Company.

Ways to Support:

• Be part of our Mock Interviews with Year 10 or 11 students and help them structure their CVs.
• Get involved in extracurricular clubs and activities.
• Give an inspiring talk based on your industry or job role.
• Provide a coaching/mentoring service through a structured programme.
• Run a hands-on workshop with activities relating to your area of expertise.
• Be part of our discussions about pathways after school, e.g., apprenticeships.
• Help champion specific issues and challenge barriers in the workplace around gender stereotyping, disability, etc.
• Help bring a subject lesson to life by linking it to your industry.
• Offer a work experience placement for students at your business premises.
• Become an ambassador supporting employment routes for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and offer a work experience placement that is co-supported by the school.
• Provide a Supported Internship opportunity.

What to Expect

By getting involved you will not only be supporting future workforce development and helping to broaden the minds of the young people, but you will also be developing new skills for your staff, forging community links and building a positive profile for your company.

We will support you throughout your visit to us to ensure we maximise the use of your valuable time. Please contact our KS4 Head of Futures, Mrs Geraghty on [email protected] or our KS3 Futures Lead, Samm Stanley on [email protected]

Our Careers Leaders will:

• Be your main point of contact for all enquiries.
• Organise pre-meets/discussions/information for activities you sing up to.
• Provide you details of the local arrangements including parking, facilities and our safeguarding policy.
• Conduct a short evaluation with you to ensure we are getting things right.
• With your permission, add you to our network and keep you up to date with future activities.
• To help you with your engagement there are a range of resources available here from the Careers and Enterprise Company.