Category: students

Student Leadership

Vision

We believe that SJB should be a community where all students have a voice. Not only are students’ views crucial in developing a school in which they see themselves reflected, but the committees also serve as an important way for students to find and voice their passions and opinions. Through the school committees, SJB can be a community in which everyone can live out the gospel values and make a valuable contribution.

There are nine committees that run across the school. Below is a brief summary of each:

Learning & Teaching

The Learning & Teaching Committee work closely with Miss Cavell and Mrs Belli, and other teachers, to give advice and feedback about their lessons and their learning, sharing what they like and what they think could be changed. Often this advice and feedback is shared with teachers and teaching assistants at their staff meetings and training days. This has led to the development of both the SJB 7 (lesson principles for staff) and the student nominations categories (student SJB 7). The Learning & Teaching Committee also act as student observers during interviews, tour lessons with a particular focus, and chat to teachers from other schools during the school’s many Visitor Days.

Apple Ambassadors

The Apple Ambassadors are a fantastic group of students who work to keep SJB at the forefront of all things digital. As an Apple Distinguished School, the group regularly meets with visitors to tell them about how we use an iPad to enhance their learning and collaborate with local schools. The team are instrumental in the roll-out of iPads to Year 7s and play a pivotal role in their form time training. Examples of projects that we work on include: creating student ‘how to’ videos for the apps we use; conducting a year-long research project on the use of photocopying and printing across the MAT.

Chaplaincy

The SJB Chaplaincy Committee plays a significant role in making SJB unique. It helps support the spiritual life of the school by getting involved in the organisation and execution of liturgies, school masses, reconciliation days and reflection days, ensuring that each event is engaging and relevant for students. In addition, the committee also acts as a representative for SJB at local parish or diocesan events. Alongside this, our Sixth Form members of the committee attend half-termly SPLG meetings where the spiritual life of the school is central to the agenda. They work alongside staff and governors to develop new ideas on how our community can continue to live out the gospel values and reach out to the wider community. Finally, the committee are also given opportunities to enrich their own personal faith with events such as trips to see ‘The Life of Christ’ re-enactment at Wintershall and to attend the annual FLAME conference at Wembley Arena.

Wellbeing

The wellbeing of everyone here at SJB, staff and students, is crucial. We aim to create a safe environment that projects positivity back into those who need it. During our committee meetings, we aim to highlight potential areas of struggles within our community and come up with possible solutions. We look into any changes that we can make as a whole school to make SJB a more enjoyable and happier place to be. One example of this is the ‘raise a smile’ campaign. A simple smile can be the warmth in a world where there is so much coldness. We are also looking at other developments, such as creating a wellbeing newsletter to give students a voice in some of the areas they find challenging; a termly area of support and advice that so many can relate to. We don’t want our community to just be surviving, we want you all to be thriving in the life you chose.

House

Our House system is central to life at SJB with our four houses named after eight key figures (Kolbe & Seacole, Bosco & Pankhurst, King & Stang, Romero & Curie), whose values we wish to see reflected in our community. The House system gives everyone the chance to make sure they are involved, included and celebrated, as well as giving a healthy bit of competition! The House Committee meet regularly to plan House competitions and brainstorm ideas for ways that students can win House Points. Examples of House competitions led by our members include a poetry competition, a dessert competition and a film-making competition! The committee members have also helped lead whole school House assemblies.

Charity

Charity and supporting our local community are very important to us at SJB. The Charity Committee meet regularly to organise events and fundraising initiatives to support both local, national and international charities. Our main areas of responsibility are organising Christmas hamper donations from every form group and distributing them to our selected charities, as well as organising, promoting and encouraging whole school fundraising initiatives for almsgiving during Lent (the committee choose the charities we support from those put forward by staff and students) and the support of SJB Day in the summer term. Throughout the year, we also volunteer our time and support additional charitable campaigns run through the Lighthouse in Woking. It is truly inspiring when we meet our chosen charities and see the incredible difference our students at SJB make to others.

Environment

The aim of the Environment Committee is to increase the awareness of environmental issues across our school community and encourage ownership and action towards a more sustainable society. Three areas we have focused on are: outside environment, energy and waste. Among other things, the committee have led assemblies, helped organise the big dig, met with the Head Caretaker to devise an energy-saving competition, agreed an area to become a wild flower meadow, created thinking green slides which are delivered in form time, and are now designing a marketing campaign to encourage energy saving around the school.

Diversity

The Diversity Committee at SJB was formed to freely discuss all issues of equality, diversity and inclusion for ALL students at SJB, regardless of their race, gender, sexuality or disability. We care passionately about making SJB the most inclusive place possible where everyone feels valued. As a committee, we want to discuss the key issues within our community and make sure that we work with everyone to ensure we can change things for the better. We are always keen to hear from students who wish to be part of the committee so that everyone feels that they have a voice in this aspect of the community.

Anti-Bullying

The Anti-Bullying Committee are working towards reducing bullying at SJB and maintaining the lovely community that it is. Pupils who are involved with the committee this year, will become ambassadors in anti-bullying for the school, eventually offering support to pupils who have become victims of bullying. The committee itself will collect information from students regarding bullying and will then use this to help SJB’s anti-bullying stance become more visible through the design of posters, the organisation of anti-bullying campaigns, and other exciting things.

Information for Students

Make the most of National Careers Week 2023 – 6th-11th March

If you haven’t given your future much thought so far, National Careers Week is a great time to start asking yourself five big questions:

1. What is the Career Zone for me?

There are hundreds of industries out there – each one with hundreds of career paths you could pursue. These industries can be called “Career Zones” –  the Success in Schools partnership has brought 33 of them together for you to explore. Discover what jobs you can find in each Career Zone and what you need to do to qualify for your dream profession.

2. Apprenticeship or University?

These days, apprenticeships offer a real alternative if you want to train and gain qualifications in a paid job. In fact, with a degree apprenticeship, you can even study for a university degree while earning a wage. However, for certain careers – particular medical professions, for example – you’ll need to go to university. University is also a great option if you want to study your favourite subject at a higher level.

Take a look at this guide to choosing between university or an apprenticeship.

3. How can my school subjects help?

Did you know that religious studies could help you pursue a career in charity work? Or that history could lead to a career in law? You might be surprised to learn where your favourite subject could take you. Read these guides to different school/college subjects to find out about the benefits different subjects can bring to your career.

4. What skills do I need to improve?

Do you know what interpersonal skills are? What about cognitive skills? And what is the difference between skills and qualities? Discover this selection of guides to help you understand what these skills are, why they are useful and how you can develop them inside and outside school or college.  Read these guides to help you get started.

5. How can I improve my CV?

A good curriculum vitae is your passport to employability. Your CV lists your qualifications, employment history and any voluntary work or extracurricular activities you’ve done. As well as demonstrating your impressive record, a good CV is concise, clear and error free.

 

The Gatsby Benchmarks

Labour Market Information

Labour Market Information is vital in providing young people and their parents with information about career routes and salaries.

It helps young people explore key aspects about a particular area, including:

  • The sectors, industries and businesses that operate there
  • The jobs that exist
  • The number and type of job vacancies
  • The sectors and industries that are predicted to grow in the coming years.
  • Travel to work patterns
  • The kinds of skills that are/will be needed by industries and businesses.
  • Pay and progression patterns

Young people thinking about future careers want to understand:

  • The competition they will face – ‘How easy is it to get into?’
  • Entry and progression routes – ‘How do I get into it?’
  • The rewards available – ‘What’s the pay like?
  • The availability of jobs in their ‘travel to work area’ – ‘Can I travel to this work easily?’
  • Recruitment and selection and the prospects of securing employment in a particular job – ‘Could I get into this type of work?’
  • The value of particular qualifications, experience or training – ‘Do employers accept this qualification?’

Information for Parents and Teachers

National Careers Week 2023 – 6th-11th March

National Careers Week is a one-week celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK. The aim is to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar to help support students develop awareness and excitement about their future pathways.

The Parents Guide to National Careers Week 2023 provides parents with the information they need to help their teenage children make the right choices to create successful futures after GCSE and sixth form.

The Helping Your Child Begin Their Career Journey guide is also a very useful source of information to support parents with their child’s future career plans.

Career Resources for Students and Parents

The resources below can help students and their parents to start thinking about careers and ‘next steps’.

They cover topics such as choosing a career and different routes into the world of work, as well as providing detailed information on specific careers.

They can also help students to make decisions about the next steps in their education, from Year 7 through to choosing degree subjects in Year 13, whether or not they’ve decided on a career.

Year 7 and Year 8
Discover the world of work and what it is like to work in different jobs by watching short video clips and interviews.

Year 9
Explore career ideas using Fast Tomato, a highly regarded, accredited site that helps students and parents to explore career ideas. After completing a short interests-based questionnaire, Fast Tomato is able to produce an immediate report showing aspirational, career and subject suggestions matched to the individual.

There are over 600 career descriptions including videos, case studies and useful links. In addition, there is information on entry requirements, routes to careers and salaries.
As students approach Options time, it is worthwhile to attempt the Fast Tomato questionnaire again and see how your child’s aspirations have changed.

The video below talks about what you need to consider when choosing Options.

Choosing Your Options Wisely
icould is focused on helping students choose options with advice, videos and information on subjects, careers, employers and much more.

A Levels
Research on how to select subjects that leave doors open to careers or degree subjects you might want to pursue – even if you’re not yet sure what you want to do in the future. We have lots of career resources, including university prospectuses, career guides, apprenticeship information.

Icanbea has a great Career Wizard tool that can help to match subjects your child enjoys with their personal strengths and suggests career ideas that can then be investigated further.

Other useful websites for helping students choose their A Level subjects are Target Careers and Informed Choices.

Connecting Students and Employers

Businesses have a vital role to play in partnering with schools and colleges to raise ambition and improve performance.

By providing young people with work experience and becoming involved with careers guidance, employers can spell out the value of the skills and knowledge developed at school and open students’ eyes to career opportunities.

Research studies suggest that young people particularly value information on jobs and careers when obtained in a real workplace and through contacts with working people.

There are a number of ways in which you can help our students:

  • Site visit – let our students visit your organisation and see how it works.
  • Work experience – introduce students in Year 12 (16/17 years old) to working life within your organisation.
  • Assembly and classroom visits – join a class at the start of a lesson and chat to the student about how the subject relates to the working world.
  • Provide apprenticeships – could you provide an apprenticeship scheme to those students wishing to venture into the working world through this route?

We also work closely with our designated local Enterprise Coordinator from the Careers and Enterprise Company, to ensure that our careers curriculum is rigorous and comprehensive and meets the needs of every child in our care.

The Careers and Enterprise Company would like to engage more with parents too so, if you are interested in accessing information about career pathways, apprenticeships and employers in the Hampshire and Surrey area, please visit their Parents Facebook page to join their facebook group, where new information well be regularly added and can be found by searching posts/topics.

For further information, or if you are business that would like to engage with us in delivering our Careers, Education and Guidance programme, please contact Mr Richard Czepukojc by email r.czepukojc@sjb.surrey.sch.uk

Apprenticeships

National Apprenticeship Week (6th-10th February 2023) is a fantastic opportunity for you to learn more about apprenticeships and how they might be an exciting option for you when you leave school or college.

There are many options available to young people after they leave school. Apprenticeships are one such key route into a successful career.

What’s an apprenticeship? It is a genuine job, with training, meaning you can earn while you learn and gain a nationally recognised qualification.

Find out more by exploring this National Apprenticeship Activity Pack for students: Student Activity Booklet – National Apprenticeship Week

Apprenticeships are now available up to degree level and beyond. Over 70 national universities are currently offering a range of degree apprenticeships with more to be confirmed throughout the year.

  • Earning a salary and paid holiday;
  • Excellent progression opportunities, whether looking to study further or climb the ranks within the workplace;
  • Increased future earning potential;
  • Apprentices enjoy marked salary increases on finishing their training and those completing a higher apprenticeship could see increased earnings over their lifetime.

To continue learning about apprenticeships and the exciting
careers available, visit: www.apprenticeships.gov.uk

The government has a fantastic website where you can learn more about the range of apprenticeships available, how to search and apply for apprenticeships, what roles are available by interest area and more. You can also watch real stories from apprentices about their experiences.

For further information, please read:

 

Careers Programme

We are committed to providing a well-structured Careers Education and Guidance Programme for all students in Year 7 to 13. We strive to ensure students experience a full, varied and interesting careers journey, having the opportunity to explore their own interests, skills, and passions; understanding the wealth of jobs and education available to them once they leave school.

Our programme is guided by the careers guidance and access for education and training providers and the eight Gatsby Benchmarks identifying the elements of good practice in career guidance.

The programme builds progressively and aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge they require to be able to make an informed choice about their future options. Our careers provision offers tailored support for all our students, meaning that every student, including SEND students’ individual needs are met.
Click on the Key Stage Links to discover how our Careers Programme is implemented across our year groups.

Key Stage 3 Careers Information

Key Stage 4 Careers Information

Key Stage 5 Careers Information

Careers Policy

Please find below our Careers Policy which includes the Provider Access Policy.

Our Careers Student Entitlement Statements are also available to read.

Careers Policy

Careers Student Entitlement Statements 

Monitoring, Evaluation and Review
Next Careers Programme Review Date – October 2023.

The governing body, in conjunction with the headteacher and Careers Lead, review these policies on an annual basis, taking into account the success of supporting students in accessing post-16 education and training.

We also work closely with our designated local Enterprise Coordinator from the Careers and Enterprise Company, to ensure that our careers curriculum is rigorous and comprehensive and meets the needs of every child in our care.

The effectiveness of this policy will be measured in several ways:

  • Feedback from stakeholders including students and parents, through mechanisms such as parent survey;
  • Feedback from external visitors to the school such as the School Improvement Partner (SIP) or Ofsted;
  • The number of students who are NEET in October having left the school in the previous summer. This figure can be compared to national figures as well as against the equivalent figure from similar schools both nationally and within Surrey.

Next Careers Programme Review Date – October 2023.

Careers Guidance