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Westfield Secondary School

Careers advice

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) forms an integral part of student life at Westfield School.

We encourage all students to develop high aspirations and consider a broad and ambitious range of careers. We use contacts from the world of work and further education to help students understand where different choices can take them in the future.

The majority of careers guidance is delivered in PSHE lessons through their schemes of work, through careers events, off-timetable days and one to one careers interviews delivered by an impartial careers advisor. We are proud that students from Westfield are very successful in education, employment or training after leaving our school. 

As students approach the end of their time in Westfield School we work with them to develop a plan for their next steps. At the beginning of Year 11 all students receive an options booklet, published annually by Sheffield Futures, which provides detailed information about different career pathways open to them. Every autumn we hold a post-16 opportunities evening, where local providers provide information to our students about the different paths open to them. To ensure all our students can access careers information and advice, our full-time student progression managers, Mrs Ray and Mr Rastall, supported by our independent, impartial, professionally-qualified careers adviser from Sheffield Futures, are available at school in our dedicated Careers Hub. 

Further details are available in our careers policy, which is available to read on our policies and documents page, where you will also find our provider access policy statement.

Careers team

Becky Ray: Work Related Learning Advisor
Steve Rastall: Work Related Learning Advisor
Sara Roberts: Careers Advisor

Our careers team can be contacted at: careers@westfield.chorustrust.org.

Further school contact details are available on the contact us page. 

 

Careers and college information 

The careers corner in the school library is full of post 16 information, including college and 6th form prospectuses, CV templates and interview techniques.

For details of the Post 16 application process, please visit the Sheffield Progress website at www.sheffieldprogress.co.uk 

You can also download our post 16 parent and carers presentation and a copy of our parent pack.

Apprenticeships 

What is an apprenticeship :

  • An apprenticeship gives you the opportunity to combine on the job training with study meaning you can earn while you learn.
  • With some apprenticeships you can even get a degree.
  • It usually takes between one and four years to complete an apprenticeship depending on which level you take.
  • Apprenticeships are available across a wide range of industries and many high quality, prestigious companies offer them.
  • Pay is dependent on the industry, location and type of apprenticeship.

You can watch an apprenticeships YouTube webinar which provides information to parents and students on apprenticeships and how they work. You can also visit the Find an Apprenticeship website, which has details of all apprenticeships nationwide.

The Amazing Apprenticeship is a leading organisation in the education sector, founded to tackle misconceptions about apprenticeships and promote the benefits. Their monthly packs are an excellent resource to help parents and students navigate the world of apprenticeships.

Useful links

If you have an interview for an apprenticeship :

What Apprenticeship Interview Questions Might You Be Asked?

  • Why do you want this apprenticeship?
  • What are your strengths?
  • What are your weaknesses? Admitting to weaknesses shows strength.
  • Why do you want to work for this company?
  • What skills would you like to improve during this apprenticeship?

What to Avoid Doing When Attending an Interview?

  • Turning up late or joining the online video call late
  • Turning up completely unprepared
  • Appearing like you don’t care
  • Chewing gum
  • Negative body language
  • Dressing inappropriately

Here are a few questions which you could ask:

  • What are the qualities of someone who you have seen succeed in this role?
  • Is there a permanent position available at the end of my apprenticeship?
  • Will there be opportunities for further training and development?

You will need to complete a CV and cover letter. Sara Roberts can assist with this if required. Target Jobs has useful information and an example CV.

Careers support from employers 

We are keen to engage with businesses and employers to help us inform and educate students on both local and national employment opportunities. This links directly with the Gatsby Benchmark 5 (encounters with employers and employees) and Gatsby Benchmark 6 (experience of work places). We provide many opportunities for businesses to interact with students through open evening events, our annual "Be Ambitious Day (Boss Your Future)" and work experience programme.

If you are interested in offering your time to our young people, please take a look at the opportunities available:

Work experience

Each year in the last two weeks of the school year (typically mid-July), all Year 10 students complete two weeks of work experience to develop insight into the day- to-day role of an employee in an organisation, building on skills learned in the classroom and seeing the application of those skills in real life situations.

Mock interviews

Mock interviews provide our students with an opportunity to practise for a situation which many will have never been in before. During the session, employers ask a range of interview questions, provide feedback on how the student performed and offer advice on how to improve their technique.

Careers talks

Talk to our students about your industry and your journey. This could be as a 15 minute assembly to a whole year group; to a class of children as part of their timetabled lessons for between 15 – 50 minutes; or to a small group who are already interested in your profession.

Mentoring

We are particularly in need of mentors to work with our students with additional learning needs. These children often have the most challenging experience when it comes to finding job. Mentoring, work shadowing and placements can really open doors to them in a meaningful way. If you are interested in working with one of our students we can provide help and information about learning disabilities, and support you to make a real, tangible difference in a young person’s life.

 

Contact us if you are interested in working with us to deliver quality careers provision

 

Volunteer as a guest speaker 

Do you have expertise in a particular area that would be of interest to our students? Do you have a job or career that they may wish to find out more about? Perhaps you are a former student and want to pass on your life lessons?

 

Contact us to volunteer as a guest speaker

 

 

Chorus Trust Sixth Forms 

Westfield School is part of Chorus Education Trust, so our students have priority status when applying to Eckington and Silverdale Sixth Forms. This means that, as long as Westfield students meet the entry requirements, they will gain priority over any other external applicant for a Sixth Form place. 

Eckington Sixth Form

Eckington Sixth Form offers a wide variety of courses, accessed from their dedicated sixth form facility. Sixth Form students receive excellent support throughout their time at Eckington with careers and personal development advice delivered by their experienced staff team.

Visit www.eckington.chorustrust.org/sixthform

 

Silverdale Sixth Form

Silverdale Sixth Form regularly achieves some of the best A-level results of all state schools in Sheffield, and is part of Silverdale School which was voted Top State Secondary School in the north of the decade by the Sunday Times in 2020.

Visit www.silverdale.chorustrust.org/joinoursixthform

 

Useful careers resources and websites 

A huge amount of careers information is also available online. Further sources of useful information include:

 Special Options

 Looking for jobs and apprenticeships

Money Matters

Live Apprenticeship Vacancies

 

top skills to have on your cv

Soft Skills
  • Problem solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Flexibility
  • Communication
  • Teamwork
  • Organisation
  • Creativity
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Attention to detail
  • Responsibility
Hard Skills
  • Computer skills
  • Negotiation
  • Maths
  • Writing
  • Foreign languages

 

  1. Post 16 Options 2024-25

  2. National Apprenticeship Week 2025

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