Careers Programme & Gatsby Benchmarks

Our careers programme is designed to provide pupils with a progressive journey of experiences that support their development and decision-making throughout their time at Esteem North Academy.

It is aligned with the Gatsby Benchmarks, ensuring that all pupils receive high-quality, structured careers education that prepares them for their next steps.

What this looks like at ENA

Pupils at Esteem North Academy benefit from a wide range of careers-related experiences, including:

• Employer encounters (e.g. guest speakers and workplace experiences)
• Work experience placements
• Careers guidance interviews
• Curriculum-linked careers learning
• Exposure to colleges, training providers and apprenticeships

These experiences are carefully planned to ensure progression and to meet the needs of all pupils.

Careers Programme Roadmap

Our careers programme is structured to provide a clear progression of knowledge, skills and experiences from Year 7 through to Year 11.

Parents and Carers

The roadmap below is designed to help parents and carers understand key decision points throughout their child’s time at the academy, and how they can support them at each stage.

Gatsby Benchmarks

Our careers programme is underpinned by the Gatsby Benchmarks. The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of eight guidelines that define best practice in careers education.

At Esteem North Academy, we use these benchmarks to plan, deliver and evaluate our careers provision, ensuring a consistent and high-quality offer for all pupils.

Progress

We regularly evaluate our careers provision using Compass+, a national tool that allows us to monitor our progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks and identify areas for continuous improvement.

This ensures that our programme continues to develop and respond to the needs of our pupils.