Careers

At Bishop Barrington we strive to ensure we will prepare your child for whatever they plan to do next.

We do this by planning those five years, incorporating a range of different strategies. To ensure students receive the best support all receive 1:1 Careers Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) with one of our two qualified and impartial careers advisors in Year 9 and 11. Alongside this all students can access Careers IAG at drop in sessions on lunchtimes and break times.

Careers is built into the curriculum with all subject areas showcasing linked careers and developing key employability skills. A tailored learning programme allows every year group to engage with local employers and to develop their knowledge and skills in regards to careers and moving on using up to date Labour Market Information. As they progress through the school, careers education builds so that by Year 11 every child has the confidence and skills ready for work and further study.

Running alongside the curriculum we offer a variety of experiences to help students formulate their future plans. These include employer career fairs, visits to the local colleges, talks on apprenticeships, mock interviews and C.V and personal statement workshops, mentoring and visits to local Universities (including a mentoring programme). We also work closely with Durham Works and the local colleges to ensure every student moves on successfully and happily at the end of Year 11.

We have excellent links with a wide variety of local colleges and sixth form providers. This is evident in the wide range of post 16 destinations. Many go on to study A Levels and vocational courses but each year we also have a significant number of those choosing to study apprenticeships or traineeships.

At Bishop Barrington we prepare students for whichever route they prefer and offer support even after they have left. We are very proud of Bishop Barrington students, many keeping in touch and coming back to share with our current students their successes as part of the Bishop Barrington Alumni.

At Bishop Barrington Academy, we work very closely with the Careers and Enterprise Company and ensure all our work links closely to the Gatsby Benchmarks. More information on Gatsby Benchmarks can be found here (https://www.gatsbybenchmarks.org.uk/).

Provider Access Statement

The ‘Provider Access Legislation’ came into force in January 2023. The provisions require that schools (maintained and academies) must provide at least six encounters with providers of technical education or apprenticeships for all their students during school years 8-13.

This is an important element of improving knowledge of technical pathways for students at Bishop Barrington Academy. The aim is that all pathways are promoted equally.

The first four encounters are mandatory for all registered pupils (not just select groups) to attend:

As an academy we will offer two encounters in school years 8 or 9
An additional two in school years 10 or 11 (held between 1 September and 28 February if for pupils in year 9 or year 11)

For Bishop Barrington Academy this will be in the form of assemblies.

If you would like more information, please contact Mr Ben Johnson, b.johnson@bishopbarrington.org.uk.

Bishop Barrington Academy | Careers Information

Our Careers Information will be reviewed with support of our Local Enterprise Partner twice a year (March 2026 and September 2026)

Useful Careers Resources

Local Post-16 Provision

Careers Information for Parents & Carers

Is your child considering A-levels? Do they know what career opportunities the subjects they take will open up for them? Take a look at this website to find out:

Target Jobs | Advice for School Leavers

University

Apprenticeships & Employment

Careers in the Armed Forces

www.army.mod.uk – For Careers in the Army

www.royalnavy.mod.uk – For Careers in the Royal Navy

www.raf.mod.uk – For Careers in the Royal Air Force

Carers information for Post 16 Educators and Employers: a provider or employer wishing to request access to Bishop Barrington Academy should contact Miss Burlison who is in charge of Careers at the school. This can be done in the first instance by e-mailing at samantha.burlison@bishopbarrington.net or contacting the main reception on 01388 603 307.

How Do Students Learn About Careers?

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11
Why is Career Education important?	What is work satisfaction?	Resilience in Careers	Career paths. What are they?	College AssembliesCareers Interviews
What have I achieved so far?	How to use Labour Market Information	What are your goals?	How can I stand out? C.V’s	College Assemblies Careers Interviews
What skills and qualities do I have?	Discrimination and the workplace	What route can you take?	How to write a good covering letter	Creating CVs. Careers Interviews
What are my likes and dislikes?	Our rights and responsibilities in the workplace	What is Higher education?	Choosing a career using LMI	Creating Covering LettersCareers Interviews
What are my aspirations?	What are your skills- finding a route that suits you What is an apprenticeship?	What skills do you need for work?	What is job satisfaction?	Careers Interviews
What is a Career profile?	What is an entrepreneur?	What are employers looking for?	Why do work experience?
What types of work are there?	What is it like to be self-employed?	How to prepare for interview	How is the world of work changing?
Online Careers Search	What is a work life balance?	What does the future hold for the world of work?	How have I gained employability skills to prepare for work?
Our online profiles	How do you confidently prepare?	Researching and recording your ideas	What is the workplace like? Rights and responsibilities.

Baker Clause Policy Statement

As part of our commitment to informing our students at Bishop Barrington Academy of the full range of learning and training pathways on offer, we consider requests from approved training, apprenticeship and vocational education providers to speak to students. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997 (the ‘Baker Clause’). We also proactively seek to build relationships with such partners as we plan our careers information and guidance throughout the school year to ensure that providers have opportunities to speak to students and their parents in Years 7-11, to offer information on vocational, technical and apprenticeship qualifications and pathways. We will also invite as many providers as possible to our careers fairs and events for our students. At Bishop Barrington Academy we will impartially promote the full range of technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

All students at Bishop Barrington Academy will:

find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;
hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships – through options evening’s, assemblies and group discussions and taster events;
understand how to make applications for the full range of academic and technical courses.

At Bishop Barrington Academy we ensure all our pupils receive at least 2 careers interviews during KS4, this is in excess of what is mandatory but we want to ensure effective guidance.

We assess the impact of our careers programme through a variety of measures including but not limited to: The Gatsby Benchmarks, Year 11 Destinations, NEET numbers, college applications, Quality Assurance discussions and evaluations of provision.