Careers

What is CEIAG?

Careers, Education, Information, Advice and Guidance.

CEIAG gives you the skills, knowledge and understanding to manage your own lifelong learning and career development. You’ll feel more positive, have improved motivation, raised aspirations and be equipped take responsibility for your career plans.

We’ve got a year by year plan of your career journey.

Starting in year 7 and continuing throughout your time with us, we’ll help get you on the path to your chosen career.

The Benefits of Work Experience

Work experience is a specified time spent working in a work environment of your choice. It is important both for the student and the employer, the student gains knowledge of the job role, the environment and what is expected of them in the workplace. Equally the employer will bring in new insight and potential to their business. Many students are taken on as an apprentice after completing their work experience placement.
Work experience allows young people to gain insight into a career and informs their decision making. Students are often convinced they have found their career of choice only to complete a work experience placement in that field and realise it is not for them. Equally, for many the work experience placement can help to confirm that it is the right career option for them.

Students enter school and college to gain skills and qualifications to eventually enter their chosen career path. Work experience is a valuable way to get ahead, it shows employers you have already taken the time to gain experience in the world of work or your chosen career.

The Benefits of Work Experience:

Employability skills
Insight into the workplace
Increases your knowledge of your chosen industry
Maximises your chances of finding employment
Improves communication skills
Optimises your CV

Work Experience dates:

Monday 22nd June 2026 - Friday 26th June 2026

What are the Gatsby Benchmarks?

The 8 Gatsby benchmarks are outlined below:

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market information

3. Addressing the needs of each student

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experience of workplaces

7. Encounters with further and higher education

8. Personal guidance

Provider Access Requests

Any provider who wishes to request access to the Academy should chris.chapman@coopacademies.co.uk.

Useful Websites

Universities

UCAS Hub

Russell Group Universities

University Comparison

University Ranking

Student Finance

University Taster Days

Apprenticeships

Find an Apprenticeship

Online Platforms

Alternative opportunities

Baker Clause Statement

This policy statement sets out Co-op Academy Priesthorpe’s arrangements for managing the access of providers to students at the Academy for the purposes of giving them information about the provider’s education or training offer.

This complies with the legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education act 1997 (the ‘Baker Clause’).

Student Entitlement

Students in Years 8 – 11 are entitled to:

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.

Provider Access Legislation

Our Provider Access Legislation can be found here.

CEIAG Programme

Our CEIAG Programme can be found here.

Assessment of Careers programme

Our main measurement of the CEIAG programme is through the use of the Gatsby benchmarks and we regularly self assess against these and also our destination data. The reviews are conducted annually and our most recent self assessment can be found here

Work Experience Dates

Monday 22nd June 2026 - Friday 26th June 2026

Are you an Employer?

We are always looking for local businesses that want to inspire and educate young people about what working life is really like.

We encourage employer interaction to offer our students an insight into work and employment. Please contact Danielle Lewandowski if you are able to support the deliverance of an interactive presentation or work experience opportunities.

Teacher

Teachers

At Co-op Academy Priesthorpe we believe every teacher is a teacher of careers. In addition to CPD training over the academic year, this section provides website links to tried and tested resources, guidance, and inspiration for our teachers to help them embed careers learning across the curriculum and support our students in making well informed decisions about their futures.

Unifrog

All of our Teachers have access to Unifrog, here you can find everything from lesson plans, schemes of work, careers in the curriculum resources, the list is endless that's why we subscribe to Unifrog as a school.

Labour Market Information (LMI)

This website offers up to date information on job trends, salaries, and employment data linked to careers.

Gatsby benchmarks

This website offers detailed information of the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks which form the backbone of good careers education in secondary schools.

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC)

Here you can download and utilise specific Tools, CPD, case studies, including the Compass+ platform to track Gatsby Benchmark progress which we use to quality assure our careers provision.

Barclay Life Skills

Here you can download ready to go lesson plans on CV’s, employability skills and future planning.

Career Pilot

This website offers information about job sectors and career ideas based on subjects including examples.

Amazing Apprenticeships

All things Apprenticeships can be found here including resources, videos and info packs for both teachers and parents.

Icould

Here you can explore real life career videos, inspiring career stories and many teacher resources.

STEM Learning

Offers a range of support to provide teachers with different ways to access professional development, resources, and wider support to meet their needs and to enable them to teach STEM subjects effectively.

Speakers for Schools

Lets you book guest speakers and access virtual work experience for your students.

If what you are looking for isn’t in the list above please see Chris Chapman our Careers Leader.