Careers Education Information Advice & Guidance

Careers Curriculum & Gatsby Benchmarks

The Careers programme includes careers education and enterprise sessions, careers days, career guidance activities (group work and individual interviews), information and research activities, work experience, work related learning and individual learning activities.

The Careers curriculum follows the core aims of the Careers Development Institute (CDI)

• Developing yourself through careers, employability and enterprise education
• Learning about careers and the world of work
• Developing your career management, employability and enterprise skills.

The curriculum is pathway appropriate and is personalised to the young person’s needs and aspirations.

Please click on the drop downs below for more information about what we do as well as the link to our CEIAG policy

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Policy

Gatsby Benchmarks

In 2013, Gatsby commissioned Sir John Holman to set out what career guidance in England would be like if it were good by international standards, resulting in the Good Career Guidance report. The eight Gatsby Benchmarks defined in the report serve as a framework for world-class careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government’s Careers Strategy, statutory guidance for schools and guidance for colleges.

We are fully compliant in all Gatsby Benchmarks

The eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance are:

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market information

3. Addressing the needs of each pupil

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experiences of workplaces

7. Encounters with further and higher education

8. Personal guidance

We work hard as a school to ensure all Gatsby Benchmarks are achieved.

To find out more about about the Gatsby Benchmarks please visit

Good Career Guidance | Education | Gatsby

Careers Information Advice & Guidance

Hope Wood Academy is committed to ensuring that the statutory duties related to careers education are fulfilled.

Our Careers Leader here at Hope Wood Academy is Louise Snowdon, and you can contact her on 0333 999 1454 or [email protected]

Incorporated in our Careers Education programme we will ensure that independent guidance is:

• Presented in an impartial manner
• Includes information on the range of education and option choices
• Is given in the best interests of the young person

The Careers program includes discrete careers lessons, careers education sessions, careers days, student takeover day, career guidance activities, careers fair, information and research activities, work experience, work related learning and individual learning activities.

We work with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership to support employers to provide meaningful opportunities to young people.

To find out more about the work of the NELEP please click here

About – North East Local Enterprise Partnership (northeastlep.co.uk)

Engaging with employers & Preparing for work

Skills Builder Award

In July 2023 we achieved our Bronze Skills Builder Award, the ongoing in school recognises our commitment to ensuring young people have the skills and attributes needed for working life.

The skills builder framework focuses on supporting young people to develop eight core skills and attributes, these are;

• Listening
• Speaking
• Problem solving
• Creativity
• Staying positive
• Aiming High
• Leadership
• Teamwork

To find out more about skills builder please click the link below

The Skills Builder Partnership

Life after Hope Wood Academy

Our young people progress to a range of different destinations following their time at Hope Wood, through independent advice and guidance young people are supported to ensure they are fully prepared for their next steps. Some of the support provided includes our annual careers fair where young people and their families can visits stalls from a range of providers to understand what opportunities are available. We invite employers, colleges and training providers into school to carry out awareness raising workshops with our young people, our young people visit a range of different providers to see for themselves what life is like after Hope Wood Academy.

We want all young people to be well prepared for life after Hope Wood. With appropriate independent advice and guidance young people may leave the academy after the end of year 11, a small proportion of young people will move into our Sixth Form provision. Individual options are discussed with young people and their families on a regular basis so they are well prepared and supported for next steps.

Traditionally young people who leave school in Pathway 1 will go onto social care settings in the local community. Young people who leave school in Pathway 2 may also go onto social care settings and some into college settings. Young people in Pathway 3 and Pathway 4 are likely to go onto college, further training and opportunities longer term for employment and/or volunteering.

We work with a range of organisations to ensure all young people are engaged in Education, Employment and Training following Hope Wood Academy and they can continue to enjoy ‘learning for lifelong success’ .

Over the last couple of years young people from the academy have progressed onto;

• Hope Wood Academy Sixth Form Provision @ Edenhill
• East Durham College
• New College Durham
• Hartlepool College
• Springboard Futures
• Into employment
• Ethicare

Our alumni helps us to connect with our ex-students so they can visit and speak to our existing young people about what they are doing and how life progressed for them after leaving Hope Wood Academy.

Leavers July 2023 Destinations

Young people who left Hope Wood in 2023 went to the following destinations

Year 11 leavers 

• East Durham College
• East Durham College – Derwent unit
• Hope Wood Sixth Form
• New College Durham

Year 14 leavers 

• Durham Learn Future Focus
• Into employment in family company
• Springboard Peterlee training provider
• ESPA independent specialist college