Welcome from Miss Giles
At Ferndown Upper School, we are committed to preparing every student for life beyond the classroom. Our comprehensive careers programme is designed to equip students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their future. Our Careers Department is dedicated to helping students make informed decisions about their next steps by providing a range of services such as one-to-one guidance appointments, careers events and resources to support students to explore a wide variety of career paths. Through close partnerships with local businesses, universities and training providers, we ensure our students have access to valuable insights and opportunities.
The world of work is constantly evolving, our mission is to equip our students with the skills, knowledge and confidence to thrive in their chosen paths.
Miss Giles | Head of Careers
The Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 key guidelines developed to help schools to deliver high-quality careers education. They are as a result of a research project commissioned by The Gatsby Foundation in 2013 to identify the best international practices in careers guidance. The findings, published in the report ‘Good Career Guidance’ in 2014, have since become the cornerstone of careers provision in schools across the UK. The benchmarks were designed to address inconsistencies in careers education and provide schools with a clear, evidence-based framework to ensure all students receive the support they need to make informed decisions about their future.
1) A stable careers programme
Schools should have a structured and well-communicated careers programme for students, parents and staff.
2) Learning from Career and Labour Market Information (LMI)
Students and parents should have access to high-quality Labour Market Information to make informed decisions.
3) Addressing the needs of each pupil
Careers programmes should cater to the diverse needs of all students, promoting equality and inclusivity.
4) Linking curriculum learning to careers
Subjects should highlight their relevance to various career paths.
5) Encounters with Employers and Employees
Students should engage with employers to learn about the world of work.
6) Experiences of Workplaces
Opportunities for work experience should give students a first-hand understanding of the workplace.
7) Encounters with Further and Higher Education
Students should have exposure to a range of post-16 and post-18 options, including colleges, universities and apprenticeships.
8) Personal Guidance
Every student should have access to at least one careers guidance meeting by the age of 16 and another by the age of 18.
How do these benchmarks benefit your child?
The Gatsby Benchmarks ensure that every student has access to consistent, meaningful careers education. By meeting these standards, schools can help students to understand their options, develop key employability skills and feel confident about their future choices.
Our school is proud to use The Gatsby Benchmarks as a foundation for our careers programme, ensuring your child is supported every step of the way.
Destinations Data
At Ferndown Upper School, we are extremely proud of our previous students and what they have gone on to achieve after their time with us. This is reflected through our destinations data.
At the end of each academic year, we will endeavour to update our destinations data for the previous year 11’s and 13’s.
Year 11 Destinations Data
| Destination | 2021 – 196 Students | 2022 – 225 Students | 2023 - 221 Students | 2024 - 233 Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndown Upper School Sixth Form | 102 | 140 | 132 | 122 |
| Other Sixth Form | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| College | 87 | 62 | 66 | 95 |
| Apprenticeship | 3 | 7 | 3 | 11 |
| Full Time Employment | 4 | |||
| Moved Abroad | 3 | 4 | 2 | |
| Not Known/ NEET | 1 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| Scholarship | 2 |
Year 13 Destinations Data
| Destination | 2022 – 132 Students | 2023 - 94 Students | 2024 - 168 Students |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship | 5 | 10 | 18 |
| University | 70 | 39 | 71 |
| Foundation Art | 13 | 9 | 13 |
| Gap Year | 17 | 17 | 23 |
| Employment | 25 | 14 | 43 |
| Armed Forces | 2 | 4 | 0 |
Compass+ Reports
Each term the school completes a compass+ evaluation with our local enterprise adviser from the Careers and Enterprise Company. Following the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, there is a set of 43 criteria to meet in order to achieve 100% in all benchmarks. Please see the table below for a breakdown of each of our Compass+ Evaluation results.
| Mar-22 | Jul-22 | Mar-23 | Jun-23 | Nov-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BM1 – A stable Careers programme | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM2 – Learning from careers and labour market information | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM3 – Addressing the needs of each pupil | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM4 – Linking curriculum learning to careers | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM5 – Encounters with employers and employees | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 75% |
| BM6 – Experiences of workplaces | 62% | 62% | 75% | 75% | 75% |
| BM7 – Encounters with further and higher education | 95% | 95% | 83% | 100% | 100% |
| BM8 – Personal Guidance | 37% | 75% | 75% | 75% | 75% |
Each term the school completes a compass+ evaluation with our local enterprise adviser from the Careers and Enterprise Company. Following the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, there is a set of 43 criteria to meet in order to achieve 100% in all benchmarks. Please see the table below for a breakdown of each of our Compass+ Evaluation results.
| Jun-21 | Nov-21 | Mar-22 | Jul-22 | Mar-23 | Jun-23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BM1 – A stable Careers programme | 88% | 94% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM2 – Learning from careers and labour market information | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM3 – Addressing the needs of each pupil | 100% | 90% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM4 – Linking curriculum learning to careers | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| BM5 – Encounters with employers and employees | 75% | 75% | 50% | 50% | 50% | 50% |
| BM6 – Experiences of workplaces | 0% | 50% | 62% | 62% | 75% | 75% |
| BM7 – Encounters with further and higher education | 87% | 100% | 95% | 95% | 83% | 100% |
| BM8 – Personal Guidance | 100% | 50% | 37% | 75% | 75% | 75% |
Ferndown Upper School Gatsby Benchmark Results
Every half-term our Careers department goes through an analysis procedure with our Enterprise Co-ordinator at Dorset Council to assess our progress towards the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks. As a result of this procedure, we are then compared against other schools locally and nationally to demonstrate our annual progress towards achieving 100% in each benchmark. Our results for the 2023-24 academic year can be seen below;| FUS | Dorset | National | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BM1 | 100% | 86% | 70% |
| BM2 | 100% | 97% | 84% |
| BM3 | 100% | 78% | 59% |
| BM4 | 100% | 82% | 80% |
| BM5 | 75% | 92% | 86% |
| BM6 | 75% | 79% | 72% |
| BM7 | 100% | 69% | 58% |
| BM8 | 100% | 78% | 77% |
What is Unifrog?
Unifrog is an all-encompassing platform designed to help students explore and plan their future education and career pathways. It provides a user-friendly interface where students can discover a wide range of opportunities, from university courses and apprenticeships to vocational training and careers. The platform combines resources for research, application preparation and skill development, making it an invaluable tool for students at every stage of their journey. Unifrog fosters collaboration between students, teachers and parents, providing transparency and support throughout the decision-making process. By bringing all of these features together it ensures students are equipped to confidently take their next steps and achieve their aspirations.
Key Feature of Unifrog
Unifrog offers a range of tools to help students at every stage of their journey. The career exploration tools allow students to discover job roles based on their interests and skills, providing insights into salary expectations, required qualifications and career pathways. The University and Apprenticeship search feature enables students to compare courses and training opportunities both in the UK and internationally, helping them find the best fit for their ambitions. To support applications, Unifrog provides structured guidance on writing personal statements, CVs and cover letters. The platform also includes tools to help students track their skills development, allowing them to record extracurricular activities, work experience and achievements that will enhance their future applications.
Why use Unifrog?
By bringing all careers, university and apprenticeship information into one place, Unifrog simplifies the decision-making process for students. It ensures that they have access to high-quality, impartial information to make confident choices about their future. Whether a student is unsure of their next steps or already has a clear career goal in mind, Unifrog provides the resources and guidance they need to succeed.
For Parents
Unifrog isn’t just for students – it also supports parents in guiding young people through their decisions. Parents can engage in the decision-making process by reviewing options alongside their child and encouraging all available opportunities.
Unifrog at Ferndown Upper School
As a school, students use the Unifrog platform in both the lower school and sixth form as part of their tutor programme. Students in Year 9 and 10 will have up to 6 sessions on Unifrog where they will complete personality profiles, learn about the challenges and rewards of the workplace and learn about the Local Labour Market.