Ridgewood is committed to ensuring opportunities for a range of education and training providers to access students via our Provider Access Policy Statement.
Ridgewood has a planned careers programme led by a designated Careers Leader and reviewed annually. (Last reviewed September 2026)
Careers lead contact details:
Mr I Carden, 01282 953653, i.carden@ridgewood.lancs.sch.uk
Careers Vision – Transforming Lives
At Ridgewood Community High School, our careers vision is centred on Transforming Lives. We believe that every young person, regardless of their needs or abilities, should be empowered to develop aspirations, build confidence, and achieve positive outcomes as they prepare for adulthood.
Through a personalised careers programme, we provide meaningful opportunities for students to explore their strengths, interests, and ambitions. Working in partnership with families, employers, colleges, training providers, and community organisations, we support students to develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed for their future pathways. Families are recognised as key partners in career development. Through Annual Reviews, transition events, coffee mornings, information sessions and individual meetings, parents and carers are supported to understand pathways and options available to their child.
Careers Programme Aims and Purpose
Our Careers Programme aims to:
- Support every student to develop high aspirations and confidence in their future, regardless of their needs or abilities.
- Ensure careers education is personalised and linked to each student’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), aspirations, and outcomes.
- Provide impartial careers information, advice, and guidance to help students make informed choices about their future pathways.
- Develop students’ employability, independence, communication, and life skills to prepare them for adulthood.
- Increase awareness of the wide range of opportunities available, including further education, training, supported internships, employment, and social care provision.
- Provide meaningful encounters with employers and employees to help students understand the world of work and raise aspirations.
- Offer a range of work-related learning and workplace experiences that develop confidence, work-readiness, and transferable skills.
- Create opportunities for students to engage with colleges, training providers, and other post-16 services to support successful transitions.
- Work in partnership with families, employers, colleges, and community organisations to ensure students receive consistent support and guidance.
- Promote equality of opportunity and ensure that every student can access appropriate careers education and experiences suited to their individual needs.
Purpose
At Ridgewood Community High School, our careers programme is designed to transform lives by preparing students for successful and fulfilling adult lives. Through personalised learning, meaningful experiences, and strong partnerships with families and external providers, we help young people develop the knowledge, skills, confidence, and aspirations needed to achieve positive outcomes in education, employment, and their communities.
Intent
- Introduction to future career pathways, embedded into core career lessons each week.
- Guest speakers to discuss future pathways.
- Involvement in national careers week with in-house activities and discussion-based projects.
- Working with emergency services and completing a simple first aid course with Panda Paramedics.
- Students in Key Stage 4 undertake Work Experience and work-based placements and opportunities matched to their SEND needs.
- Students take part in Enterprise projects across the school year.
- Students will attend a SEND specific Careers Fair to discuss pathways and future options.
- Students have will attend a college taster and transition day.
- A personalised careers plan with a level 6 qualified CIAG Advisor where appropriate.
- Employability accreditations with a focus on preparation for adulthood and readiness for working life.
- Visits to colleges/college links.
- Pupils on pathway one will have half termly Work Experience in our Coffee Shop looking at customer service, Barista experience, food hygiene.
- A personalised careers plan with a level 6 qualified CIAG Advisor where appropriate.
- Students take part in Enterprise projects across the school year.
- Where appropriate KS5 students take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
- Students have will attend a college taster and transition day.
- Students on pathway one will have bespoke hands-on experience at our Coffee Shop, with customer service, Barista experience, food hygiene.
Gatsby Benchmarks
Careers Curriculum Intent
At Ridgewood Community High School, our careers programme is driven by our vision of Transforming Lives and is designed to meet the differing needs, aspirations, and requirements of all students. We recognise that every young person has unique abilities, strengths, and skills, and we provide a personalised careers education programme that supports them to explore their potential, develop confidence, and make informed choices about their future. Careers education is closely linked to each student’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and Annual Review process, ensuring that aspirations and goals are at the heart of planning for adulthood.
Through meaningful employer encounters, work-related learning, workplace experiences, and engagement with further education, training, and social care providers, students develop the knowledge, skills, independence, and resilience needed for their next steps. Working in partnership with families and external agencies, we provide a supportive and inclusive approach that prepares students for successful transitions into further education, training, employment, and adult life, enabling them to achieve positive outcomes and fulfil their potential.
Learning from Career and Labour Market Information
At Ridgewood Community High School, we believe every young person can achieve their aspirations and prepare for a successful future. Learning about careers and Labour Market Information (LMI) helps our students and families understand the opportunities available in Burnley and beyond, supporting informed choices about education, training, employment, and independent living.
Students are encouraged to explore their strengths, interests, aspirations, and goals through the careers element of their Annual Review. These discussions help identify appropriate pathways and support each learner in planning for adulthood.
Families play a vital role in this journey and are supported throughout the process. Careers information and guidance are shared during Annual Reviews, Transition Events, Transition Coffee Mornings, and through 1:1 support meetings, ensuring that parents and carers are fully informed about the options and opportunities available.
Through personalised careers education, meaningful employer encounters, and links with local providers and employers, we aim to equip every student with the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to achieve positive outcomes and reach their full potential.
Lancashire Careers Hub
“Portal” is the current Careers Information Advice and Guidance Presentation for each of Lancashire’s six Travel to Work Areas.
‘These resources were designed in conjunction with both Careers Professionals and Young People and are designed to present the latest Labour Market Information for each Travel to Work Area in an engaging and accessible format. Over 1,300 young people in Lancashire were surveyed to come up with a design style and tone that speaks to them, and a focus group of young people in Lancashire decided the result.’
Take a look through the portals below as to what is happening in areas where you live.
At Ridgewood Community High School, every student has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which identifies their individual strengths, needs, aspirations, and outcomes. Through the Annual Review process, students, families, and professionals work together to review progress, identify any changing needs, and ensure the right support is in place to help each young person fulfil their potential.
Preparing for adulthood is a key part of this process. From Year 11 onwards, students are provided with a range of work-related learning opportunities to develop employability skills, confidence, and independence. For students in Years 12–14, these opportunities can be extended through weekly work placements across an academic year, enabling students to gain valuable experience in real workplace environments.
Placements are carefully matched to individual needs and interests and may include small-group supported placements or independent placements, ensuring that every student can access meaningful experiences that help them prepare for their next steps in education, training, employment, and adult life.
The Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) supports our commitment to Gatsby Benchmark 3 by helping us understand each student’s career readiness, strengths, and aspirations. In our SEND setting, FSQ insights are used to inform personalised careers education, guidance, and interventions, ensuring support is targeted where applicable. Reviewed alongside EHCP and Preparing for Adulthood outcomes, this helps ensure that careers provision reflects each pupil’s individual needs, interests, and future aspirations.
Careers learning is embedded throughout the curriculum. Students are supported to understand how the knowledge, skills and personal qualities they develop in subjects contribute to future education, employment and independent living. From English, Maths and Science through to foundation and vocational subjects, learning is linked to future careers and pathways.
Employer engagement opportunities, career-related resources, and subject-specific videos help students explore how their learning connects to the world of work. Where appropriate, employers and industry links are incorporated into lessons to demonstrate the relevance of subjects and raise aspirations, helping students recognise the value of their studies beyond school.
At Ridgewood Community High School, students are provided with opportunities to engage with employers and employees throughout their time in school, where appropriate to their individual needs and aspirations. These encounters take place through activities such as mock interviews, career talks, and ‘day in the life’ presentations, giving students first-hand insights into a variety of job roles and workplaces.
These experiences help students develop confidence, improve their communication skills, and gain a better understanding of the expectations of the workplace. By meeting employers and employees from different sectors, students are able to explore potential career pathways, raise their aspirations, and make more informed decisions about their future education, training, and employment opportunities.
At Ridgewood Community High School, students are supported to develop employability and work-readiness skills through a range of workplace experiences tailored to their individual needs and abilities.
From Year 10, students are given opportunities to learn about the world of work through educational visits and practical experiences in workplace settings. Year 10 and Year 11 students can access the school’s bespoke Coffee Mill Work Experience Programme, where they develop key employability skills while working towards accredited ASDAN outcomes.
Where appropriate, students in Years 12 – 14 attend an off-site provision, providing extended opportunities to further develop their employability, independence, and work-readiness skills in real-life environments.
These experiences help students gain confidence, build practical skills, develop an understanding of workplace expectations, and prepare for their next steps into further education, training, supported internships, employment, and adult life.
At Ridgewood Community High School, students are provided with meaningful opportunities to explore their post-school options through encounters with further education providers, colleges, and social care services. These experiences include off-site visits, college tours, transition events, and direct interactions with local providers, helping students gain a clear understanding of the pathways available to them after leaving school.
These encounters cover the full range of learning opportunities, including further education, vocational courses, supported internships, training programmes, and social care provision. Students and their families are supported throughout the process, ensuring they have access to the information, advice, and guidance needed to make informed decisions about future education, training, and preparation for adulthood.
By providing first-hand experiences and opportunities to ask questions, we help students build confidence, raise aspirations, and identify the most appropriate next steps for their individual needs, interests, and goals.
Students receive personalised careers guidance to support them in identifying their aspirations, strengths and future pathways. Where appropriate, students have access to one-to-one careers guidance from a qualified careers adviser, helping them to make informed decisions about further education, training, supported internships, employment and adult life. RCHS offers support for all students as they approach their transitions years.