Careers Week

What a busy week at Underley Garden! Careers week was back with a bang!

 This week we have had some fantastic opportunities for Careers week. We have had numerous visits off site and invited many guest speakers in to run workshops and talks for our young people. BAE held a careers talk on what jobs you can expect to find at BAE, Barrow including working on and designing their submarines! Information from this talk will be embedded when a group of pupils visit the site at the end of March to see firsthand what it is like to work there and the different jobs available. 

Monday saw presentations from the NHS, St Johns hospice and a PT session ran by the worlds 3^rd strongest woman! Tuesday saw Rag Tag Arts visit to discuss what they do and the work experience opportunities, already enjoyed by a few of our pupils, on offer. A group of pupils considering their next steps attend Kendal Careers, Skills and Jobs fair where they chatted to FE providers and a multitude of employers about how to apply, what pathways to consider and what skills are required in different jobs. We visited a The Villa @ Levens, a local hotel, for a tour of the different areas of hospitality including event planning, reception and chambermaiding. Tuesday also saw a visit to The British Thoroughbred Retraining Centre, where the pupils’ met racehorses and enjoyed experiencing what jobs are involved in working there. Beckie, our OFG Futures Advisor also ran a session an what to expect in her 1:1 guidance sessions and gave a peek to all the jobs available in different sectors, driving home the message that there are lots of jobs available in any one sector so if you don’t know what you want to do just yet, there are lots of opportunities out there to explore. 

Orchard Street returned also, transforming Orchard classrooms into a fantastic town, providing our Bluebell pathway learners the chance to encounter different community amenities and workplaces, including a Post Office, Police Station, Supermarket, Garden Centre and Ice-cream parlour. These rooms included an array of tactile, sensory activities allowing the learners to experience the tasks involved in these settings such as paying for items, posting a letter and digging for potatoes. 

Wednesday’s sessions included an offsite visit to Future Choices, a new programme for adults aged 18 and over with learning disabilities. Those eligible can access this exciting new Day Opportunity in Kendal to support and enhance personal development and life skills. The pupils visited current Future Choices cohort in their workplaces and saw first-hand what the programme offers. 

Our Key stage 2 and 3 classes enjoyed a very exciting visit from BAE Systems whose STEM ambassadors ran an Engineering Fairytales workshop, based on ‘the 3 Billy Goats Gruff’. This workshop tasked the pupils to use teamwork and communication skills to work together to build a sturdy bridge for the goats to cross without the troll catching them. The engagement in this activity was phenomenal.  Right2 Work, which is provider who offers a structured programme aimed at 16-24 year olds who have an EHCP and want to move into employment, but need support, visited to deliver an activity looking at employability skills and our first of 2 groups accessed Morecambe to complete a litter picking activity as part of the local councils clean up initiative. 

The Police Cadets arrived on Thursday, holding a show and tell of their uniform and talking to our young people about their jobs and how they can apply. There were fantastic questions asked throughout this session such as, ‘Can police Cadet’s arrest people?’ and ‘What is the difference in the uniform between a Police Cadet and a Police Officer?’. The pupils enjoyed trying on the riot helmets and receiving free police car squishees. The Retired Greyhounds visited again, always a popular session with Jenny explaining that they currently offer work experience to our pupils and what those who hadn’t experienced it yet could expect should they want to complete work experience with them. Margaret from the Department of Working Pensions held a small workshop for some of pupils who are approaching post 16, talking about CVs and the interview process. She said, ‘It was lovely to mee the boys and it is clear they need to build confidence in this process, I am really looking forward to working with them to create their CV’s and build their confidence in readiness for them attending interviews’. 

Brooke and the Quad Queens opened up the salon doors, offering nail painting, hair washing and styling to their younger peers, which was very much a treat and allowed them to share their experiences and what they have learnt, working in our onsite salon. 

Lakeland Maze Farm Park came to visit and discussed how they look after the animals in their care, sharing spring stories of lambing and setting off a whole school debate as to which was cuter a baby goat or a lamb! This was very heated!

Our closing day, Friday, saw our cohort visiting Heron Hill Nursing home to deliver their much-anticipated Bingo session with the residents and Kendal College held a construction session, challenging the pupils to build structures with the wood, nails and equipment they provided.

The end of careers week saw Role Play Mini City set up camp in the sports hall and arrange 10 different role play areas such as a post office, construction site, a beauty parlour, a space station and a cafe for our younger learners to enjoy! This was a huge hit which allowed the pupils to be creative in their interpretation of a workplace. The sessions were set for 45 minutes but led to all classes enjoying this all afternoon! What a wonderful way to end a jam-packed week! Keep your eyes peeled for our Careers Week Newspaper!