Using Kudos and Careerscape in an academy
The Fallibroome Academy is a high-achieving school of 1,500 students in Cheshire. The school has a reputation for excellence and attributes its success to its commitment to supporting students with their personal growth. The Fallibroome Academy uses Kudos and Careerscape to support its Year 10 students. Annette Dobson is DTL for Work Related Learning at Fallibroome Academy.
“We use Kudos and Careerscape with our Key Stage 4 students who are mixed ability.”
“We initially introduce the programs as part of structured lessons which are presented by form tutors. Students then have free access to the programs; we encourage them to use them individually, with parents and with advisers.”
“We find Kudos and Careerscape particularly easy to use. They are easy to navigate and both staff and students welcome the fact that they are not overcomplicated and have a good balance of text and images.”
Kudos helps to broaden students’ views on careers that they might be interested in. It also helps to formalise their interests.
“The fact that students can look at their own career ideas within Kudos is important. It allows students to explore beyond their suggestions, which is very valuable if they do not like their matched list, although this is often because they have not considered their responses carefully!”
“The quality of the information is good and students find the level of detail helpful.”
“The Kudos Action Plan is also very useful. It gives an additional purpose to the tutor session. It summarises the work done, as well as providing a link for future planning.”
As The Fallibroome Academy subscribes to both Kudos and Careerscape, students can see UCAS higher education course information, case studies and videos from relevant careers within Kudos. Annette said,
“The link to HE course information is very useful. It is a good stepping stone for further investigation, especially for the more able or motivated students and those who know what they want to do.”
The videos and case studies are very good. They personalise the careers and enable students to imagine themselves in the job.
Careerscape also provides access to features including a course search, Subject Links and General Information articles. Annette said,
“The course search is valuable. It provides a quick link which enables students to develop their choices so that they are aware where courses are available.”
“Subject Links is a really useful section that is particularly good for students who know that they enjoy a certain subject. They can easily identify careers associated with it.”
“Within the General Information section, we find the ‘Lifestyle’ section a valuable addition. It is another avenue that students can use for information or advice which is available from school but not within a ‘formal lesson’.”
“Kudos and Careerscape provide a very useful link between ideas and planning for post -16 options. They allow students to reflect on skills and interests through their likes and dislikes. Because we use the programs at the end of Year 10, after work experience, the programs can help students to identify what they may need to do, change, or acquire skills in, for the careers they are becoming interested in.”
“One of the key benefits of the programs for our teachers and advisers is the ease of use by students once they have been provided with initial guidance. It is also very useful to have the ability to trace back through answers to see why particular careers are suggested and to alter ideas and see the responses.”