Welcome to NCW Champions

    The NCW Careers Champions program allows you to appoint student careers ambassadors and ensure they gain credit for their work. Resources are free to download and the program can be adapted to meet the needs of your students. Schools can claim NCW Champion school status at Bronze, Silver or Gold level, depending on their level of engagement. Further details are given in the RECRUIT resources (presentation for SLT).

    What's It All About?

    Hear from staff and students at Southport Learning Trust about how NCW Champions is helping them to embed careers learning into their schools and from the Careers Hub lead for Liverpool City Region about why they are encouraging all the schools in their region to run a careers ambassador program.

    Playlist
    1/6 videos
    1
    Gill: An Overview
    Gill: An Overview
    00:37
    2
    Jacqui: Outcomes
    Jacqui: Outcomes
    00:32
    3
    Jacqui: Overview
    Jacqui: Overview
    00:30
    4
    Gill: Overview
    Gill: Overview
    00:58
    5
    Gill: Businesses
    Gill: Businesses
    00:33
    6
    Students Overview
    Students Overview
    00:40

    What Do We Need To Do?

    1.

    RECRUIT support from SLT and then recruit your NCW Champions from the student body. Use the RECRUIT resources and tools to help you enthuse and inform. Decide how to use your newly recruited NCW Champions to support your Careers program and plan your activity.

    2.

    Use the RECOGNISE resources to help you support your students’ activity AND recognise and understand local labour market information.These resources include presentations about local labour market information created by a number of LEPs to be used in schools.

    3.

    Use the REWARD tools and resources to help you reward your students as they progress and develop their skills within the careers champions programme and to gain recognition as an NCW Champions school.

    4.

    Institutions claiming Gold School status need to post the activity of their NCW Champions onto their school website and send a link to: [email protected]

    Resources

    Recruit
    Recognise
    Reward

    More About NCW Champions

    A NCW Champion School is a school that is committed to improving its careers program and delivering a program that suits the needs of all its students. It does this by engaging a body of students as NCW Champions and working collaboratively with these student champions to:

    • collect and give feedback on the schools careers program, and
    • to support and publicise information about careers events and careers resources within school. 
    • develop the organisational and leadership skills of the students.

    The contribution of these students is recognised through awarding the students with the title of NCW Student Champion. Schools can engage with the NCW champion program at varying levels which result in Bronze, Silver or Gold status for the school.

    Young people need to believe that they have agency and by becoming a NCW champion school, you create the opportunity for your students to become shapers and influencers in their world. In addition:

    • Students become more engaged with careers education in school
    • Students input into a careers program more tailored to their interests and concerns
    • Students become ambassadors and influence peer enthusiasm for careers education
    • NCW student champions develop skills which are readily transferable to the world of work

    Careers Leaders have access to a package of resources including suggested activities, template presentations, local LMI, job descriptions and certificates which enable career leaders who are pressed for time to engage in activity that will work towards improving the school’s career program. In addition:

    • Schools can evidence that they are working towards meeting Gatsby Benchmarks.
    • Schools gain recognition for the work that is being done in school to promote careers education
    • There is no cost to the school, and little paperwork involved.

    Meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks

    Gatsby Benchmark 1 states that all schools should have a stable careers program. 

    This careers program should be published and accessible on the school website. By becoming a NCW champion school careers leaders can ensure that their published program is being evaluated and can develop in line with feedback that they are collecting.

    Gatsby Benchmark 2 states that there should be learning from career and labour market information. 

    NCW Champion schools have access to local labour market information from their LEP. This is disseminated to staff and students which can inform teaching and learning, particularly when choosing GCSE and post 16 options.

    Gatsby Benchmark 3 states that the careers program in school should address the needs of each student. 

    By careful selection of student champions across ability range and demographics, a NCW school can use the feedback ensure that it’s careers program is meeting the needs of all its students.

    Gatsby Benchmark 4 states that curriculum learning should be linked to careers.

    Student NCW champions can work with careers leads within departments to help embed career learning into the curriculum. This can be through researching subject specific resources or by finding appropriate employers or professionals that subject leads could invite to speak to students.

    Gatsby Benchmark 5 states that students need to have meaningful encounters with employers and employees.

    Student NCW champions can work with the careers leader/departmental careers leads to find appropriate employers or professionals that subject leads could invite to speak to students. Students can feedback to employers to ensure that encounters are positive and meaningful.

    Gatsby Benchmark 6 states that students should have experience of workplaces.

    Student champions could be involved in workplace visits, but if students are being asked to liaise with staff and school governors, and are being given meaningful tasks, then they will all have gained useful work experience through the NCW champion school program.

    Gatsby Benchmark 7 states that students should have encounters with Further and Higher Education.

    Student champions could be involved in organising visits to FE / HE Colleges or Universities, part of the organising / logistics support for college / Uni visits to school and part of the student leadership team to promote the events and support audience interaction etc with visiting presenters. Careers Champions will also be part of careers fairs and the distribution of promotion and post-event information around the school. Careers Champions would be involved in helping to manage the careers library.

    Gatsby Benchmark 8 states that students should have Personal Guidance.

    Student champions could be involved in supporting school logistics around personal guidance sessions, would act as advocates for personal guidance sessions for those peers who are sceptical and also part of the team at school who speaks positively about personal guidance sessions in assemblies etc to ensure the experience is valued by all students, even those ‘who already know what they want to do’.