Careers
Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG) at Newtownhamilton High School
School Vision
At Newtownhamilton High School, we strive to maximise the life chances of every pupil by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to make informed decisions about their futures and to become future contributers to the local community. We are committed to embedding a strong, innovative careers programme that empowers students to explore their strengths and career paths from Key Stage 3 through to post-16. A key part of this vision is excellence and so we have invested in the PeopleHawk platform, which provides personalised and comprehensive career guidance through psychometric assessments and AI-driven tools. This platform supports students at all stages of their career journey, helping them to explore and align their strengths with matching careers and courses. Embedded in our community is a culture of hard work, integrity and mutual respect, so nurturing this is also a major goal.
Aims
At Newtownhamilton High School, our Careers Education, Information, Advice, and Guidance (CEIAG) policy is designed to inspire students and help them navigate their own personal career journeys. The aims of this policy are to:
Encourage ambition: We aim to motivate every student to be ambitious, explore their career aspirations, and broaden their horizons by climbing their own personal mountain of success.
Develop self-awareness and personal growth: Our students will be supported in understanding themselves through reflective activities, such as psychometric assessments, to help them explore their strengths, interests, and capabilities.
Offer diverse career-related experiences: We provide a variety of age-appropriate, work-related activities, such as work experience, employer encounters, and enterprise activities, to help students gain a practical understanding of the workplace.
Promote career exploration and information literacy: Students will be encouraged to investigate careers, develop critical information literacy, and make informed decisions about their future through access to comprehensive career and labour market information.
Ensure knowledge of pathways and options: By providing students with access to detailed education, training, and career options, we aim to support them in making informed choices at key transition points (end of KS3, throughout KS4, and the transition to post-16).
Support effective transitions: Our programme ensures that students are prepared to manage transitions to new roles and environments, helping them to link what they learn in school to their future steps in life beyond education.
Foster parental involvement: We work in partnership with parents to encourage motivation and ambition, ensuring that families are involved in supporting their child’s career aspirations and decisions.
Challenge stereotypes and raise aspirations: Newtownhamilton High School is committed to encouraging all students to be highly aspirational, tackling stereotypical assumptions and ensuring that no student is limited due to background, gender, or other factors.
Provide a cohesive CEIAG programme: All students from Year 8 through to Year 12 will have access to a cohesive, comprehensive CEIAG programme, designed to meet their individual needs and provide personal guidance at critical decision-making points.
CEIAG Delivery
The CEIAG programme at Newtownhamilton High School is delivered through a mix of classroom-based activities, work-related experiences, and the use of the PeopleHawk platform. The careers programme covers:
Key Stage 3: Students explore their strengths through psychometric assessments on the PeopleHawk platform, including evaluations of their values, interests, personality, work styles, and skills. This helps pupils to make informed decisions when choosing GCSE subjects, aligning their strengths with potential career paths.
Key Stage 4: Students use PeopleHawk to explore over 1,000 careers, favourite their preferred career choices, and develop communication skills through AI-generated elevator pitches. They also begin to build high-impact CVs, all tailored by the platform’s AI insights.
Post-16: Careers advice will continue at an alternative provider, usually Royal School Armagh, Southern Regional College, CAFRE or Newry High School.
Provider Access
External providers are welcome to engage with pupils as part of our broader careers programme. The PeopleHawk platform supports these engagements by preparing students with tailored career advice, mock interviews, and access to live job opportunities.
Links With Key Stakeholders (Employers, FE & HE)
Newtownhamilton High School fosters strong partnerships with local employers, further education (FE) and higher education (HE) institutions. The PeopleHawk platform enhances these connections by offering students direct access to careers, courses, and job opportunities, all supported by personalised career guidance and interview practice.
Throughout the school year a number of guest speakers are invited into the school with the aim of informing pupils about the courses or career paths that their organisations offer. Examples include Southern Regional College (SRC), College of Agriculture, Food & Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), Royal School Armagh, Newry High and Army Recruitment Team, etc.
Careers Advice & Guidance
The Careers Co-ordinator is responsible for helping pupils to integrate their Careers lessons and activities into their personal career action plan.
As part of our CEIAG learning offer we are fortunate to be able to avail of the expertise of Thomas Sloan (pictured right) our DEL Careers Adviser. Cathy plays an important role in:
Providing balanced, comprehensive and up to date information on education, training and employment options.
Contributing to the CEIAG programme by working in partnership with the school.
Providing impartial advice and guidance.
Participating in evaluation and development of the CEIAG programme within the school.
Such support includes interviewing all Year 12 pupils (parents may choose to be present) in order to draw up Personal Career Plans (PCPs) and providing guidance to Year 10 pupils with information regarding GCSE option choices in relation to local trends in the labour market. The Careers Adviser also attends Year 12 Parents’ Evenings.
Work Experience
A Work Experience scheme is completed by pupils in Year 11. All pupils are visited by a member of staff during their Work Experience. Placements are arranged to suit the requirements of each individual pupil.
Those pupils participating in the Work Experience scheme do so in order to:
experience interpersonal relations in the workplace.
sample different work situations.
have the chance of getting steady jobs with particular employers (if vacancies arise) by proving that they are honest, trustworthy, hardworking and all the other things that go to make up good employees.
help build up their self-confidence and ICT skills by delivering a PowerPoint presentation to their peers on returning to school.
