Investor in Careers Award Success for Bedford Academy

Bedford Academy is delighted to have been re-awarded The Quality in Careers Standard.

The school was re-assessed in December 2018 by an external assessor for the CSW Group and was proud to receive the confirmation that it has been accredited as “fully meeting all the accreditation criteria incorporating the Gatsby Benchmarks” for the national quality award for its careers education, information, advice and guidance provision (CEIAG).

The CSW Group, trading as Investors in Careers, is a Licensed Awarding Body for the national Quality in Careers Standard and confirmed the decision made by the external assessor, Rosemary Sutton, following her visit to the school, to re-award The Quality in Careers Standard from 14th December 2018.

Ed Whitefield, Investors in Careers Consultant, stated in his letter, “I would like to say how impressed we are with the continuous quality of your CEIAG programme and would like you to feed this back to the headteacher, all staff, and governors.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued interest and support towards Investor in Careers and once again congratulate you on achieving re-assessment of the award under the revised standard.”

Bedford Academy achieved full Investor in Careers status in December 2015 and the school was awarded the Careers South-West National Best Practice Award in January 2016.

Peter Rayner, Enterprise Coordinator, SEMLEP, said “As well as being the first school across the SEMLEP area to meet all 8 Gatsby Benchmarks for good Careers Guidance, Bedford Academy are now the first school in this region to achieve the Investors in Careers Award using the new, more exacting standards. In fact, they are one of the first schools across England to be re-assessed in this way. This is a tribute to the way the careers team and the whole school approaches careers.”

Rosemary Sutton, Assessor of IIC/QICS, commented, “Bedford Academy deserves its success as the first Academy/School to renew their Investor in Careers with CSW group under the new Quality in Careers Standard (14^th December 2018).

As Bedford Academy’s assessor on the day the Careers team, along with key staff, the Chair of Governors, members of their business community and students, all explained and provided excellent evidence of how they achieved all eight Gatsby benchmarks by July 18 and maintained and developed their careers education and impartial careers guidance to make sure every student excels and achieves in their journey to higher education, further education and apprenticeships

The strong support from the Leadership Team and Governors in supporting Careers and the enthusiasm and hard work of Careers Leader Mandy Green and in house Careers Adviser Jon Dawe who plan and deliver it has ensured that after three years of the holding the Investor in Careers Award they have successfully renewed it. Well Done.”

Mandy Green, Careers Leader at Bedford Academy, said, “We are the first of the SEMLEP 100 schools to meet all eight Gatsby Benchmarks. I believe it to be innovative and creative and am proud to be the very first school to be re-assessed under the new Quality in Careers standards. During this time our careers provision has developed considerably and I am massively proud of the well-structured, high quality careers provision that the students at Bedford Academy receive. ”

The award is for a period of up to three years, expiring at the latest on 14^th December 2021.