iCollege Careers Programme

iCollege is committed to providing students with high quality careers information, advice and guidance to inspire and support them to be the best that they can be.

Careers education is an integral part of the Personal Development and Wellbeing programme at iCollege which is delivered through: teacher-led group sessions; guest presenters; employability workshops; work-experience activities; employer visits; careers events and individual guidance appointments. The programme is enriched by the use of Unifrog, a high-quality online careers platform that supports personalised exploration and progression planning.

iCollege provides a broad and well-structured range of encounters with external careers professionals, employers, and training providers to ensure that learners receive accurate, current, and impartial information about the full spectrum of education, training, and employment pathways, while also experiencing meaningful workplace activities in line with statutory expectations. It is underpinned by the CDI Career Development themes ensuring that all young people are equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and insight to make informed, aspirational decisions about their futures.

CDI Career Development themes

• Grow Throughout Life
• Explore Possibilities
• Manage Career
• Create Opportunities
• Balance Life and Work
• See the Big Picture

In line with the Department for Education’s statutory guidance Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers (updated May 2025), iCollege ensures that every learner from Year 7 to Year 13, including those up to age 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, receives high-quality, independent and impartial careers guidance delivered by appropriately qualified professionals. Our careers programme aligns with the updated Gatsby Benchmarks and provides learners with accurate, up-to-date information on the full range of education, training and employment pathways.

The May 2025 guidance also strengthens provider-access expectations, and iCollege ensures that every learner experiences a minimum of six encounters with external education or training providers across Years 8–13. These include direct input from technical education and apprenticeship providers. All encounters are planned to be meaningful, purposeful, and recorded as part of the iCollege careers programme.

From September 2025, iCollege will provide the equivalent of a week of work-experience activities for learners in Years 7–9, and an equivalent of one week of workplace placement for those in Years 10–11. These experiences offer practical insight into working environments and support the development of employability skills, fully meeting Gatsby Benchmark 6 (“Experiences of the workplace”).

iCollege continues to work towards maintaining high standards in its careers provision. The Quality in Careers Standard offers independent validation of this commitment, and iCollege was awarded the ‘gold’ standard in January 2024.

Young people at iCollege are able to access high quality careers guidance; Careers Leader, Ali Haynes is a careers adviser (Level 7 qualified). iCollege commission LGCC who is an independent provider of careers information, advice and guidance; our dedicated contact is Lorna Glass (Level 6 qualified).

Both Ali Haynes and Lorna Glass are members of the Careers Development Institute and are bound by the CDI Code of Ethics when working with young people.

For more information about the CDI visit https://www.thecdi.net/Home

For more information about the Code of Ethics visit CDI Code of Ethics - Career Development Institute 

The iCollege careers initiative underpins learning and teaching throughout the Service and is embedded in all curriculum subjects, making learning relevant to future careers.

iCollege teachers and staff meet regularly to share best practice in careers development and to raise awareness of individual learner feedback and support needs.

Your Personal Development Teaching Team

iCollege has an enthusiastic and dedicated personal development team who are available to support learners through their career development and future options:

Head of Careers and Personal Development Teacher at Independence - Ali Haynes

Head of PSHCE and Teacher at Independence  - Antonia Bryant - Palmer

PSHCE Teacher Integration and Independence - Emma Swain

PSHCE Teacher Intervention - Simon Tully, Jo Hanlon-Passey

PSHCE Teachers at Pod+ - Ian Jones (Lead Teacher) Mark Bryan, Cate Bill, Amanda Seymour

Senior Manager with Personal Development and Careers Responsibility - Emma Douglas

Link Governor for Careers -Tim Pritchard

Independent Careers Adviser – Lorna Glass

To request a careers appointment contact ahaynes@icollege.org.uk  or phone 07464895993.