The Island Free School Careers Programme
At the Island Free School, our mission for Careers education is to empower pupils with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to achieve their aspirations. We are dedicated to supporting our pupils in making informed decisions and successfully navigating the transition from GCSE study to further education, training, and employment. Our Careers programme fosters collaboration between pupils, parents, and staff, focusing on the development of employability skills, a thorough understanding of how their subjects link to the workplace, and how to effectively access and use the information, advice and guidance available to them. We work closely with local businesses, training and apprenticeship providers, as well as further and higher education providers, to offer a comprehensive understanding of post-16 opportunities and future career paths.
Our vision is to ensure that all pupils are fully prepared to take confident, ambitious steps into adulthood and the world of work.
Our staff create a comprehensive support system for pupils, combining strategic planning with practical experience. Their collaborative efforts help prepare TIFS pupils for their next steps and long-term success.
As a qualified Careers Adviser, Mrs Geary specialises in helping pupils identify their strengths, set meaningful goals, and navigate the further education application process. Her personalised approach ensures that each pupil receives tailored guidance, whether they’re applying to sixth forms, considering apprenticeships or exploring vocational pathways.
Miss Sheen is the senior leader for pupil personal development and plays a central role in supporting pupils’ personal, social, and emotional growth throughout their time at the school. As part of this she oversees the management of the TIFS Futures programme across the school.
Destinations
Our pupils make well informed decisions about their next steps and successfully transition to their next provider. You can see an overall view of all leavers’ destinations from 2019 to present detailed in the pie chart and map.
Compass+
We review our careers provision on a termly basis through the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Compass+ system.This allows us to monitor our provision, celebrate success and identify areas of focus.
Additional sites to visit
Whether you are a pupil, parent, or an adult supporting young people, the following links will take you to various sites that can offer further information and guidance.
TIFS Careers contact
Mrs Geary can be contacted directly at the following email address:
Pupils
Pupils –
If you have any questions at all regarding Careers, please find Mrs Geary to have a chat.
Parents
Parents –
At The Island Free School, communication with parents and carers is key in achieving our vision to be an “Island school for Island families”. As part of this, parents are encouraged to be involved with their child’s career education journey through:
- Parent-Mentor meetings
- GCSE Options Evening
- Pathways parents evening (Year 11)
- Sharing career action plans
- Sharing information on post-16 events and information
- Application support
Parents are supported in discussing Careers opportunities with their children, to maintain open conversations around pupils’ next steps.
If you have any queries, or wish to contribute to our Careers programme please email Mrs Geary: [email protected]
Employers
Employers –
We have built excellent relationships with a range of local employers who are wonderful in supporting our Careers programme through:
- Industry visits
- Interview sessions to improve employability skills
- Assemblies
- TIFS Futures Fair
If you would like to collaborate with us to extend our pupils’ opportunities and experiences, please email Mrs Geary: [email protected]
Our Careers curriculum map shows the key topics pupils cover throughout each stage of their secondary education. Alongside our Careers curriculum which is delivered throughout the year in mentor time, pupils explore the world of work through targeted events and opportunities. Our teaching staff actively seek to embed careers information into their respective curriculums, through lessons, trips and guest speakers.
Our Activities Week and enrichment programme are highly focused on raising pupils’ employability skills, and expanding their interests, passions and curiosity. The aim of this is for pupils to leave secondary school as well-rounded, mature individuals with the motivation to continue to learn and discover throughout their life.
As a school, we work to the Gatsby Benchmarks for Careers Guidance in Secondary Schools. These benchmarks form the foundation of our careers programme and ensure that we are delivering the very best Careers provision.
Careers News
Year 10 Shine at Our 3rd Futures Fair
Last Wednesday, we were proud to host our 3rd Futures Fair for Year 10, and what a fantastic event it was! The fair was brilliantly attended by a wide range of exhibitors—including local and national Further Education providers, Higher Education institutions, apprenticeship providers, and local employers. Each one created a welcoming and engaging space for pupils to explore their next steps. Our Year 10 pupils…
Radio Insight at IW Radio
Our latest Industry Insight visit saw our Year 10s ‘take to the airwaves’ with a visit to Isle of Wight Radio, one of the last remaining independent local radio stations in England. It was fascinating to see how it all works behind the scenes. Pupils worked with the advertising team to create their own catchy radio adverts, tried their hands at presenting the news bulletin,…
Industry Insights – Teemill
Our most recent Industry Insight visit took place last week, with our next Year 10 group visiting Teemill. They were given a tour around the factory in Cowes by Sam, Lead for Community Experience at the company. Pupils were shown various processes and work roles, from printing and pressing, to packaging and designing. Pupils were engaged and asked great questions, learning about the apprenticeship scheme…
Further Education Visit – Brockenhurst
Our final Year 8 Further Education visit took place last week, with 8 Viridis heading over to discover Brockenhurst College. After a welcome from the Vice Principal, Viridis explored their Post-16 options with the Brockenhurst Careers Advisor. Pupils were super engaged, and it was fantastic to see them all really considering what they might enjoy studying, and where it might take them. They were then…
Fantastic Futures Fair
On Wednesday 27th March TIFS hosted its second Futures Fair, which was a huge success! We had visitors from various Isle of Wight and mainland further education providers, as well as universities, the armed forces, uniformed services and island businesses. We even had some visiting members of TIFS Alumni! Alongside other career related activities throughout the day, pupils were each given an hour to spend…
Yokogawa Marex Industry Insight visit
This week’s Industry Insight visit saw a group of year 10s head to Yokogawa Marex in Cowes. Whilst there, pupils learnt about the important part their software plays in managing a safe environment in high risk chemical and energy plants across the globe. Pupils met the current apprentices and had the opportunity to ask them about their route into this kind of work, and what…
Year 8 Rubeum Further Education Visit
On Tuesday 13th March 2024, 8 Rubeum visited the IOW College and Ryde Academy Sixth form, as part of their ongoing preparations for GCSE options. In the morning, pupils were given a tour of the IOW College and looked at all of the different courses on offer, including vocational courses, T-levels and apprenticeships. Pupils particularly enjoyed seeing the hospital room set-up, the green screen room…
Year 10 Industry Insights – Hovertravel
Another Industry Insight visit for our Year 10s, this time to Hovertravel in Ryde. The pupils had an awesome tour of the Hovercraft, spending time in the pilot seat, practicing with the announcement system, and exploring the engine room. They also learnt all about the many job roles that make up the Hovertravel team, and the interesting routes that staff have taken into their jobs.…
Year 10 Industry Insights – Vestas
Week 2 of our Industry Insight visits saw pupils visit Vestas. They learnt about the challenges involved in designing and building over 100m wind turbine blades. After a tour of the production area, the group were tasked with generating electricity by building their own blades. All of the teams were successful, and no blades were damaged in the strong winds! Thank you to Vestas for…
Flavi Futures
On Tuesday this week year 8 Flavi went out to explore Further Education options, travelling to Richard Taunton Sixth Form College in Southampton. Whilst there, they took part in some taster sessions for Dance and Fine Art, as well as exploring the brand new Health T-Level facilities, which were very realistic! It was a great day, and our pupils really impressed with their level of…
Year 10 Industry Insights – Mountbatten Hospice
On Thursday our year 10s started their Industry Insight visits, giving them the opportunity to visit a local business to learn about what they do, the kinds of jobs that exist within the business and what working there looks like. These visits form an important part of our Futures and Careers Programme, and we are very grateful to have been invited to visit a number…
Creative Careers – Fashion
On Thursday last week, some of our Year 10 Art and Textiles pupils were lucky enough to be given a tour of the P1 Wadhams Building in Newport, home to Platform One’s new Sustainable Fashion degree and BTEC. The group were shown around the newly converted building, and given a number of briefs to follow, using outfits from the recent Paris Fashion Week as their…
Alumni Opportunities
We are very proud of all our pupils, past and present, and follow their progress with keen interest.
We always welcome support from our alumni with raising aspirations among our current pupils. We hold careers events and activities throughout the year, and are keen to hear from past pupils to support us with this, in order to have a greater impact. Examples include careers talks, networking breakfasts, pupil mentoring or mock interviews.
If you are a past pupil and would like to get involved, we would love to hear from you – even if it is just to share your news. Please do email us at: [email protected] to let us know what you’re doing, if you have any ideas for future events/workshops, or if you would like to come and inspire our current pupils.
Alumni Internship Programme
We are able to offer placements on our Alumni Internship Programme (AIP). This programme offers past pupils the opportunity to spend a year working for TIFS as they transition from formal education to either higher education or into the world of work. The AIP is a one-year paid internship which offers past pupils the opportunity to work at TIFS and gain valuable experience, whilst giving current pupils access to successful role models.
We will contact our Aumni members annually to gauge AIP interest for the following academic year. If you are a past TIFS pupil and wish to be added to this mailing list (or your contact details have changed) please complete the following online form: TIFS Alumni contact list form
