Careers overview
Introduction of our careers provision and key partners
Oakwood Specialist College is an Independent Specialist College for young people aged 16 – 25 years with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
At Oakwood we place great importance on ensuring that all our learners are fully supported to achieve their optimum career/life outcome and provide early career development and support that is aligned to their additional needs.
CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance) is designed at Oakwood to prepare students for life by providing the knowledge, understanding, confidence and skills that they need to make informed choices and plans for their future learning and career and future.
Oakwood Specialist College work closely with a range of employers as well as the local community. If you are interested in working with us to further extend the range of opportunities available to our young people please contact Dan Miliffe (Head of Careers and Futures) – dmiliffe@oakwoodcourt.ac.uk.
Some of our key employer partners to date include:
- Coreus Construction Group
- Waitrose and partners
- Vistry homes
- Train4all
- Greendale Farm
- Organic Arts Farm
- Dawlish Garden Trust
- SMART Building Supplies
- No Limits Café
- Omnium Radio CIC
- Farm effects
- Powderham Castle
- Killerton House
- Westbank & Seachange
- Tesco
- Sainsburys
- Taylor Wimpey (Oakwood’s industry partner)
- Ride On
- The Beacon Centre
- Teignbridge council
- Okehampton Castle
We also work closely with the below organisations:
- The Heart of Southwest Careers Hub
- Careers Southwest
- Disability Rights UK
- Careers and enterprise company
- Great Western railway
- Platform
- Severnside community rail partnership
- Devon and Cornwall rail partnership
- Building greater Exeter
- Building Plymouth
- Onsite Bristol
- Future Smart Careers
The Gatsby Benchmarks and good careers guidance
Good career guidance can have a profound impact on social mobility, as it ensures that each and every young person, whatever their needs, background or ambitions, knows the options open to them to fulfil their potential. This is particularly important for the more than one million young people in England recognised as having SEND. Far too often these young people can be held back by negative stereotypes and assumptions about their limitations.
Oakwood students are provided with close support and regular guidance meetings to ensure that students feel empowered, supported and able to achieve their aspirations. This includes guidance meetings with our Head of Careers and Futures as well as Careers South West.
The Gatsby Benchmarks define what world-class career guidance looks like. During Gatsby’s pilot of the Benchmarks, experienced SEND practitioners and national advocates were brought together to form a SEND working group. Drawing on their expertise of developing careers programmes in different settings, in both special and mainstream schools and colleges, they gave the clear message that it would not be appropriate to define a separate set of Benchmarks for students with SEND.
For further help and support, you can talk to an impartial advisor at the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900.
