Children and Young People Now Awards 2020 Winner!

Connexions Services are proud to have won an award at the 2020 CYP Now Awards.

This was for our partnership work with Sandwell Virtual School and Sandwell Children’s Trust in establishing and running the Sandwell Careers Interview Guarantee for children in care.

All looked-after children now receive targeted careers advice and guidance, starting in the year in which they decide their GCSE options.

One-to-one interviews allow young people to discuss their ambitions, explore different careers and job opportunities, create CVs and discuss how to overcome barriers that may impact on learning.

Staff also support young people in Year 11 with applications, facilitating college visits, taking

young people to interviews and helping them to develop employability skills.

The project has worked with more than 150 young people so far, with measurable success.

The percentage of looked-after children who are not in education, employment or training

fell from 24% in 2017 to only 6% in 2020. On top of this, the percentage of

looked-after students who gained a GCSE pass grade in English, maths and four other

subjects more than doubled, from 11% to 25%.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this project!