I was fortunate enough to make contact with Tom Corry (CDI crowned Careers Leader of the year) to discuss his role and the careers provision at Chertsey High School. Tom has worked in education for a little over 10 years, in this time he has worked as a Head of Science, Data Protection Officer, a cover Teacher and is now Director of Careers. Tom graduated from university with a degree in Theatre Studies, but quickly found a passion in teaching science. After a few evenings spent gathering the qualifications he needed to teach physics, Tom became a secondary school teacher. From there a series of opportunities resulted in him joining a school in its first year of opening to establish and build the Science Department, ultimately becoming Careers Leader and now the Director of Careers. Tom spoke to me about his interesting journey and his passion for the job.
How did you come to the role of Careers Leader?
Purely by coincidence. We were in a twilight CPD session where the role was being introduced to the school with our Enterprise Coordinator at the time, Adam. I quickly realised that this role is the sole reason why we have schools in the first place, we are educating the youth so that they can enter the world of adulthood ready to carve their own paths with the skills and qualifications they need in order to thrive. It was as simple as that. I was already questioning whether or not a Head of Department role, I was Head of Science at the time, was right for me and whether it was a role I wanted to continue with, and an opportunity arose to take on Careers Leader, so I went for it.
What did you find are the key challenges of the role?
In this role you are constantly walking the line between curricular and extra-curricular, everything you do requires time, often outside of lessons or, at the very least, alongside lessons. There is a very real risk of it become a token part of the school, when it must be integrated into everything we do, without a team to back the Careers Leader of passionate staff and empowering school leaders this is exactly what it can become.
Are there any careers initiatives that you are most proud of having started at Chertsey High School?
There are many things I am proud of, however as with all of the work I have done, it has never just been myself acting to plan or deliver it. I have the great privilege to work in an organisation which has seen the power of an integrated careers programme and has the buy in from all staff through to the governing body. It has enabled me to reach out to our MAT primary schools and begin work with them on careers education within a primary context, to weave the narrative through their whole education experience.
How (if at all) do you feel working towards the Quality in Careers Standard helped you to develop your provision?
The process of working towards the standard helped me align ambition with actualisation with our careers programme, it really highlighted the importance of the strategic role of a Careers Leader and the need to “join the dots” to deliver a broad and coordinated careers programme. Completing the portfolio highlighted the broad scope of the programme and finding the measurable impacts on students, ultimately enabling me to fully audit our provision, putting students right at the centre of everything we do.
We are very pleased to have Tom join us for our upcoming conference: “Outstanding Careers Provision – at what cost?”
