Our Careers Programme

We are pleased to announce that Maidstone Grammar School has been successful in achieving the Quality in Careers Standard national quality award, following an external assessment in June 2026.

The award recognises schools and colleges that provide high-quality careers guidance and prepare young people effectively for future education, training and employment. The award is fully aligned with the updated Gatsby Benchmarks for “Good Career Guidance” and the CDI Framework for Careers, Employability, and Enterprise Education and is valid for a period of three years. We have held this award since 2012, successfully gaining re-accreditation in 2015, 2018 and 2023.

Assessor Comments:

Organisation: A wealth of evidence continues to demonstrate strategic planning and effective organisation of the careers offer, with increased SLT involvement and robust governor commitment and support.  Written policy is comprehensive, and there is sufficient capacity and resource to enable the delivery of a high-quality programme.  Communication on careers activities between school, parents and partners continues to be effective and is enhanced by an attractive and informative website.

Delivery: An extensive and robust programme has been extended further over the last three years to take account of evaluation and statutory requirements.  It continues to be well planned and delivered, with a range of differentiated career learning activities and events. These include timely exposure to the full range of options and pathways, encounters with employers and the workplace, and as well as PHSCE and super-curricular opportunities. Curriculum delivery and EDI have been strengthened further and the integration of the careers activities into all subjects is impressive. Tracking and monitoring progress in personal development and career learning from Year 7 upwards continues to benefit from a consistent approach using Morrisby for activity and reflective logs, and the personal guidance offer is well-resourced and -organised.

Evaluation: Recent additions to the evaluation process have added value and perspective to the process.  There continues to be a robust system of feedback from stakeholders and assessment of the effectiveness of the programme. Collaborative team planning takes this wide range of data into account; and upgrades and improvements are continually made. Extensive communication with all stakeholders enables developments and updates to be published.