Our Aims

• Raise aspirations early – Encourage ambition and broaden horizons, regardless of background or circumstances.
• Challenge stereotypes – Actively address gender, cultural, and social stereotypes about jobs from a young age.
• Build transferable skills – Develop essential life skills such as teamwork, communication, resilience, and problem-solving.
• Link learning to life – Show how classroom subjects are used in real jobs, boosting motivation and engagement.
• Encourage goal-setting – Help children recognise their own strengths and interests, and set personal learning goals.
• Promote equal opportunity – Ensure every child is exposed to a wide range of careers, regardless of background or ability.
• Support transitions – Build confidence and future-thinking skills to ease the move to secondary school and beyond.
• Develop self-awareness – Help pupils understand their skills, interests, and values in the context of potential future roles.
• Involve families – Engage parents and carers in career conversations to strengthen home-school links.
• Foster lifelong learning – Promote a growth mindset and show that career paths can evolve over time.

Careers in Action at Fender

Careers learning is embedded across the curriculum at Fender. Throughout the year, children from Reception to Year 6 explore different careers in all subject disciplines, reflect on their own strengths, and develop their communication skills through planned oracy activities in every lesson.

We also celebrate an annual Careers Week, featuring our popular ‘Future Me Day’. On this day, a diverse range of professionals visit the school to share their career journeys, skills, and opportunities with our children in an inspiring careers fair setting.

Additionally, our Year 5 pupils participate in the Johnson Foundation careers programme, which focuses on raising aspirations by connecting young people with local businesses and industry role models.

Our annual ‘Future Me Day’ is a vital part of our commitment to helping children explore the wide range of opportunities available to them in the future. By meeting real professionals from diverse industries, pupils are inspired to connect their learning to real-life roles and begin to see themselves as future scientists, artists, engineers, or entrepreneurs.

This year, we were proud to welcome 22 individuals from a wide variety of professional backgrounds – from healthcare and engineering to media, hospitality, and the emergency services. Each visitor shared insights into their day-to-day work, their personal journey into their chosen field, and the skills they use in their roles. Our pupils put their oracy skills into action by asking thoughtful and curious questions, demonstrating active listening, and engaging in meaningful conversations about the world of work. These interactions not only helped develop confidence and communication skills but also encouraged our children to think critically about their own interests, strengths, and future ambitions.

Research from Education and Employers (2018) shows that children’s career aspirations can begin forming as early as age 3–4 and are often influenced by gender and socioeconomic stereotypes by the age of 7. Hosting careers events in primary school helps to broaden horizons, challenge limiting beliefs, and promote equity of opportunity. It also supports the development of essential life skills and strengthens relationships with families and the wider community. At Fender, our Careers Fair is more than just an event – it’s a powerful stepping stone toward lifelong learning, confidence, and ambition.

Our Partnership with the Johnson Foundation: My Big Future

At Fender Primary School, we are proud to work in partnership with the Johnson Foundation each year through their inspirational My Big Future programme. This exciting careers initiative is designed to raise aspirations and encourage children to dream big from a young age by giving them meaningful exposure to the world of work.

The My Big Future programme is specifically aimed at pupils in Years 4 and 5, helping them to begin thinking about their future careers while developing key life skills. The programme focuses on changing mindsets, encouraging children to believe in their potential, and showing them the wide range of possibilities available to them beyond the classroom.
Through a series of career inspiration sessions, enterprise days, and skills-based workshops, our pupils engage in hands-on learning that connects education with real-world opportunities. Activities include:

• Talks from industry professionals and workplace visits
• CV writing and interview preparation
• Mock interviews and public speaking opportunities
• Enterprise projects such as “Dragon’s Den” days that develop entrepreneurial thinking

This year, our children had the unique opportunity to work towards becoming ‘Zookeepers for a Day’ at Chester Zoo. As part of the programme, they learned about animal care, conservation, and the wide range of roles involved in running one of the UK’s leading zoological organisations. This experience was a fantastic way to apply their skills in a real-world setting, and it opened their eyes to exciting and meaningful careers in animal care, science, and environmental protection.

These experiences are made possible thanks to the Johnson Foundation’s strong network of partnerships with local businesses and organisations, who generously give their time and expertise to support the programme.

The impact of My Big Future is powerful – pupils finish the programme with greater confidence, improved communication skills, and a deeper understanding of the pathways open to them. Most importantly, they begin to see themselves as capable, ambitious individuals with exciting futures ahead.

The Johnson Foundation was established in 1987 by Peter Johnson, a philanthropist from Wirral, with the mission to support charitable causes across the Liverpool City Region. To date, the foundation has raised over £10 million for local initiatives, and My Big Future is a shining example of their commitment to investing in the next generation.

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside the Johnson Foundation and see first-hand the difference this programme makes in raising aspirations for our children.