The Christopher Nieper Education Trust believes people are its magic ingredient as it develops local skills and local talent. Its sponsorship of The David Nieper Academy is the first of its kind in Derbyshire and combines a good education with life skills for future employability.

Strong links with Further and Higher Education, plus established employer relationships, means every student at the David Nieper Academy will understand the wide range of exciting opportunities available to them and both the education and career pathways that are on offer. As well as benefiting from applied learning in lessons, students have many opportunities to develop their employability skills in a range of contexts, such as our unique Enterprise Week and Employer Partner Challenges.

With a dedicated Employability team to coordinate all aspects of the Careers and Employability curriculum, we are confident our students will progress to the next stages of their education and/or training, with confidence and the necessary skills to be successful. From personalised careers guidance, to a specialised Enterprise curriculum, we offer a tailored, individualised careers programme that meets the needs of every student within the academy.

Introduction to The Team

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the Employability and Enterprise team at David Nieper Academy. With many years of experience in a secondary school setting, we ensure all students receive the best guidance, education and experiences to equip them for a successful career journey, which starts as soon as they join the Academy in Year 7.

We have developed a culture of employability that runs through all aspects of academy life: from the curriculum itself, to personalised careers guidance, employability assemblies and higher education experiences, our students have a tailored and informed approach to choosing their post-16 and 18 pathways.

The Team

Mr Chris Ruddy, Assistant Headteacher – Employability & CPD

Careers Leader – cruddy@davidnieper.academy, 01773 832331

My role, as part of the senior leadership team, is to oversee all aspects of the Employability and Enterprise curriculum. I also deliver targeted CPD to ensure staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to assist students on their career journey.

Miss Victoria Brindley, Employability and Enterprise Coordinator – vbrindley@davidnieper.academy

As part of my role, I am responsible for coordinating the Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 destinations data, implementing the Unifrog platform across all year groups, creating the David Nieper Alumni, conducting website audits on the ‘Employability’ section of our academy website and overseeing the ICAG provision.

Mrs Shelley Wilcockson, Employability and Enterprise Coordinator & PSCHE Lead – swilkcockson@davidnieper.academy

My role includes coordinating enterprise and employability across the curriculum, including the Year 8 Enterprise Curriculum itself and the careers strand of the PSCHE curriculum. I also lead on Key Stage 3 pathways, introducing years 7-9 to different education pathways, including higher education and apprenticeships.

Mrs Lisa Bradford, Information, Advice & Guidance Coordinator – lbradford@davidnieper.academy

I am responsible for supporting external careers guidance opportunities for students in every year group. I work closely with the SEND department to ensure all students receive tailored, specific guidance to meet every individual’s needs.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or queries regarding the Employability Curriculum at David Nieper Academy, please contact Miss Brindley or Mrs Wilcockson.

Follow @niepercareers