Build an engaging careers program with Ponder

Ponder is designed to support your school careers curriculum, giving you easy-to-deliver content that inspires, while also supporting the first four Gatsby Benchmarks. Be one of the first to join the UK Pilot Program today

"This is exactly what I've been looking for..." - Mel, Senior Leadership Team, Ealing UK

Innovative, flexible, and easy

Start positive career conversations

With so many teaching challenges in secondary schools, it can be hard to get time to design and maintain a careers program that also meets the Gatsby Benchmarks.

That’s why we designed Ponder – a structured, scaffolded career development program that builds students’ career management skills and challenges stereotypes, while also getting your teachers thinking about career education.

"Ponder ticks every box on our wish list..."

There are already a few UK schools on the Ponder Pilot, this is what one of them (Geoff T. from West Hatch High School) had to say:

As I mentioned, the #PonderProgram ticks every box on our wish list:

Sessions can be delivered during Form (15-20 minutes)
Sessions can be easily delivered by any member of staff
Resources can be easily adapted and used flexibly
Resources provide a clear framework and flow between topics
A programme which covers careers and personal development
A programme which encourages students to engage in an impactful, yet informal manner

[But] It’s so much more than a “Form Time” session, as I’ve used some of the resources during one-on-one Careers Meetings and for other workshops too! As you know, it’s safe to say I’m a fan.

We’re so honoured at West Hatch High School to be part of the UK pilot and can’t wait to see everything Study Work Grow goes on to achieve.

Geoffrey Towsey
Careers Advisor – West Hatch High School (north of London)

Start using Ponder each week at your school

Make it the best Tutor Time of the week

Ponder is designed to be delivered in quick, bite-sized units that slot into unstructured time in your school week, like Tutor Time or Form Class.

“Every week we have ‘Ponder Fridays’ at school… and it has been really encouraging having it there as a program for careers”

Helsa Niranjan – Careers Advisor at Greenacre Community School

We designed Ponder to be delivered by teachers once a week. They get everything they need, so any educator on your team can teach a Ponder unit with confidence.

Linking learning with life

Based on the Three Phase Inquiry Model

Career Education should be exciting and engaging (after all, it’s talking about their future). That’s why each Ponder lesson takes students through the Three Phase Inquiry Model to discover, discuss, and demonstrate how they’re linking career learning with life.

Discover

Students are introduced to the topic and given a chance to learn about the concept before going further

Discuss

Once students and teachers have watched the Discovery video, they can discuss their thoughts and ideas

Demonstrate

Encourage deep learning and reflection with the activities and thinking points which accompany each unit

The result? Engaging lessons, great conversations, and positive feedback for your school leaders.

Ponder could help you meet the first four Gatsby Benchmarks

Gatsby Benchmark 1

Building a Stable Careers Program

With the Ponder Program, you can offer students a structured, scaffolded career development program that builds key career management skills gradually throughout their school journey and underpins everything else you do.

Gatsby Benchmark 1

Gatsby Benchmark 2

Exploring Careers and the Labour Market

Ponder is designed to empower students so that they can understand careers and labour market information, relate it to their unique context and local labour market, then make confident decisions based on this information.

Gatsby Benchmark 2

Gatsby Benchmark 3

Addressing the needs of every student

Ponder can help you meet the needs of all your students. The Program showcases a diverse range of people working across a wide variety of roles, and empowers teachers to confidently address the needs of each individual student.

Gatsby Benchmark 3

Gatsby Benchmark 4

Linking the Curriculum to Careers

As your teachers deliver the Ponder Program they build confidence and feel more comfortable talking about careers and pathways, and they start to bring career conversations into their classrooms linking curriculum learning to careers.

Gatsby Benchmark 4

Benchmarks 5 - 8

Local info works best

We know that Ponder is brilliant for addressing the first four Gatsby Benchmarks, but it doesn't address the last four (so we're not going to pretend we can do them when we can't).

That's where your local knowledge, connections, programs, and encounters come in, making for a complete program.

Benchmarks 5 - 8

Here's why we're running a pilot:

Right now, over 230 schools across Australia use the Ponder Program to start positive career conversations and support their careers program. To be honest, it’s going really well – so well that we’ve had schools in the UK signing up already!

We want to make sure the resources and materials we deliver are right for your school context, so we are looking for schools who are willing to try implementing Ponder in their schools at no cost for the rest of 2023, in return for thoughts and feedback.

Ponder is based on the Australian Blueprint for Career Development, which aligns closely with other key international frameworks, including the CDI’s Career Development Framework.

Ready to join our community?

There’s no pressure – we’ll just give you complete access to our resources for the next six months so you can explore and use it as school, then hear your thoughts.

If it turns out that Ponder will work in the UK (and it’s working in a couple of pilot schools already), then we’ll give you the option to join the community at a special rate to say ‘thank you’ for being part of the pilot.

To get started, just fill in the short form and we will set everything up for you as soon as we can.

Just enter your details below and we'll set you up

If you’re worried about how much it will cost after the pilot, you need to know that we’re a Social Enterprise, and we know budget is a barrier so we like to make things as affordable as possible. We also offer discounted and free memberships for schools in need. Most Career Leaders are surprised by the price (but in a good way).