The national careers strategy is key to giving individuals and organisations a clear focus on the Government’s policies and priorities for careers education.
The revision of the associated statutory guidance, ‘Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers’ October 2018, expands on the aim set out in the Strategy to make sure that all young people in secondary school receive a programme of advice and guidance that is stable, structured and delivered by individuals with the right skills and experience.
To achieve this aim, the Careers Strategy recommends that every school and academy providing secondary education should use the Gatsby Charitable Foundation’s Benchmarks to develop and improve their careers provision. This statutory guidance has been restructured around the Benchmarks with information on what schools need to do to meet each one as well as strongly recommending schools to use the Quality in Careers Standard (for which Investors in Careers is the leading National Licensed Awarding Body) to externally assess their career provisions.
The Quality in Careers Standard and the Investor in Careers model have been restructured and updated to meet the DfE’s challenging ambition for all schools to achieve the eight Benchmarks by 2020. The Standard ensures educational institutions meet the requirements of legislation, Careers Strategy and Government guidelines relating to Careers Education Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) as well as the Gatsby Benchmarks. The process enables the provision of independent, objective evidence for inspections (e.g. Independent Schools Inspectorate) by providing a framework for both the delivery and evaluation of CEIAG.
In addition, many schools and colleges report an increase in the esteem in which they are held by their communities as a direct result of the public recognition they receive for their provision of CEIAG via the Standard. In most cases, the acquisition of the Standard will exceed the expectations of inspectors and the public who sit on awarding panels.
Preparing for opportunities
A key aspect of the Standard is the integration of CEIAG within the curriculum and the whole school approach to quality careers education. The Quality in Careers Standard provides external assessment and validation of the quality of a provider’s CEIAG programme.
The Investor in Careers approach not only incorporates the Gatsby Benchmarks, but goes beyond them in order to help develop and embed the cycle of continuous improvement and evidence impact, and outcomes for young peoples’ learning. This approach incorporates our CODE (Commitment, Organisation, Delivery and Evaluation) model and maintains a focus on the positive impact for students. This enables them to gain
the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their future pathways in learning and work.
To find out how we can support your school’s careers education, please visit cswgroup.co.uk, email investorincareers@cswgroup.co.uk or call 01752 207700.
