What good looks like
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Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by students, parents, teachers, governors, employers and other agencies.
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Every school and college should have a stable, structured careers programme that has the explicit backing of the senior management team and has an identified and appropriately trained person responsible for it.
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The careers programme should be published on the school’s or college’s website in a way that enables students, parents, school/college staff and employers to access and understand it.
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The programme should be regularly evaluated with feedback from students, parents, school/college staff and employers as part of the evaluation process.
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Providers of technical (including higher technical) education, vocational education and apprenticeships should be given the opportunity to engage with students and their parents so that all routes at 16 and 18 are fully understood and so that students can make informed decisions at key transition points.
Why this matters
Benchmark 1 provides the foundation for careers provision across your school, special school or college and supports you to link careers provision to your vision, priorities and to school or college improvement.
Developing a progressive careers programme shaped and driven by a strategic careers plan, enables your students to make well informed decisions about education, training, apprenticeship & employment opportunities and supports then to cope with challenging labour market conditions.
Career Leaders:
Getting started with BM1
These resources will support you with impact evaluation and strategic planning:
Plan:
- The Careers Leader Induction module is designed to provide a foundation knowledge and understanding of key elements of careers leadership and can be accessed here.
- The Strategic Careers Plan, first conceptualised by Teach First in 2017, will be your ‘manual’ for how to achieve your strategic objectives. It will include timeframes, responsibilities, and evaluation plans. It will contain all the information needed to lead improvements in careers provision so that if you as Careers Leader were to leave, it could form a comprehensive handover document for any successor.
- This guide will support you to build and present a progressive careers programme that scaffolds and allows you to measure what students need to know, understand and be able to do to find their best next step.
Collect:
- This is a quick reference guidance document to support Careers Leaders with collecting and reviewing impact evidence. This links with collecting and reviewing impact evidence to inform strategic careers planning and impact evaluation of careers provision.
Review
- The Impact Evaluation Toolkit a resource for Careers Leaders, and their colleagues, in schools, special schools and colleges to evaluate the impact of career programmes.
Act:
- To support you in developing an effective strategic careers plan and implementing a progressive careers programme, find out more about the funded Careers Leader Training offer here.
- Share impact evaluation success and areas for continuous development with your Governing Body/Trustees. Use the Governor Guide for Secondary or Guide for College Governors to support engagement.
- Connect with the Enterprise Adviser Network here.
Training
All Careers Leaders require Outstanding training
For further support with Benchmark 1 register for our fully funded Careers Leader training.
Download our Training Catalogue which includes all the information you need and a helpful comparison guide on the 11 high-quality Training Providers we work with. Here you will be able to choose the right course to suit you and your development, so that you can embed a successful careers programme in your school/college.
Once you have chosen the right course and Training Provider for you, you are all set to register!
Careers in Context: Can Do Approaches
To align your careers programme with whole school, special school or college improvement, work with colleagues from senior leadership team and governing body to understand the school, special school or college’s strategic objectives. Your Enterprise Adviser may be able to support with this work.
Opportunity:
- Prioritise engagement with senior leadership and governors to ensure that your careers programme is aligned with school or college priorities and school or college return and curriculum recovery plans. Your programme should also directly support positive outcomes for students.
How:
- Work with your Enterprise Advisor to engage with colleagues from senior leadership teams and governing body around understanding school, special school and college strategic priorities.
- Use our resources to evaluate and plan your school, special school or college’s progressive careers programme according to the needs of students and the priorities of the school, special school or college.
“Improving career guidance in secondary schools and colleges can lead to better student outcomes, while also raising aspirations and increasing engagement with education”
Education Leaders and Governors:
Education Leaders and Governors: For further information on each Benchmark, to support you in your role, please see the Education Leader, Secondary and College Governor Guides.
“Links have been demonstrated between young people’s engagement with the world of work through career talks and their GCSE attainment.”
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Careers Leader training
Transform your careers programme and develop your skills as a Careers Leader to strategically embed careers in the curriculum.
Amazing Apprenticeships Resources
Amazing Apprenticeships is a small team with a big mission. They offer support and guidance to educators, employers, students and parents to navigate the fast-changing world of apprenticeships. Below are links to some of the resources they have on offer.
Brand-new animated film explaining what apprenticeships are and their benefits, watch here!
Support students and key stakeholders to understand all pathways
We have collated key resource and support for you to ensure that all students, staff and parents/carers are informed about and understand all pathways at 16/18. Access these key resources for ‘at a glance’ overviews of key pathways, including technical and vocational routes post 16 and post 18.
Skills Builder Hub
Access a free-to-use online platform that hosts all the tools you need to build the eight essential skills as outlined by the Skills Builder.
Panjango Trumps: Future Jobs
Engage the imagination and offer a fun and exciting way to learn about the future world of work with this much-loved game format.
North East Regional Progression Framework
The framework is designed primarily as a tool to support practitioners from across a range of institutions and sectors wishing to develop a programme of activity to increase knowledge and understanding, as well as support progression to higher education.
New CDI Framework
The CDI’s Career Development Framework describes the six career development skills that people need to have positive careers. The new Framework was launched on April 21st 2021.
NESCOT CEIAG Strategy - FE
NESCOT is the Lead College in the Coast to Capital Careers Hub which launched in September 2020. Vice Principal and Careers Leader, Dario Stevens, launched this new CEIAG Strategy in the college during National Careers Week in March 2021.
NCS: Thinking about a Career
This resource is part of the My Skills My Future programme and contains a slide deck and teacher guide. resources are also included for those young people who are considering University as an option.
NCS: Pitching and presenting
This resource is featured as part of the My Skills My Future programme and contains a slide deck and teacher guide.
NCS: Organising Yourself
This resource is part of the My Skills My Future programme and contains resources aimed at both SEND groups and AP/PRU including teacher guidance and slide decks.
NCS: Organising Your Future
This resource is part of the My Skills My Future programme and contains resources aimed at both SEND groups and AP/PRU settings. It contains Slide decks and teacher guidance.