A Stable Careers Programme
Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers.
What good looks like
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The programme should be regularly evaluated with feedback from students, parents, school/college staff and employers as part of the evaluation process.
- 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.
Central Strategic Careers Leadership (CSCL): Developing approaches to the strategic leadership of careers across trust
This guide explores how the role of the Central Strategic Careers Leader is emerging within trusts, the value of the work on careers within trusts, the value of collaborative working between trusts and Careers Hubs, and employers across the various regions.
Amazing Apprenticeships Resources
Amazing Apprenticeships is a leading organisation in the education sector, working with schools, colleges and employers, tackling misconceptions and promoting the benefits of apprenticeships and technical education.
They work closely with the Department for Education and a wide range of other partners and stakeholder organisations in England and internationally, to ensure that more individuals and businesses can access the benefits of apprenticeships.
Animated film explaining what apprenticeships are and their benefits, watch here!
Talentino!
Talentino programmes have been helping to improve career outcomes for young people with a range of learning difficulties in a mixture of settings – special schools, mainstream schools, AP, PRU, SEMH, etc.
We are running our annual SEND/Inclusion Careers Conference for free online from 26th to 28th November, register here.
The Big Inclusive SEND Careers Handbook, written by Jenny Connick. Published by Trotman Publishing. View the book and download a sample chapter here!
Example Strategic Careers Plan: The Link School (AP)
Example strategic careers plan from The Link School, Sunderland (AP).
The strategy outlines the school’s vision for careers and the main aims of careers provision at the school.
Detail includes: vision, SWOT analysis strategic objectives and key actions. The School’s Provider Access policy is also included.
Future Skills Questionnaire
The Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) is a tool to measure learners’ career-readiness.
FSQ covers key aspects of knowledge, skills and attitudes that are important for successful transitions.
My Journey, My Future
This programme is focused on the different stages of transition experienced by young people on the journey from education to the world of work.
Journey/roadmap (Learner Journey)
Make sure everyone knows which way you’re heading: ensure all stakeholders understand your careers programme by using these templates to present it in a visual way.
Launch Your Career
Launch Your Career is a transformational career search and discovery platform, that uses VIRTUAL REALITY to engage and immerse young people on a personalized journey.
Example Provider Access Policy Statement
Personalise your own Provider Access Policy Statement with this helpful template designed by the Arete Learning Trust.
Transition Guide from Primary to Secondary: enhancing careers education and supporting parental engagement
This resource is designed to support Careers Leaders and other staff involved in the transition process from Key Stage 2 into Key Stage 3, exploring opportunities to embed careers activities and parental engagement across the full range of transition opportunities.
It takes you through the three phases:
- Decision making (Y4,5,6) while children and parents /carers are still considering their options
- Decision made (Y6) once the children have been allocated their secondary school
- Started (Y7) once the children have started their secondary school.
Example Careers Calendar of events 2024/25
This is an editable overview for an academic year of events and specific weeks across the country to support in planning events and the development of a careers education programme.