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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Black Country Careers Hub SEND resources
The Black Country Careers Hub have developed a number of resources to support those working with young people with SEND in the different settings. Many of these resources are featured in the My Skills My Future programme.
Black Country Vocational Profile
A SEND pupil centred planning tool specifically geared to employment and to support quality transitions.
BM1 Guide
This resource has been developed by colleagues in Liverpool City Region Careers Hub to support CPD to Careers Leaders on all elements of BM1.
Building good practice in careers education - Insights and guidance for training providers
A resource for training providers to give an overview of careers education in England, raise awareness of the value of the Gatsby Benchmarks and share examples of practice from across the sector.
Business games and enterprise competitions. What works?
This paper provides evidence on business games and enterprise competitions to help schools, colleges and providers of careers and enterprise programmes use the evidence to shape the programmes they are running and developing.
Career Ambassador Training programme
Train students to become Career Ambassadors for your school using a leadership training resource & a booklet of activities to complete.
Career HELP Advice System
A free comprehensive online careers system that uniquely provides students, teachers and advisors with all that they need. Based upon a personal profile quiz that uses only graphic images, it is now widely used in UK schools.
Career Leader Handover Document
A checklist for outgoing Careers Leaders to use to make sure the new Career Leader has all necessary information.
Career Learning SEND activity
Developed by the team in the Black Country Careers Hub this resource uses widgets to raise awareness of different career options for young people with SEND. This resource features in the My Skills My Future programme.
Career Talks: Finding your Future, Reaching your Goals SEND resource
Developed by the team at the Black Country Careers Hub this resource features a number of videos looking at different roles available and reflections from people undertaking those roles. This resource features in the My Skills My Future programme.
Careers and enterprise provision in England’s colleges in 2019: Detailed Gatsby Benchmark results
This report builds on the national results from the State of the Nation Report 2019 with additional analysis of the Compass data for colleges specifically, to provide Careers Leaders, college leaders and their external partners with the insights needed to make further progress.
Careers Corner: National Literacy Trust
Developed by the National Literacy Trust as part of the words for life programme, these resources are designed for young people to boost their skills and imagine their next steps.