Encounters with further and higher education
All learners should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them, including academic, technical and vocational routes. This should incorporate learning in schools, colleges, independent training providers (ITPs), universities and in the workplace.
What good looks like
Schools
- By the age of 16, every pupil should have had meaningful encounters with providers of the full range of learning opportunities, including sixth forms, colleges, universities and ITPs.
- By the age of 18, all pupils who are considering applying to higher education should have had at least two visits to higher education providers to meet staff and learners.
Further Education
- By the end of their programme of study, every learner should have had a meaningful encounter with a range of providers of learning and training that may form the next stages of their career. This should include as appropriate, further education colleges, universities and ITPs. This should include the opportunity to meet both staff and learners.
Gatsby have provided a definition of what constitutes a meaningful experience:
A meaningful experience is one in which the learner has an opportunity to explore what it is like to work in that environment, the skills valued in the workplace, recruitment processes or what it takes to be successful.
A meaningful experience will:
- Have a clear purpose, which is shared with the employer and the learner.
- Be underpinned by learning outcomes that are appropriate to the needs of the learner.
- Involve an extensive two-way interaction between learners and employees.
- Include opportunities for learners to meet a range of different people from the workplace
- Include opportunities for learners to perform a task set by the employer or produce a piece of work relevant to that workplace.
- Include feedback from the employer to learners on their work.
- Be followed by opportunities for learners to reflect on the insights, knowledge or skills gained through their experience.
Schools, colleges and ITPs can take into account any part-time work a young person may have, if it genuinely offers them a meaningful experience.
The resources below are designed to support you with Gatsby Benchmark 7. To explore all of the Gatsby Benchmarks in greater depth, download the toolkit that best aligns with your setting.
Ensure learners are supported to consider the full range of pathways with equity, including academic, technical and vocational routes. Access the Understanding how to embed a progressive approach to encounters with further and higher education resource.
Find and contact delivery organisations to support encounters with further and higher education via the CEC Provider Directory. For SEND learners, the local offer (specific to geographical region) can support with relevant options alongside multi-agency links through the EHCP process.
Encourage all staff to complete the free online course Teachers Part 1: Understanding Career Pathways via The Careers & Enterprise Academy. Signpost parents and carers to CEC resources and activities to enable effective careers conversations at home. Use the checklist in the Understanding how to embed a progressive approach to encounters with further and higher education resource.
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.
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Technical Education Pathways Resource
These resources will support you in promoting the wide range of technical education pathways which are available for young people.
Created in partnership with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), these resources are designed to explain the pathways available to young people as well as promoting the wider work of the Training Provider (ITP) sector.
Soham Village College careers website
Looking for valuable careers information that’s targeted at students, parents, staff and employers too? This handy website will help.
Unifish Website
Unifish is your guide to higher education in London when you need a little more support, brought to you by Aimhigher London. It is a fully searchable and filterable website in multiple ways including by type of support and location.
Explore Apprenticeships – Free Online Course
Created in partnership with The Careers & Enterprise Company, #ExploreApprenticeships is a free online course supporting young people wanting to learn more about apprenticeships as a career path.
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.
Social Story: Starting College SEND resource
Developed by the team at the Black Country Careers Hub this resource contains a short social story to support young people with SEND during transition. This resource features in the My Skills My Future programme.
PwC Employability Toolkit
Free lesson plans to support your students in developing key skills.
Pathways Posters - My Skills My Future
These posters show potential pathways for young people at the age of 16. Developed with the support of the Birmingham SEND Careers Hub the posters are relevant for those typically not likely to take GCSE (Career Group 1) and those typically likely (Career Group 2).
Careermag for School Leavers
Careermag for School Leavers is a termly publication with information for school-aged children offering support and information on careers and qualifications.
Careermag for Parents, Carers and Guardians
A great resource for your Parents Evenings and Newsletters! Careermag for Parents, Carers and Guardians is a publication with information for parents of school-aged children offering support and information on careers and qualifications.
It also includes information on how to help support young people with mental health issues, managing the UCAS system, apprenticeships and in-depth features on various sectors and opportunities in them.
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: 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.