Personal guidance
Every learner should have opportunities for guidance meetings with a Careers Adviser, who could be internal (a member of staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These meetings should be available for all learners whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all learners but should be scheduled to meet their individual needs. The Careers Leader should work closely with the Careers Adviser, SEND coordinator (SENDCO and other key staff to ensure personal guidance is effective and embedded in the careers programme.
What good looks like
School
- Every pupil should have at least one personal guidance meeting with a Careers Adviser by the age of 16, and a further meeting by the age of 18. Meetings should be scheduled in the careers programme to meet the needs of pupils.
- Information about personal guidance support and how to access it should be communicated to pupils and parents and carers, including through the school website.
Further Education
- Every learner should have at least one personal guidance meeting with a Careers Adviser. Meetings should be scheduled in the careers programme to meet the needs of learners.
- Information about personal guidance support and how to access it should be communicated to learners, parents and carers and other stakeholders, including through the provider website.
The resources below are designed to support you with Gatsby Benchmark 8. To explore all of the Gatsby Benchmarks in greater depth, download the toolkit that best aligns with your setting.
Work with key colleagues to identify and consider the timing and regularity of personal guidance. Robust systems should be in place to ensure that personal guidance meetings are responsive to learner need and scheduled appropriately. This resource will support with mapping and enhancing current provision.
For best practice in commissioning independent careers guidance services, use the CDI guide and ‘Find a Registered Career Development Professional’ tool on the CDI website.
Time spent with a Careers Adviser is valuable, so ensuring all involved, including parents and carers, understand its value and purpose is crucial to maximise impact. Access the CEC resources and support for parents and carers, including the FREE Parental Engagement in Careers CPD, to ensure parents and carers add value to your approach to personal guidance
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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Amazing Apprenticeships - Find an apprenticeship Guide
This guide provides step-by-step support in how to set up an account on Find an apprenticeship, which is the government apprenticeship vacancy service advertising over 20,000 apprenticeship vacancies a year. Download this guide to support students or individuals to create an account and start searching and applying for apprenticeships.
Aspire: Information and advice to help post-16 students understand their university, further education and career options
Launched by the social mobility charity upReach, Aspire was created to encourage state school students all over the UK to aim high and broaden their career horizons. Aimed at Year 12 and 13 students, these resources provide detailed information about a wide range of career options that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds may have limited exposure to through existing networks.
BCS - Tech Careers Quiz
Developed by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
Looking to spark excitement about tech careers? Look no further than the BCS careers quiz! It's a fun and interactive way to explore potential career pathways in the tech industry.
Black Country Vocational Profile
A SEND pupil centred planning tool specifically geared to employment and to support quality transitions.
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.
CareerEar
CareerEar is an online careers advice and exploration platform and the first of its kind to combine direct and personal advice, with relevant labour market data, in order to help people make the most informed decisions.
Careerpilot Pathway Planner
The Careerpilot Pathway Planner (PP) is an online tool which provides effective, efficient and targeted personal guidance at three levels to meet the individual needs of Year 11-13 students, using triage and a whole-school, integrated approach.
Careers CEIAG for SEND
We specialise in empowering young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities to realise their career aspirations. Our mission is to ensure every young person has the support and guidance they need to pursue their dreams, no matter the challenges they face.
Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) and Transitions in Focus: A guide to support vision impaired children and young people
Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) has a range of useful resources for careers leaders and practitioners working with blind and partially sighted students in mainstream secondary schools and colleges.
Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges
A Guide to Best Practice and Commissioning Independent Career Guidance Services
Careerscope - Hospitality Industry Hub
CareerScope is your one-stop-shop for all things careers in the Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Industry.
Our mission is to support people from all backgrounds and ages, attract talent towards the industry, and ultimately, promote hospitality as a great place to work.
Whether you’re a teacher or careers advisor, a student, or a job seeker, we have resources, programmes and support available to help you reach your full potential.
CDI quality assurance of career development interventions
This framework will help career development professionals to quality assure their career development interventions and determine any areas that may require development.