CEIAG & Careers Leaders
The changing face of school careers - some schools will be dragged kicking & screaming
Monday 28th October 2013
Being so involved in the school careers education, I'm very aware that there is some excellent careers learning going on in schools today. I also know that in the majority of schools careers ed is seen as a bolt on, that consists of totally unconnected one off interviews and/or events. The government is clearly not going to allow this to continue to be the case. Whilst no extra money is coming the way of schools budgets, the framework is getting clearer... There are a number of things happening that point the way of government's thinking on the matter of school careers.
There will be no 'new structures' so no, Connexions or the Careers Service are not going to be resurrected
Why do I say this? It's not been reported. Well apart from conversations I've had over the past couple of weeks with people far more knowledgeable than I, but also because the Government have on many occasions categorically said there is no more money. Whatever improvements the NCS make in provision for young people has to be funded by their current budget.
So no money, no new organisations... hmmm Do I hear something about charity? corporate social responsibility?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/10385888/I-want-to-fill-the-gap-in-careers-guidance.html
http://www.inspiringthefuture.org/
http://www.giveyouthachance.com/index.php/work-experience-week-explained
http://www.nationalcareersweek.com/
http://www.thebrightsidetrust.org/ All great organisations doing the best job they can
We've all seen the very many articles devoted to employer engagement and charities. This to me is a clear sign that the government, in my humble opinion, has, be it deliberately or accidentally, manufactured the current crisis in schools careers ed in order to encourage a free market to develop with charities and employers filling the gap.
So, the Government want employer & charity engagement - what thought are they giving to the methods for ensuring quality?
Today Matthew Hancock is launching 'The Future of Apprenticeships in England: Implementation Plan' from which I quote below
Q21: What approaches are effective to inform young people and their parents about the opportunities provided by an Apprenticeship?
A majority of respondents referred to the importance of good school careers advice to inform young people, with some criticising the current programme or suggesting improvements. ... More employer outreach in schools in a variety of forms was also suggested.
Q22: How can we support employers to engage with learners of all ages to provide information about Apprenticeship opportunities? Engagement with schools was the idea expressed most frequently by respondents. In particular there was broad support for NAS, other sector or local intermediaries and employers to organise more events, such as Apprenticeship fairs or competitions and to help develop their links with schools.
I don't know about you but the following clearly says to me, a form of quality control was suggested but it ain't gonna be done by the government.
Other suggestions included: the development of centrally co-ordinated promotional/briefing materials for employers to use when engaging with schools to ensure consistent messaging...
Last week the TES ran an article telling us that 3/4 of pupils are not informed about apprenticeships in schools
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10402714/Students-fail-to-complete-one-in-six-A-level-courses.html
- there is a distinct conflict between schools with 6th forms promoting anything other than their own 6th form path and the Government's instructions as per 'impartial' careers learning.
Given that the Government clearly see apprenticeships as a way forward in providing skilled workers for the UK economy, schools will be forced to stop seeing apprenticeships as "the thing that's there for the one's that can't get into university" this will probably come about via the destinations data performance indicator. Work is going on behind the scenes to ensure that this indicator is as fair as possible, one thing however is sure:- The drop out rate caused by pupils being misguidedly steered towards sixth form when they would be better served by apprenticeships and/or other routes will have to improve drastically for very many schools.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2265632/One-A-level-pupils-drop-year-annual-cost-taxpayer-300million.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/academic-focus-driving-students-to-quit-alevels-8459828.html
'Higher Apprenticeships - A Viable Business Alternative to Graduate Training Programmes'
This in itself indicates that schools will be forced into a more even handed approach to alternatives to their sixth form. which leads me to my final point.
The Government expect Ofsted inspections to be the big game changer in terms of school performance on CEIAG.
Ofsted - what good careers looks like
Karen Adriaanse, the Ofsted lead on careers very clearly spelt out at the Careers England conference last week that Ofsted are looking at how to make careers learning more explicit in schools' Ofsted reports as part of leadership & management. Her slides in summary of what young people like and want more of and what government wants will be a key driver for schools but for me, the most powerful slide was the one that sets out what key points indicated good provision in schools.
Ofsted - what good careers looks like
Ofsted - What the government should do
She also went on to outline what the government should do, this is broadly in line with the government action plan which was published on the same day as the Ofsted report.
All of which link to one major point for headteachers throughout the country. You will need a person in school to coordinate all this work. Be they teacher, careers advisor or administrator. Somebody, somewhere will need to be trained and capable to put these changes into effect in time for your next Ofsted inspection OR the new destinations data implementation, whichever comes first.
