CEIAG & Careers Leaders
Update to the statutory guidance October 2018
Tuesday 16th October 2018
Today the DFE have published an update to the Careers guidance and access for education and training providers - Statutory Guidance for governing bodies, school leaders and school staff AKA statutory guidance for careers.
The last version was published in early 2018 so this is one of the quickest updates we've seen for some time and is mainly about embedding the role of the careers leader and the Gatsby Benchmarks. Whilst the majority of the document is rather similar to the January version, I've attempted to highlight the major differences for ease of use. This of course doesn't mean you shouldn't go through the document yourself.
Under main points the document points to 3 main areas via the index:-
- New requirement to publish information about the careers programme
- Targeted support for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people
- New legal duty: access to providers of technical education and apprenticeships
Legalities
There is also and update to the legislation that it refers to, the third one on the list being the latest one
Sections 42A1, 42B and 45A of the Education Act 1997
Section 72 of the Education and Skills Act 2008
Schedule 4 (15) of the School Information (England) Regulations 2008
The Careers & Enterprise Company
There are a number of mentions of the Careers & Enterprise Company, including on page 6 the undertaking that ALL schools will have been offered an enterprise adviser by 2020 and the CEC will be developing new resources.
The Role of the Careers Leader
On page 15 it is made clear that a careers leader is not necessarily a careers adviser. The latter gives impartial advice and guidance to those who need it. The role of careers leader is a distinct role which requires the skill, knowledge, time and backing of the SLT & Governors to do the job. It also sets out 4 distinct areas of responsibility
Leadership - a good leader who takes responsibility for developing, running
and reporting on the school's careers programme.
• Management - a skilful manager who is able to plan careers activities, manage
the careers budget and, in some cases, manage other staff involved in the
delivery of careers guidance.
• Coordination - a careful coordinator of staff from across the school and from
outside.
• Networking - a good networker who can establish and develop links with
employers, education and training providers and careers organisations.
Reference to the CEC guide to the role of the careers leader is also made.
The Baker Clause
On page 11 from point 5 onwards there are added firstly that the policy should be regularly reviewed and that ever academy in a MAT must have their own version. It then sets out more detail of the contents
The School Information (England) Regulations 2008 require schools17 to publish
information about the school's careers programme. This information must relate to the
delivery of careers guidance to year 8 to 13 pupils in accordance with Section 42A of
the Education Act 1997. For the current academic year, you must include:
• the name, email address and telephone number of the school's Careers Leader
• a summary of the careers programme, including details of how pupils, parents,
teachers and employers may access information about the careers programme
• how the school measures and assesses the impact of the careers programme on
pupils
• the date of the school's next review of the information published
The appendix on pages 33-36 gives an updated example of how the access policy and the stable programme could look
Gatsby Benchmark 1
Stable Programme
Further clarification on page 13
Benchmark 1 recognises that every school should have a stable, structured careers
programme that is published on the school's website. Many schools already have
information about their careers information written down but the Government wants to
go further to make sure that schools are consistently making available public
information about their careers programme so that it is known and understood by
young people, parents, teachers and employers. The Government has introduced a
new requirement for schools to publish information about their careers programme on
their website.
A large amount of detail is given as to what should be in the published information of the careers programme and this is on pages 16-18 inclusive. I suggest you read these pages in full.
Gatsby Benchmark 2
Destination Data
The DFE have published a document on the use of destination data and it can be downloaded from here
The new guidance goes on to say that schools should be putting into place the systems to be able to track destinations of pupils for at least 3 years after leaving. (item 37 page 20) and to publish destinations data publicly (item 38 page 20)
Gatsby Benchmark 3
Targeted support for vulnerable and disadvantaged young people
The importance of high expectations and horizon widening activities are highlighted in a section for alternative provision on page 21 and attention is drawn to _The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is available to support young people in defined vulnerable
groups, who may receive yearly bursaries of up to £1,200 and/or discretionary
payments to help those who are also in financial hardship.
Looked after children - The footnote on page 22 says
All local authorities must appoint a Virtual School Head for the purpose of discharging their duty to promote the education of looked after and certain previously looked after children's education. For looked after children, the VSH of authority which looks after them is responsible for promoting their education. For previously looked after children (those who have left care through adoption, special guardianship or child arrangement orders or were adopted from state care abroad) the relevant VSH will be the one serving the area where the child is educated.
SEND - items 48-50 on page 23 give more clarity regarding the role of the school in supporting those with SEND needs, items 51-4 are the same as previous versions.
Gatsby Benchmark 5
Encounters with employers and employees
The range of suggested activities to meet the needs of the encounters with employers and employees benchmark have been added to.
• alumni activity
• business games and enterprise competitions;
• careers fairs;
• employer encounters with parents;
• employer involvement in the curriculum;
• employer mentoring;
• employer talks;
• mock interviews;
• CV workshops;
• mock assessment centres;
• speed networking/careers carousels.
Work Experience
When arranging work placements for pupils with SEND, schools should carefully match the placement to the abilities, needs and aspirations of the pupil. Schools should consider whether pupils with SEND need additional support in the work placement to make sure it is a valuable and positive experience, and secure that support where needed, working with the employer
The document then goes on to suggest a range of ways of gaining workplace encounters
• internships and holiday placements;
• job shadowing;
• part-time work;
• work experience in school;
• volunteering; work experience (less than 1 week);
• work experience (1-2 week block);
• work experience (regular/weekly commitment);
• workplace visits.
Gatsby Benchmark 8
Personal Guidance
Points to the CDI's guide to commissioning independent personal guidance. here
