Outstanding Careers | Careers Education Consultant | Ofsted Inspection Careers

The Gatsby Benchmarks - The Next Ten Years - What every Careers Leader & SLT needs to know.

Sunday 24th November 2024

Janet Colledge

On Monday 18th November, The Gatsby Foundation published the culmination of a 2 year review of the benchmarks first pulished ten years ago and have updated them to reflect life in the 2020s and beyond. There has been much fanfare about this and it will, without doubt, mean more work for time poor careers leaders, so let's see what I can do to lessen the workload for you.

Firstly, this new guidance doesn't come into effect until 1st Sept 2025. So you've plenty of time to make adjustments.

So what do I do? Follow my 3 step plan

Step One don't panic, Let's concentrate on what affects schools and colleges and how they deliver CEIAG.

There is a move towards careers being a whole school issue.

• Benchmark four now is extended to all subjects not just core
• Benchmark one makes it clear that all staff need to understand and be behind the programme and that it's given explicit backing by leadership and governors.

More emphasis on differentiation Inclusion and impact for all

• There is now a requirement to keep individualised records of pupils experiences, aspirations, intended & actual destinations in order to inform the type and level of support given/needed.
• Pupils should be given access to this information and it should form part of the school records.

Focus on information and data

• As mentioned record keeping is high on the agenda so closer eye will be needed on how and what is recorded in order to be 'on top of' the new requirements.

• Information including LMI, pathway possibilities, local opportunities etc should be up to date and Inclusive.
• There is an explicit requirement to support pupils and parents/carers to access and be able to interpret what the information means for them.

Meaningful Encounters

• Benchmarks 5,6 & 7 have more nuanced definitions - it's worth reading pages 35-39 to get a clear idea of what is meaningful in each of those benchmarks as they vary slightly from benchmark to benchmark.

Parental & carer engagement

• It is now expected that schools will not only inform parents and carers about the careers programme but actively engage with them to encourage and enable them to support their children.

Learning Outcomes
One of the key quotes I feel that can be taken from the document is this We have clarified in the criteria that the careers programme should be sequenced appropriately, underpinned by learning outcomes and linked to a whole-school development plan.

• Throughout the whole document, it repeatedly states that the programme should be underpinned by appropriate learning outcomes and that should be progressive and encourage 2 way interaction between employers/training providers and pupils

Step Two - Look at the differences between the old and the new benchmarks

There is an appendix to the report that shows the differences between the original and the new benchmarks. It's not part of the report but can be downloaded here just click on the appendix 9 button.

Look at that and spend a few moments, ok an hour or so, considering how this will impact your school and your workload. Make a few notes and prioritise what you will need to do over the coming months.

Step Three You know SLT won't read the paperwork and want you to precis it for them.

And we know that as soon as you walk out of their office, it will be forgotten, so print out and show your SLT and Governor link the condensed version of the changes that I've put together for precisely this purpose, the link below takes you to it on Canva, and sit down with them to plan how the changes will affect your school. Use this as an opportunity to outline the sheer size and scope of what you are doing on a daily basis and how the changes will affect your workload.

Download the SLT explainer leaflet

I hope this helps

A quick point for those that are due to be assessed or reassessed for the Quality in Careers Standard is that if the (re)assessment date is on or after 1st September 2025 then the requirements of the new benchmarks will apply. The Quality in Careers Board is currently working on updating the assessment guide and it will be issued in plenty of time for you to make the adjustments necessary.