Recommendations & Conclusions
22 items
1
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The system of careers education, information, advice and guidance has undergone many changes over the past decade. It appears that the right framework is broadly in place, but there is a lack of a clear overarching strategy and stated outcomes. Progress towards meeting the Gatsby benchmarks has been slow, with …
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The system of careers education, information, advice and guidance has undergone many changes over the past decade. It appears that the right framework is broadly in place, but there is a lack of a clear overarching strategy and stated outcomes. Progress towards meeting the Gatsby benchmarks has been slow, with schools and colleges only meeting just over half of them on average. Furthermore, the system of self-reporting means that we do not have a full picture of how many are being achieved.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees the framework is broadly right and commits to publishing a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024, which will include measurable outcomes and dates, directly addressing the identified lack of strategy.
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Department for Education
2
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should publish an updated Careers Strategy, developed in consultation with other Departments and relevant stakeholders, by the end of 2024. This should include clear, measurable outcomes and dates by which these should be achieved, including targets for increasing the number of schools achieving the Gatsby benchmarks in full.
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The Department should publish an updated Careers Strategy, developed in consultation with other Departments and relevant stakeholders, by the end of 2024. This should include clear, measurable outcomes and dates by which these should be achieved, including targets for increasing the number of schools achieving the Gatsby benchmarks in full.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and commits to publishing a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024, developed in consultation with stakeholders, which will include clear, measurable outcomes and targets for Gatsby benchmark achievement.
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Department for Education
3
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
High-quality CEIAG provision is an essential part of pupils’ personal development and should be a core part of the Ofsted framework. The Department must ensure that Ofsted is upholding a strong focus on CEIAG provision when inspecting schools, in particular looking at schools’ achievement of the Gatsby benchmarks.
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High-quality CEIAG provision is an essential part of pupils’ personal development and should be a core part of the Ofsted framework. The Department must ensure that Ofsted is upholding a strong focus on CEIAG provision when inspecting schools, in particular looking at schools’ achievement of the Gatsby benchmarks.
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Government response AI summary
The government fully accepts the recommendation, stating that the school inspection handbook was updated in 2021 to ensure Ofsted judges careers provision, including Gatsby Benchmarks, as part of personal development.
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Department for Education
9
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The National Careers Service website is theoretically available to young people from the age of 13, but in practice is not targeted at or being used by them. Fewer than 10% of 18–19-year-olds had used it in 2018 and none of the young people we spoke to had heard of …
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The National Careers Service website is theoretically available to young people from the age of 13, but in practice is not targeted at or being used by them. Fewer than 10% of 18–19-year-olds had used it in 2018 and none of the young people we spoke to had heard of it. While we accept that schools and colleges have the main responsibility for CEIAG provision a high-quality, accessible website offering information and guidance is essential to complement their work and offer an alternative to young people outside of school or college.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation for improvements to the National Careers Service website, detailing significant past and ongoing work, including refreshing the brand, creating new content, improving accessibility, and enhancing the digital journey for young people.
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Department for Education
11
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
There is a broad consensus that the current structure of CEIAG provision is fragmented, causes confusion, and creates gaps and overlaps. We do not believe that creating a single, all-age body is necessary at this stage, but agree with Professor Sir John Holman and others that there needs to be …
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There is a broad consensus that the current structure of CEIAG provision is fragmented, causes confusion, and creates gaps and overlaps. We do not believe that creating a single, all-age body is necessary at this stage, but agree with Professor Sir John Holman and others that there needs to be more alignment between the existing organisations and that areas of overlap should be removed.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, agreeing that the careers system is fragmented and needs greater alignment. They commit to developing a single, unified all-age careers system, starting with a new digital platform by autumn 2023, and will engage stakeholders on service delivery.
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Department for Education
12
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should follow the recommendation set by Professor Sir John Holman to bring the existing delivery bodies under a single strategic umbrella function, sharing a common strategic framework and coordinating local services. We ask the Minister to update us on his planned reforms in this area and provide us …
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The Department should follow the recommendation set by Professor Sir John Holman to bring the existing delivery bodies under a single strategic umbrella function, sharing a common strategic framework and coordinating local services. We ask the Minister to update us on his planned reforms in this area and provide us with a timeline for implementing them. We recommend that these should go further than simply bringing together websites: the Department should take an in-depth look at the governance and functions of the different bodies to ensure that their work is fully aligned and that any areas of overlap are addressed, coordinating with other Government Departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, committing to developing a single, unified all-age careers system, starting with a new digital platform by autumn 2023. Further details and a timeline for reforms will be published in a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024.
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Department for Education
13
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department’s expenditure on CEIAG provision is around £5,000 per school— falling far short of the estimated £38,000 to £76,000 needed to achieve the Gatsby benchmarks. The expectation on schools and colleges to pay for CEIAG out of their already stretched budgets is causing significant disparities in provision, and we …
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The Department’s expenditure on CEIAG provision is around £5,000 per school— falling far short of the estimated £38,000 to £76,000 needed to achieve the Gatsby benchmarks. The expectation on schools and colleges to pay for CEIAG out of their already stretched budgets is causing significant disparities in provision, and we have heard that schools are only spending £2 per pupil on careers. This has led to gaps in support for certain activities, in particular access to independent careers advisers and for schools to achieve the Quality in Careers Standard.
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Government response AI summary
The government partially accepts, acknowledging disparities and describing its ongoing investment of over £90 million in careers provision, primarily through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and National Careers Service, and new legislation for statutory guidance. They state school leaders decide budget use and schools …
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Department for Education
14
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should pilot a programme of funding careers advisers directly through the CEC, rather than requiring schools and colleges to buy in this support from their existing budgets.
Government response AI summary
The government partially accepts, but states it already funds the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to provide grants that schools and colleges can use to fund careers activities, including purchasing support from careers advisers. They highlight existing grant schemes and maintain that school leaders are …
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Department for Education
15
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
To target those most in need of improvement, we recommend that the Department should make one-off developmental funding available to schools and colleges who 50 Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance have the lowest record of achieving the Gatsby benchmarks to support them to improve their CEIAG provision, setting out …
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To target those most in need of improvement, we recommend that the Department should make one-off developmental funding available to schools and colleges who 50 Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance have the lowest record of achieving the Gatsby benchmarks to support them to improve their CEIAG provision, setting out clear objectives and conditions of receiving this funding.
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Government response AI summary
The government partially accepts, but states that its primary approach already involves the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) using data to identify and target additional support and resources, including specific funding, to schools and colleges with lower Gatsby Benchmark attainment.
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Department for Education
16
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should include support for CEIAG provision in the package available to education investment areas and priority education investment areas and use this to develop pilots in these areas to explore what works best. (Paragraph 56) CEIAG in primary schools
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The Department should include support for CEIAG provision in the package available to education investment areas and priority education investment areas and use this to develop pilots in these areas to explore what works best. (Paragraph 56) CEIAG in primary schools
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating that the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) has identified 38 Priority Education Investment Areas where additional funding has been prioritised to develop and pilot careers provision, including specific support for primary schools, with ongoing evaluation.
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Department for Education
17
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
Starting careers education early is essential to broadening children’s horizons and showing them the full range of opportunities in the world of work. The Department has so far been taking an approach of relatively small-scale pilot programmes to test approaches, which appear to have been making a positive start, but …
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Starting careers education early is essential to broadening children’s horizons and showing them the full range of opportunities in the world of work. The Department has so far been taking an approach of relatively small-scale pilot programmes to test approaches, which appear to have been making a positive start, but support should be scaled up as soon as possible to ensure that the whole country can benefit.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, agreeing on the importance of early careers education. They are funding the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to pilot careers programmes in 70 primary schools and developing a primary careers education framework, committing to evaluate these pilots and consider scaling …
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Department for Education
18
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should evaluate the success of its careers programme for primary schools after its first year, and if it has been shown to have a positive impact, scale it up to cover all areas of England. In doing so the Department should consider working with the full range of …
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The Department should evaluate the success of its careers programme for primary schools after its first year, and if it has been shown to have a positive impact, scale it up to cover all areas of England. In doing so the Department should consider working with the full range of providers who have demonstrated their ability to provide effective programmes in this space.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, confirming the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) will evaluate the success of its primary school careers pilots and work with a range of providers. They commit to considering how to scale up support and will publish further details and timeframes …
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Department for Education
19
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
Additionally, the Department should work with the Gatsby Foundation to develop a tailored set of benchmarks for careers education in primary schools and provide guidance and resources through the Careers and Enterprise Company to support schools to meet them. (Paragraph 67) Embedding careers into the curriculum
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Additionally, the Department should work with the Gatsby Foundation to develop a tailored set of benchmarks for careers education in primary schools and provide guidance and resources through the Careers and Enterprise Company to support schools to meet them. (Paragraph 67) Embedding careers into the curriculum
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, agreeing to work with the Gatsby Foundation and other stakeholders to develop a tailored framework of benchmarks for primary careers education. They will also consider how the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) can best support primary schools to meet these, …
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Department for Education
20
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
We have heard some strong examples of careers being successfully embedded into the curriculum and the situation is improving, with 70% of schools and colleges fully achieving the relevant Gatsby benchmark, up from 38% in 2018. However, more support and guidance must be put in place to enable this: currently, …
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We have heard some strong examples of careers being successfully embedded into the curriculum and the situation is improving, with 70% of schools and colleges fully achieving the relevant Gatsby benchmark, up from 38% in 2018. However, more support and guidance must be put in place to enable this: currently, teachers lack the training and support they need to be able to do this effectively, and the curriculum itself does not provide explicit links to relevant careers.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and highlights existing initiatives like the Careers & Enterprise Company's resources, the Teacher Encounters programme, and investment in the FE workforce to provide the necessary support and training.
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Department for Education
21
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should launch a consultation on how best to incorporate careers education into different levels of teacher training, including for primary school teachers, looking at every level including initial teacher training and Early Career Frameworks, National Professional Qualifications and CPD.
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The Department should launch a consultation on how best to incorporate careers education into different levels of teacher training, including for primary school teachers, looking at every level including initial teacher training and Early Career Frameworks, National Professional Qualifications and CPD.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, committing to review existing teacher training frameworks (ITT CCF, ECF, NPQs, CPD) and engage with stakeholders to incorporate careers education, with further details to be published in a Strategic Action Plan in 2024.
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Department for Education
22
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
There is a clear need to explore ways in which teachers can gain familiarity with the world of work in sectors relevant to the subjects they teach, in order to be able to pass this knowledge on to their pupils. We look forward to hearing more details of the Department’s …
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There is a clear need to explore ways in which teachers can gain familiarity with the world of work in sectors relevant to the subjects they teach, in order to be able to pass this knowledge on to their pupils. We look forward to hearing more details of the Department’s upcoming pilot to connect teachers with businesses: the Department should use this opportunity to provide more teachers with experience of modern workplaces across a range of sectors. (Paragraph 81) Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance 51
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and states it is already addressing it through the Teacher Encounters programme, launched in January 2023, which aims to immerse 1,000 teachers in industry and has already conducted over 800 encounters. Further details will be in the Strategic Action Plan …
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Department for Education
24
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
Too many young people are missing out on high-quality work experience placements, particularly the most disadvantaged and those living outside large cities. Increasing access is crucial to opening up opportunities for young people across the country: virtual and hybrid placements can play a key role here, but should not be …
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Too many young people are missing out on high-quality work experience placements, particularly the most disadvantaged and those living outside large cities. Increasing access is crucial to opening up opportunities for young people across the country: virtual and hybrid placements can play a key role here, but should not be prioritised at the expense of in-person experiences.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and has made experiences of workplaces a strategic priority for Careers Hubs in 2023–24, providing additional funding for three distinct activity strands targeting up to 15,000 disadvantaged young people, 5,000 in growth sectors, and virtual experiences for 7-9 pupils in 600 institutions.
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Department for Education
25
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
We have heard that administrative requirements, particularly concerns around safeguarding, may form a barrier to schools being able to arrange work experience placements. Safeguarding is an essential aspect of every school and college’s work. The opportunity for young people to experience the workplace and access the benefits that such placements …
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We have heard that administrative requirements, particularly concerns around safeguarding, may form a barrier to schools being able to arrange work experience placements. Safeguarding is an essential aspect of every school and college’s work. The opportunity for young people to experience the workplace and access the benefits that such placements offer is also crucial. We welcome the Minister’s agreement that access should be as easy as possible and his commitment to help schools overcome any barriers.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees that administrative burdens and safeguarding concerns should not hinder work experience, and has commissioned the CEC to review existing guidance and resources, with the work due to complete this autumn, after which statutory guidance will be reviewed.
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Department for Education
27
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The goals set out in the Gatsby benchmark of experiences of the workplace provide a useful framework for schools to follow, but schools must ensure that opportunities are of high quality and tailored to pupils’ individual needs and aspirations rather than following a ‘tick-box’ approach to organising placements. The Department …
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The goals set out in the Gatsby benchmark of experiences of the workplace provide a useful framework for schools to follow, but schools must ensure that opportunities are of high quality and tailored to pupils’ individual needs and aspirations rather than following a ‘tick-box’ approach to organising placements. The Department should work with the Careers and Enterprise Company to develop a toolkit setting out what constitutes meaningful work experience to count towards the Gatsby benchmark objectives and ensure that this is shared with Careers Leaders in schools and colleges.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and highlights that the CEC has already developed a new resource hub containing tools and guidance, including an employer handbook and pupil workbook, which sets out what constitutes high-quality work experience. They will also review statutory guidance from Spring 2024 to strengthen …
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Department for Education
29
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The new provider access legislation is an important step in the right direction to ensure that pupils are hearing about the full range of post-16 options available. We look forward to seeing the impact of these reforms, but we are concerned that there currently does not seem to be a …
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The new provider access legislation is an important step in the right direction to ensure that pupils are hearing about the full range of post-16 options available. We look forward to seeing the impact of these reforms, but we are concerned that there currently does not seem to be a robust system of monitoring compliance.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of monitoring compliance and outlines several existing mechanisms, including the CEC's Compass tool for recording compliance, Careers Hub support, a provider concern registration platform, ongoing monitoring, and Ofsted inspections which now report non-compliance and will publish a thematic review …
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Department for Education
31
Conclusion
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
The Department should directly track compliance with the new provider access legislation and ensure that the appropriate action, as set out in the statutory guidance, is taken when schools are failing to comply. We recognise that Ofsted is not awarding “outstanding” grades to schools not complying with the Baker Clause—it …
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The Department should directly track compliance with the new provider access legislation and ensure that the appropriate action, as set out in the statutory guidance, is taken when schools are failing to comply. We recognise that Ofsted is not awarding “outstanding” grades to schools not complying with the Baker Clause—it must now ensure that this is being applied consistently across all schools to the new provider access legislation.
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Government response AI summary
The Department agrees on the importance of monitoring provider access legislation and states it is already working with CEC to record compliance via the Compass tool. Ofsted's handbook was updated in 2021 to account for non-compliance, and a thematic review report is due in autumn …
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Department for Education
38
Recommendation
Fourth Report - Careers Education, Info…
Accepted
Pupils in care and young carers are likely to face additional barriers to accessing CEIAG and moving into employment, but there appears to be limited understanding of how these groups access and navigate the CEIAG system, and little targeted support in place for this group. It is positive that the …
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Pupils in care and young carers are likely to face additional barriers to accessing CEIAG and moving into employment, but there appears to be limited understanding of how these groups access and navigate the CEIAG system, and little targeted support in place for this group. It is positive that the Department has expanded its pilot of extending Pupil Premium Plus funding to young people in further education, but we would like to see more of an explicit focus on careers advice and guidance in the funding criteria.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, highlighting the recent addition of young carers to the school census and a £10 million investment for 2023-24 and 2024-25 to extend Pupil Premium Plus. This funding will support children in care and care leavers in post-16 education, specifically including …
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Department for Education