Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Paragraph: 14
Careers education system lacks clear strategy and shows slow progress on benchmarks
Conclusion
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.
Government Response 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.
Paragraph Reference:
14
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We agree with the Committee that there is a broadly right framework in place to deliver careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG). The Government’s vision for careers is to continue to build on this framework, including strengthening the legislative basis and providing significant investment and support to the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and the National Careers Service (NCS). The Government’s ambition is for a clear and unified all-age careers system, with fully integrated digital and in-person services, that support individuals to move seamlessly through their skills, training and career journey. We are pleased that the Committee recognised the significant progress that has been made in implementing our Careers Strategy since 2017. As the Committee noted, there is a strong framework in place, with the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance at its heart. We have also introduced a new careers statutory duty that applies to all secondary schools in England to provide independent and impartial careers guidance for pupils in years 7 to 13. We are committed to continuing to strengthen this framework and will publish a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024, which will include measurable outcomes and dates by which these should be achieved. We welcome the Committee’s acknowledgement of progress on the Gatsby Benchmarks. We recognise that the Committee is right to challenge the pace of progress. However, it is important to reflect on the significant improvement that has already been achieved. Since 2018, there has been a steady increase in the average number of Gatsby Benchmarks achieved by schools and colleges from 2.1 to 4.9 in 2022/23. This means that, on average, schools and colleges have fully achieved just over half of the benchmarks. In 2021/22, over 90% of secondary schools and colleges self-reported progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks using the Compass digital tool.(...truncated...)