Select committee: Education Committee

Recommendation 15

Fourth Report - Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Published 29 Jun 2023 Paragraph 55 Addressed to Department for Education
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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.

From: Education Committee, Fourth Report - Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (HC 54), paragraph 55, 29 June 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 21 September 2023 (deadline 29 August 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government says it welcomes the report and "accept[s] fully or in part the majority of the Committee's recommendations", and says that where it does not fully accept one, it has an alternative existing or planned approach.

  • On a new strategy, it agrees there is "a strong case" and intends to publish a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024, setting clear measurable outcomes and dates.
  • It does not accept additional numerical Gatsby Benchmark targets, saying they risk "encouraging a tick-box approach".
  • It is "not persuaded" that it should suggest a proportion of time for Careers Leaders, and "does not agree" with ringfencing funding for careers advisers, saying schools and colleges are best placed to decide their own arrangements.
  • It agrees to update the careers statutory guidance in spring 2024 to set an expectation that schools and colleges self-report against the Gatsby Benchmarks annually, while avoiding mandating Compass.

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