framework of eight benchmarks FOR secondary schools

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We Support every school and college to have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers. 

• Every school should have a stable, structured careers programme that has the explicit backing of the senior management team, and has an identified and appropriately trained person responsible for it.
• The careers programme should be published on the school’s website in a way that enables pupils, parents, teachers and employers to access and understand it.
• The programme should be regularly evaluated with feedback from pupils, parents, teachers and employers as part of the evaluation process.

Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.

• By the age of 14, all pupils should have accessed and used information about career paths and the labour market to inform their own decisions on study options.
• Parents should be encouraged to access and use information about labour markets and future study options to inform their support to their children.
• Finding reliable information about the local and national labour market is vital to inform good-quality information about jobs and career paths. Access to up-to-date career and labour market information. If pupils and their parents know what pay you get for different jobs and where and how numerous the vacancies are, they are in a better position to make informed choices about future study and training.

Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.

We design  a school careers programme to:

•  actively seek to challenge stereotypical thinking and raise aspirations.
•  keep systematic records of the individual advice given to each pupil, and subsequent agreed decisions.
• All pupils should have access to these records to support their career development.
• Enable schools  collect and maintain accurate data for each pupil on their education, training or employment destinations for at least three years after they leave school.

Helping teachers link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.

• By the age of 14, every pupil should have had the opportunity to learn how the different STEM subjects help people to gain entry to, and be more effective workers within, a wide range of careers.

Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.

• Every year, from the age of 11, pupils should participate in at least one meaningful encounter* with an employer.

* A ‘meaningful’ encounter is one in which the student has an opportunity to learn about what work is like or what it takes to be successful in the workplace..

Every pupil should have first-hand experiences* of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.

• By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.
• By the age of 18, every pupil should have had one further such experience, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.

* As far as is possible, schools and employers should ensure these are positive experiences.s.