More specialist advisers needed to tackle careers guidance 'postcode lottery'

The recommendation is one of a number put forward in the report, commissioned and published by The Sutton Trust, as a way to improve the standard of careers guidance for young people and address problems with the quality of advice delivered by schools.

Strengthening the National Careers Service by giving it a clearer role and more resources is key to developing a stronger system, the trust report states. Ideally this would involve the service providing schools with professionally qualified careers advisers who have expertise in vocational training and how to gain entry to elite universities.

A more comprehensive national service would help address the current postcode lottery in the quality of careers service offered by schools, which, the report says, can damage the future education and job opportunities available to pupils.

A study of careers advice offered in 820 schools and colleges carried out for the report found those that were given a quality award for their careers service had a higher percentage of pupils with good GCSE and A-level results than those that did not.

Those settings with the quality mark also had lower persistent pupil absence rates than those without the award, and more of their graduates went on to attend leading universities.

Further detailed analysis of 14 quality award schools shows they had strong support from senior leaders and governors; a structured career education programme from year 7 onwards; strong links with local employers; and offered pupils an entitlement to see a careers adviser.

The findings back up previous research, which has found that careers guidance can impact on attainment at school, engagement and successful transition to further learning and work.

Other recommendations the report makes include strengthening statutory guidance on schools’ duties to provide high-quality careers guidance, backed up by a tougher line by Ofsted on inspecting service standards. It also calls on the Department for Education to improve the quality of pupil destination data post GCSEs and A levels.

In 2011, the government handed responsibility for careers advice to schools after ending funding of the Connexions service. However, none of the money saved was transferred to schools, which are expected to deliver support out of existing budgets, resulting in Ofsted criticising services last year.

Conor Ryan, director of research at the Sutton Trust, said: “The government has asked schools to provide this advice, but they need the right professional support and expertise. Students often want to talk to knowledgeable people about their career options in person as well as online or over the phone. We need good-quality guidance for all students, not a postcode lottery of provision that benefits some.”

Mary Bousted, general secretary at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: “The government has let down young people by failing to provide a good-quality careers service.
 
“At the heart of this must be face-to-face careers guidance for all young people and strong, sustainable partnership working between schools and colleges and employers.”