Legislation passed last year put a duty on schools to secure access to independent careers guidance for pupils from September.
The government has been drawing up statutory guidance on the changes for more than eight months. But its long-awaited publication last week, just five months before schools take on the duty, has led to outrage among careers and information, advice and guidance (IAG) professionals, who have branded it a "disgrace", "dismal" and "meaningless".
The guidance stops short of requiring schools to use qualified careers guidance professionals and suggests that face-to-face guidance should only be used where schools deem necessary.
In the past, local authorities shared around £200m of government funding to provide careers and IAG services to young people. But central funding for provision has been abolished. Instead, the statutory guidance suggests that schools fund services through their "overall budgets, including the pupil premium".
Lack of guidance
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