Skills for the Job: Delivering good careers services
Ellie Cotgrave
Monday, September 28, 2015
Building links with employers who know about the jobs market can help governors ensure their school is at the heart of the community.
Who is responsible for ensuring good careers guidance in school?
In 2013, the education select committee criticised the decision made by the Department for Education to transfer the responsibility for careers guidance to schools in the face of international evidence that this is not the best solution for young people. The charity Education and Employers published survey findings that highlighted a mismatch between young people's career aspirations and the realities of the labour market. So it is important that governors and trustees continue to rigorously hold head teachers to account for providing a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes the statutory duty to provide independent careers guidance.
School governors need to ensure there is a strategy for such guidance to be given from years 8 to 13. It must be impartial, include the full range of training, apprenticeship and vocational options and deemed to be in the best interests of pupils by the person delivering it - a trained professional.
How should careers guidance be implemented?
Governing boards should give instruction to head teachers about what they want pupils to leave the school knowing and believing about their future. This will be based on their overall ethos for the school. Any strategy must be adequately funded, which is the responsibility of the governing board. Head teachers and staff with responsibility for careers will work towards achieving this and report on progress. They might bring in speakers, host careers fairs, organise university visits or mentoring. Some employers support schools by signing up to work experience programmes or by providing work-based learning.
Governors and trustees should support innovative methods of delivering careers guidance provision, but the key consideration for governors is whether the school is getting value for money. This means asking questions about what is done, its impact and how that provision can be improved. Schools working in partnership, such as in federations or multi-academy trusts, will be able to pool resources and potentially get a better deal for pupils from providers or offer a broader provision.
How can schools use the skills and knowledge of local business people?
Building on the government's employer engagement agenda, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan used the National Governors' Association (NGA) conference to call on governors to recruit more members from business backgrounds. The role can offer a rewarding opportunity in the long term, as professionals can bring a wealth of skills and experience to the table, enabling them to contribute to the strategic direction of the school and its continued success. Employers are also in the position of knowing about the local jobs market and where there is a skills gap, and can advise the board and school leaders about this.
Where can education professionals get more support and information?
The NGA (www.nga.org.uk/join) is the independent charity representing and supporting governors, trustees and clerks in maintained schools and academies in England. It also gives guidance and information to local authorities and other educational bodies.
NGA, in partnership with the National Careers Council, has produced Focus on: Careers and Education guidance with need to know information, as well as key questions to drive improvement in schools.
Inspiring the Future (www.inspring thefuture.org) offers information about one off visits from speakers, opportunities for teachers to develop their own knowledge, and a bank of volunteers from business backgrounds who have volunteered to be a governor.
Inspiring Governors Alliance (www.inspiringgovernors.org) is a campaign supported by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the DfE encouraging employers to support staff to govern.
Top tips
- The school's careers guidance policy should make it clear how the school will monitor the quality and impact of the provision
- Avoid conflicts of interest when approaching employers
- Although careers guidance is not statutory for primary schools, it is good practice to get children inspired about careers early
Ellie Cotgrave, research and information officer, National Governors' Association