Careers education in the classroom - The role of teachers in making young people work ready
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Careers education in the classroom The role of teachers in making young people work ready
Contents Executive
Executive summary 1
Work readiness amongst
summary
young people in England 3
There is a pressing need for careers and employability
How do schools make
education to be improved in this country. Those set to
young people work ready? 5 benefit most are the poorest young people in our society.
How do teachers make New research – commissioned by Teach vulnerable young people will continue to leave
First and produced by leading experts school with bleak employment prospects. We
young people work ready? 9 at the International Centre for Guidance call for policymakers to unlock the potential of
Studies (iCeGS) – makes a convincing case teachers, schools, employers, and the rest of
for quality teacher training and professional civil society by providing clearer guidance
Teach First putting employability first 17 development as part of the solution to the for schools; recognising schools who set
employability crisis. In particular, there is a their pupils up for success later in life through
need to increase the status of careers leadership accountability for destination data; and
Policy recommendations 21 within schools, driving improvement and focusing the efforts of the Government’s new
creating a pipeline of senior school leaders brokerage company on schools in challenging
committed to championing pupil employability. circumstances, geographically isolated
References 24 areas and on providing additional support to
This report announces innovations to our pupils vulnerable to being not in education
Leadership Development Programme, a employment or training (NEET) post-16.
pilot of a new careers middle leadership
training programme and a tailored school Teach First is committed to breaking the link
support programme: our contribution to the between educational outcomes and family
systemic change needed to make England a income. However, our new research and its
world-leader economically and educationally. implications for teacher training has relevance for
all young people and their teachers. If England’s
But teacher training is only one piece of the youth are going to be ready for employment
puzzle. Without other vital changes many in the 21st century, we all need to act.
Executive summary | 1
Work readiness
amongst young
people in England
The labour market is constantly evolving. The quality vocational qualifications which would
situation for employees today is radically yield low employability rates. Ofsted (2013)
different from that of a generation ago; people found that new, more rigorous vocational routes
in England are more likely than ever to switch such as apprenticeships were rarely promoted
careers, to work for a range of big and small effectively to students in school and that some
employers across their lifetime and to set up their pupils were encouraged to enrol in academic
own businesses (Young, 2014). To be successful, courses which they couldn’t complete (Wilshaw,
citizens must be able to search and successfully 2014). At university, poorer students are less
apply for numerous jobs; adjust their behaviour likely to graduate and more likely to get a lower
for different work environments; develop new classification in their degrees compared to
skills and choose qualifications to aid promotion their more affluent peers (Crawford, 2014).
or career-change; and to be enterprising, creative
and financially literate in order to strike out on This is an issue of fairness: when the path to
their own and build the businesses of the future. gainful employment is blocked for poorer young
people, they can become trapped in a self-
This vision of 21st century work-literacy is perpetuating cycle of poverty, which has a ripple
far from reality for many young people – effect on future generations. To address this, there
especially those from low income backgrounds. is a pressing need for quality careers education,
In England, 16 to 24 year olds are four times information, advice and guidance (CEIAG).
more likely to be unemployed than older adults
(Dolphin, 2014). Young people who are NEET for Since September 2012, CEIAG has been the
a long time are more likely to have lower-paid statutory duty of schools. There has been much
jobs when they do find employment, develop research and discussion about the best way
drug addictions or go to prison (NAO, 2014). schools can fulfil this duty, often focussing on
Poorer pupils are most vulnerable: almost support for schools, the role of government
twice as likely to be NEET post-16, compared services or on employer engagement. Welcome
to their more affluent peers (DfE, 2014). funding has been given to a company to broker
relationships between schools and employers to
A range of factors contribute to the NEET problem: inspire and support the career journey of young
some young people lack key qualifications, others people. But, on its own, this support is not enough.
have chosen the wrong qualifications to suit Ofsted’s investigations have found a worryingly
them and their career aspirations, while others inadequate delivery of CEIAG within schools. A
lack the interpersonal and ‘character’ skills that lasting systemic solution is urgent. We believe
underpin success. The Wolf review (2011) found this must place those able to directly influence
that poorer pupils were more likely to take low pupils’ skills and decisions at its centre – teachers.
2 | Executive summary Introduction | 3
How do schools
make young people
work ready?
What does it mean to • Informed – knowledgeable about the
job market, how to search for a job and
be work ready? to effectively interview; knowledgeable
about how to conduct themselves
Character skills underpin success in school
in a professional environment.
and in employment. Impetus (2014) define
six capabilities which – along with stable
personal circumstances and the right
qualifications – are necessary for being
‘work ready’. Young people need to be: Schools have a critical
• Self-aware – able to take responsibility role in making young
for themselves and their actions, able
to control themselves and to recognise
people work ready
their strengths and weaknesses;
• Receptive – able to take feedback and
advice, willing to address weaknesses,
to learn and to try new things; What do schools need to do?
• Driven – able to see a job to its conclusion,
Schools have a critical role in making young
to be punctual, well-organised and positive;
people work ready – anyone who has worked
• Self-assured – willing to ask questions in a school would easily recognise the initial
and seek advice, to work alone without five Impetus capabilities as those which a
direction, able to be confident in strong pastoral system, good quality pedagogy
social situations and in their work; and a pervasive school ethos seek to instil
in their pupils. Since the statutory duty for
• Resilient – able to cope with setbacks, careers education moved to schools, the
rejection and criticism, determined development of the ‘informed’ capability
to overcome obstacles and able has also moved within their remit.
to stay calm under pressure;
4 | Introduction How do schools make young people work ready? | 5
broadly agreed to be ‘good’ and with strong What are schools We know what is at stake: improved educational
and successful economies. From their currently doing? outcomes, increased social mobility and as a
observations they derived common features of result increased national productivity. However,
best practice to develop the eight benchmarks Good quality CEIAG is an important factor this ideal of school provision is not yet a reality
of school-based careers education: in social mobility. Currently an independent across the country. Despite having the legal
assessment of careers education quality responsibility, many schools have not had the
1. A stable careers programme exists in the CEIAG ‘Quality Awards’ (Careers time, support or funding to develop best practice
– a plan for employability England, 2011). Research by The Sutton Trust in this new aspect of their role. Much of careers
education across the school has proven correlations between schools which education, previously the role of specialists, has
hold Quality Awards and improved GCSE and fallen to teachers who lack specialist training and
2. Learning from career and A-level performance as well as lower incidents knowledge of career pathways, local employment
labour market information of unexplained absence (Hooley, Matheson and the full range of post-16 education options.
& Watts, 2014). Those state schools and sixth The Education Select Committee (2013) recently
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil –
forms which hold the Quality Awards (and who said that there were “grave shortcomings
relevant to pupils’ age and circumstances
are therefore likely to meet the eight Gatsby in the implementation of the… policy” and
4. Linking curriculum learning to benchmarks) also have better destinations Ofsted agreed that the statutory duty placed
careers – especially STEM for school-leavers: fewer pupils become NEET on schools “is not working well enough” – of
post-16 and more students enter the top third Ofsted’s sample, 80% of schools were failing to
5. Encounters with employers of Higher Education Institutions (HEI). provide suitable guidance to their students.
and employees
Ofsted analysed the provision of careers
6. Experiences of workplaces guidance since statutory duty fell to schools and
7. Encounters with Higher Education We know what is at stake: identified some key areas for development. They
found common problems in the schools visited:
8. Personal guidance
improved educational
• Knowledge – “very few of the schools visited
Gatsby found that every school which had
outcomes, increased [knew] how to provide a service effectively
good CEIAG “had the explicit and active social mobility and or had the skills and expertise needed
The eight evidence-based benchmarks of backing of the school principal and was to provide a comprehensive service” and
the Gatsby Charitable Foundation provide embedded in school structures”. In Finland, as a result increased vocational routes including apprenticeships
a good basis for assessing the standard of Ontario and Ireland there was a clear pathway national productivity. were not promoted effectively;
CEIAG embedded across a school (Holman, for school careers specialists (guidance
2014). Gatsby observed international best counsellors) to become school leaders. • Training – over half the schools used
practice in countries with education systems existing staff to provide careers advice
The Gatsby benchmarks place particular and education yet these staff “often had
emphasis on how schools can work effectively insufficient training and did not provide
with employers to inspire students and to students with up-to-date information”;
Those with four or expose them to information, experience
• Monitoring – leadership teams often “did
and skills related to employment. Research
more interactions with commissioned by the Education and
not know the extent to which their students
had the information and guidance they
Employers Taskforce (2012) found that the
employers were five number of ‘employer contacts’ for a student
needed to make the important decisions
that shape their future careers”, with only
times less likely to be were a dramatic predictor of NEET likelihood
a quarter of schools using destination
– those with four or more interactions with
NEET than those pupils employers were five times less likely to be
data to evaluate their careers work;
with no involvement. NEET than those pupils with no involvement. • Collaboration with employers – most schools
did not work “well enough” with employers
in order to make sure their students had
direct experience of ‘the world of work’.
6 | How do schools make young people work ready? How do schools make young people work ready? | 7
How do teachers
make young people
work ready?
There is growing consensus on what good in these roles, to greater or lesser extents, but
school-based CEIAG looks like. In discussing for the first time this categorisation allows us
how to create this ideal system in England, to see clearly how careers and employability
solutions often focus on the role of government education is ideally spread across staff in the
services in supporting, guiding or funding most effective school provision. This gives
schools and brokering relationships between insight into the initial teacher training (ITT),
schools, colleges and businesses. However, continuous professional development (CPD)
solutions to the gaps Ofsted recognised – the and bespoke leadership training needed
skills, knowledge and dissemination of best to boost the impact of these teachers and
practice which teachers need to deliver their ensure every pupil leaves school work ready.
new statutory duty – has been largely absent.
Teachers interact with students in different
We have commissioned leading experts in capacities. The taxonomy has three tiers of
careers and employability at the International potential teacher involvement in the delivery of
Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) careers guidance and employability learning (see
to analyse the roles teachers can play in diagram below). Each of these tiers is a crucial
developing pupils’ work readiness. Using component in successful whole-school delivery
international best practice, Hooley, Watts of careers guidance and employability learning.
& Andrews (2015) develop a taxonomy of Below, each tier and sub-role is discussed
teacher roles which contribute to pupils’ work in turn, with summary of our new research
readiness. Most teachers are already engaged and the implications for teacher training.
Tutorial Teaching Leadership
Career Pastoral Within a As careers Middle Senior
informant support Subject teacher Leader Leader
8 | How do schools make young people work ready? How do teachers make young people work ready? | 9
Tutorial roles
Case study: career informants at
Career informant from university to teacher training and so
Oasis Academy South Bank
Young people develop understanding about have useful insights about UCAS processes
different careers through their ‘social capital’ but less experience of vocational routes. The ‘Stairs to Greatness’ project partners Oasis Academy South Bank
– the people they come into contact with students with employers from the local area to give them experience
socially. Teachers are an important source of employment across a variety of sectors. In 2014, this included the
of social capital, particularly for pupils from
Pastoral support Royal Bank of Scotland, Guys and St. Thomas’ Hospital, The Conrad Hotel,
low income families who may have less As a form tutor, teachers are often a first port of Metropolitan Police and PriceWaterhouse Cooper (PwC). Pupils undertake each
professional contacts (BIS, 2014). School call for students’ concerns or personal issues. In project on a carousel. As they work with partners over a number of weeks, they build
input is therefore potentially life-changing. terms of careers, this often means discussing relationships with employees and are able to ask them questions as ‘career informants’.
choices at key points in secondary school
Form tutors often build more informal (choosing GCSEs in Year 8 or 9; post-16 options Pupils are also exposed to a wide range of professionals at ‘Community Lunch’. Every
relationships with pupils. By sharing in Year 11; and post-18 options in Year 12/13). Friday, students meet and eat with guests to the school from an even broader range
information about their own career choices of organisations. Once again there is the opportunity for informal conversations with
and those of people they know, form tutors Form tutors are also often the initial contact a range of professionals, where students can ask questions about work, education and
can help shape pupils’ understanding of routes point for parents, likely to discuss pupil experiences in employment. These lunches also develop work-readiness skills, including
into employment as a ‘career informant’. choices at parents’ evenings. Research by pupil confidence in communicating with new people in a professional environment.
the Department for Business, Innovation
It is important to recognise that teachers are and Skills found that low income parents
not impartial and may have limited experience were more likely to let the school lead the
so they can only be one of many career conversation about their child’s career and
informants to expose pupils to a range of routes. subject choices (BIS, 2014), emphasising the
For instance, teachers have often progressed importance of a teacher’s role for these pupils.
Implications for teacher training
As most teachers take on a pastoral role, ITT
must include how to have productive careers
conversations. This should be designed to
help trainee teachers think critically about
their informal conversations with pupils,
for example building awareness of how
inadvertent stereotyping can affect students.
In this pastoral role, teachers need a certain
amount of up-to-date information on the (local
and national) labour market and on the range
and recognition of post-16 and post-18 courses.
Both qualifications and national employment
opportunities have undergone significant
changes in the past thirty years and are likely to
continue to evolve and develop: teachers require
training in their ITT and for this to be regularly
refreshed through CPD, with involvement
from external specialist organisations
which meet high quality standards.
10 | How do teachers make young people work ready? How do teachers make young people work ready? | 11
Teaching roles Implications for teacher training
ITT should support subject teachers to embed effective when they focus on young people’s
Subject teacher Careers teacher references to careers and employability in social and emotional capacities alongside
Teachers are first and foremost subject Some schools have a distinct space in the their subject teaching or provide ‘beside’ careers skills. However, Impetus found that
specialists. Careers information can easily curriculum for pupils to learn about careers curriculum careers experiences. too often interventions in this area were
be embedded into subject teaching and can and employability, reflect on themselves and based on educational fads rather than
increase engagement and attainment: when their futures and learn about what they need Some specialist organisations and charities evidence. It is crucial that more research
pupils see the applicability of their learning and to develop in order to realise their ambitions. can help in the latter: working alongside is done to discover ‘what works’ and that a
its link to long-term career goals, motivation Often these sessions are delivered through school staff to facilitate opportunities for mechanism to disseminate both content and
increases. Recent research focused on pupil PSHE, extended tutorial time or in off-timetable pupils to meet employees and employers, to pedagogical understanding is developed.
perception of science, technology, engineering days. Our research finds that this is usually see and to practice careers linked to school
and maths (STEM) subjects (BIS, 2014) delivered by non-specialist teachers, though subjects. For example, STEMNET have a UK-
discovered that pupils often misunderstood sometimes with input from a specialist. wide network of 29,000 STEM ‘Ambassadors’
or were unware of the jobs which STEM who volunteer to spend time in schools. It is crucial that more
subjects lead to, or the career routes which In some cases, this learning is focused on
would be closed by not taking those subjects practical career skills including the ability The role of ‘career teacher’ is often taken by research is done to
for GCSE or A-Level. Poorer pupils were most to: search for a job vacancy or educational a non-specialist, called on to deliver careers
likely to hold these misconceptions. course online; write a job application or a CV; or employability education, normally as an
discover ‘what works’
prepare for an interview; or evidence meeting extension of their pastoral duties - Ofsted
Our research defines two effective ways in which the requirements of a job description. pointed out that without CPD, teachers cannot
subject teachers can deliver careers content. adequately do this. In terms of employability
Firstly, integrated into lessons delivered In other cases, curriculum time given to interventions, Impetus found them to be
by the teacher (e.g. pupils studying a play employability can be explicitly about the
in English learn about the role of a graphic ‘work readiness’ capabilities summarised by
designer and design a theatre programme). Impetus. These might focus on self-reflection,
Alternatively, careers content can exist ‘beside’ goal-setting or include undertaking challenges
the curriculum: in the form of trips, talks and and team projects to practice and evaluate Case study: careers skills and social
enrichment projects delivered by others and
integrated into long-term curriculum planning.
resilience, communication, collaboration and
self-awareness when working with others.
capacity-building at School 21
The curriculum at School 21 is delivered through project and enquiry learning:
intended to emulate learning in the ‘real world’ beyond school. Pupils are
motivated by a real audience - visitors who come to view work on exhibition
days and interview pupils about their work. Accordingly, pupils plan to deadlines, set
review dates for feedback from peers and teachers, re-write and edit their work; developing
independence skills. Knowledge-rich project work often spans different subjects, helping
pupils understand how topics intersect and skills can be transferred across the curriculum.
In September, project work has a direct link to employment – pupils visit workplaces for a week
of enquiry learning around the question ‘How do I create the future I want for myself?’ At the
culmination of the project, students draft letters of application for jobs in the organisation they
are working in, have these critiqued by employers and re-draft their letters using the feedback.
Social and emotional skill development is a school priority. Instead of form tutors, smaller
groups of 12 pupils across a year-group are allocated to a staff ‘coach’. Rather like line-
management, pupils have one-on-one meetings each half term, which prompt reflection
on current successes, challenges and recent set-backs. Coaching conversations scaffold
the development of self-control, self-awareness and social skills by helping pupils analyse
their responses to situations and to reimagine scenarios from others’ perspectives.
12 | How do teachers make young people work ready? How do teachers make young people work ready? | 13
Leadership roles
Case study: middle leadership
Middle leader Senior leader at Bethnal Green Academy
In the best systems internationally, a career Those schools with the best careers and
leader is in a key middle leadership position. employability provision have strong direction Will trained through Teach First in 2010 and is now a middle leader at Bethnal
This role acts as a bridge between external from the school’s senior leadership. In these Green Academy. Every summer he runs STEM Day – designed to inspire the
specialists, local employers and the school. instances, careers and employability education school’s pupils with a love of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The day
The role holder is responsible for coordinating is a key part of the school’s mission and ethos; captures pupils’ imaginations and gets them excited about STEM subjects early in their
activities with externals, including work strategic long-term partnerships are built with school career through a cross-form competition designing science and engineering projects.
experience and ‘beside’ curriculum projects. employers, learning providers like FE and HE
They support the tutorial and teaching careers and other key stakeholders; and resources, STEM Day is not just a learning opportunity for the students. It acts as CPD for other staff
roles of their colleagues: providing training including human resources, are strategically and an element of ITT for Teach First trainee STEM teachers in London. Will designs lessons
in up-to-date labour market information or invested in careers and employability learning. on the engineering and physics which underpin the projects, on product design and on
knowledge about qualifications, as well as testing, adapting and innovating. He then trains non-specialist teachers from across
providing pedagogical support to colleagues the school to deliver these lessons. The Teach First trainees (who are STEM graduates)
in developing the ‘work ready’ capabilities. watch the experienced teacher deliver the lessons and help foster team work in the
class. The following day, the trainees lead STEM day with a different year group.
Will coordinates ‘beside’ curriculum exposure to careers for Key Stage 4 pupils enrolled
in vocational courses too. In his department – Creative Technologies – students can
Implications for teacher training study Construction and Hospitality as well as more traditional academic subjects such
as Art. The faculty works to bring specialists from industry into school to explain the
Aspects of the middle leadership role described and employability learning a core part of employment routes which spring from different subjects. For example, professional chefs
above have sometimes been taken on by their schools’ ethos. A professional pipeline work with the hospitality class and students cater for paying guests in a pop-up café.
a careers coordinator in English schools, from careers specialism into senior leadership
but often this role has been given to a non- is a significant contributory factor in best
teaching member of staff (Andrews, 2005). practice in countries most effective at CEIAG.
We believe there are significant benefits to
this role being taken on by a teaching staff
member. For instance, it would allow the
post-holder to effectively support teaching Next steps for teacher training
staff in curriculum planning and in the
pedagogy of careers delivery; it may also be Teachers in England are already taking • Bespoke middle leadership training must
the basis of better understanding a cohort’s on the roles in the taxonomy, as our develop a professionalised career role
personalities and complex needs regarding case studies illustrate. However, there in schools to lead the implementation
careers and employability education. is desperate need for training to help all of a stable careers programme.
teachers carry out these roles effectively.
Crucially, making the coordinator of careers The knock-on effect of raising the
and employability learning a professionalised • ITT must prepare all trainees adequately professionalism of this middle leader role
middle leadership role for a teacher transforms for their pastoral roles regarding careers could eventually create a pipeline to senior
the position into a stepping stone to senior and employability and help them embed leadership, translating the passion for and
leadership. The role would involve working careers content in their subject teaching. commitment to careers and employability
with external stakeholders, managing staff education to whole school vision and leadership.
across a school and coordinating whole- • CPD must give teachers the up-to-date If this training can be developed, the country
school improvement in a key area: all useful specialist information required to deliver can work towards a future in which all pupils
preparatory skills for senior leadership. In careers education and separate CPD leave school with the skills and experience
turn, those senior leaders who have previously must support teachers in developing needed to be productive, happy citizens
been careers middle leaders will have the pupils’ social and emotional capacities with access to fulfilling employment.
experience and conviction to make careers which contribute to work readiness.
14 | How do teachers make young people work ready? How do teachers make young people work ready? | 15
Teach First putting
employability first
There is a pressing need for careers and Innovations to the Teach
employability education to be improved in First programme
this country. Those set to benefit most are
the poorest young people in our society. We have a track record in providing high
Our research puts forward a convincing quality teacher training and in raising the
case for quality teacher training as part of status of teaching in schools in low-income
the solution. In particular, there is a need communities. This next step in our work
to increase the status of careers middle will embed careers and employability
leadership to drive CPD across the teaching within our ‘Outstanding’ ITT model and
staff and to create a pool of aspiring senior create bespoke careers leadership training
leaders committed to pupils’ employability. in our partner schools – using the research
findings to impact across the taxonomy of
teacher engagement in careers education:
There is a need to increase • Pastoral roles – We will integrate careers
and employability education into our
the status of careers Leadership Development Programme
(LDP) for all trainee teachers. This will
middle leadership to drive prepare trainees for career conversations and
CPD across the teaching present them with up-to-date information
about the labour market and routes into
staff and to create a employment. Importantly, both secondary
pool of aspiring senior and primary teachers will benefit; research
confirms that early aspirations make a
leaders committed to difference throughout a child’s career.
pupils’ employability
16 | How do teachers make young people work ready? Teach First putting employability first | 17• Teaching roles – In three local areas, we • Leadership roles – From 2015, we will pilot a • Middle leadership training in leading
will provide more detailed Continuous middle leadership training programme for teams, monitoring and evaluating using
Professional Development on the pedagogy careers middle leaders. In the first phase, a data effectively (with focus on destination We will develop this
of developing work readiness skills and group of 15 Teach First ambassadors, alumni data) and institutional change. in partnership with
on integrating careers content in subject of our two year programme, will be selected to
teaching. In the pilot stage, this work will be become careers leaders in their schools. This • We will also support the wider dissemination teachers and schools.
regionally concentrated, targeting teachers training will equip these middle leaders with: of best practice by developing a ‘school
in a small number of schools. We will toolkit’ for a school-wide approach
provide bespoke school support including to careers education. This will include a
• Knowledge of the national and local
for ‘beside’ curriculum careers learning blueprint to develop a whole school work
labour market and recent qualifications;
through the brokering of links with local readiness strategy; ways of evaluating
businesses and third sector organisations. • Specialist pedagogy including current employability interventions and whole school
best practice in developing pupil’s careers provision; and a set of resources
work readiness capabilities; which teachers can use to embed careers
and employability education within their
From 2015, we will pilot • Sustainable links with organisations classroom practice. We will develop this in
such as Labour Market Information partnership with teachers and schools.
a middle leadership for All, with their Local Enterprise
Partnerships and with the Government’s
training programme for new careers company;
careers middle leaders
18 | Teach First putting employability first Teach First putting employability first | 19Policy
recommendations
Long-term, systemic middle leadership programme is to develop a
transformation high profile and desirable school role for aspiring
senior leaders. As our ITT model has influenced
Good practice in school provision of careers others, we hope that this innovation will lead by
education can and does exist. Where it does, example in ensuring all teachers are equipped
it can improve young people’s attendance, to inspire and educate the next generation of
attainment and future destinations. Those employees, entrepreneurs and employers.
outcomes are far too important to be left
to chance: they should be the right of every There must be long-term systemic transformation,
young person growing up in England today. with change at every level, if England is to
be world-leading. Our vision is to see:
In this new model whereby teachers take on
responsibility for careers and employability • Senior leadership – Every school with a
education, there must be mechanisms whole school careers and employability
to share best practice in the profession education plan as a core element of their
and to coordinate the complex set of school improvement plan. The employability
processes which make a school’s career and strategy is given sufficient visibility and
employability provision outstanding. priority by the leadership team and is
embedded in the practice of teachers
This coming year, we will be training and through effective middle leadership.
placing roughly a third of new teachers in
schools serving low income communities. This • Middle leadership – Every school with
concentration is higher still in certain subjects, a high quality, trained careers middle
particularly STEM. Almost half of all new leader. This individual is responsible for
maths and science teachers in these schools developing and implementing the careers
are trained through our programme. We are and employability education plan. They
uniquely placed to make a significant impact on create and maintain sustainable links to
the schools and pupils who will benefit most. stakeholders whose support is critical
for school success including employers,
Over the coming years, we intend to work with universities, independent career advisers,
our partner schools to develop examples of and those with labour market information.
outstanding practice, which can act as a role
model for others. Our ambition for the careers
20 | Teach First putting employability first Policy recommendations | 21• Classroom leadership – Employability is Guidance – We support the recommendation of training was sustained and whether it led to who provide quality careers advice services
built into all initial teacher development and the House of Commons Education Committee employment or successful Higher Education alongside guidance on which organisations do
into continuous professional development (2013) for the statutory duty for all schools access (students who drop out of HE are and do not meet high quality standards. We
available in all schools. This includes to publish a plan for whole school careers most likely to do so in the first two terms). want to see included in this, an assessment
overview careers information for initial and employability education and that this of organisations’ capacity to offer training to
teachers, more detailed support for subject should be part of a school improvement We agree with recommendations in the teachers on careers education, especially on up-
teachers in integrating employability skills plan. This will allow greater transparency Gatsby report that this data be published to-date information on routes to employment
and careers learning into classroom practice, over schools’ career and employability offer. at an aggregated level, showing the main and local labour market information.
and bespoke specialist training for those A published plan can strengthen Ofsted’s categories of employment, apprenticeship
aspiring to careers middle leadership. ability to assess this provision in short and further and higher education and that Coordination and quality development
inspections. It can also structure accountability schools should be supported by HESA, of employer engagement – The Gatsby
conversations with the Local Authority, local NCCIS and other agencies involved in benchmarks emphasise that schools must work
Missing pieces: completing Schools Commissioner, Academy Sponsor/ collecting this data for the government. in tandem with employer support in providing
the employability puzzle Chain or alternative overseeing body. If all CEIAG. There must be sufficient volume and
schools were required to have published a variety of this. Crucially, there needs to be a
Teacher training is only one step towards the careers and employability plan, they would mechanism for these interventions to reach
future England’s young people deserve. There be incentivised to create a teaching and We call for the careers the pupils most likely to benefit from them.
are other vital changes needed, without which learning responsibility in careers middle
the full potential of a school approach to leadership to coordinate and deliver this plan. and enterprise We welcome the recent move to develop a
careers may never be realised. These include:
company to target careers and enterprise company to broker
relationships between business and schools.
Adequate school incentives – Schools can schools in challenging We call for this organisation to target schools
only prioritise investment in developing Destination data for circumstances and
in challenging circumstances and schools in
pupils’ work readiness if this is given equal geographically isolated areas, where the need
weight and recognition by government eight terms after pupils geographically for this brokerage is most urgent. It is crucial
as the other responsibilities given to
schools. Government needs to make clear
leave Key Stage 4 should isolated areas
that all young people benefit from the work
of the company; employer contact is a critical
the importance of schools’ statutory duty eventually form part part of careers experience and should not be
regarding careers guidance through clearer an intervention for the few. Within its wider
and more detailed statutory guidance and of headline school work, we also call for the Secretary of State to
school accountability for pupil destinations. accountability measures Access to independent career advice and develop a specific remit for the company to
labour market information – Research impact social mobility by providing additional
shows one-to-one impartial, up-to-date support for schools in working with disengaged
advice is a crucial pillar of CEIAG. We have young people at risk of becoming NEET.
Accountability – As a member of the Fair laid out how teacher training could begin
Education Alliance, we believe that holding to address the knowledge gap which Ofsted
secondary schools accountable for the suggests currently exists in schools’ careers Employability Now
sustained destinations of their pupils will information. There are currently perverse
help them prioritise employability skills and incentives for schools to retain pupils in sixth This is an urgent problem with an acute
careers education, giving it the attention it from courses even though they may not be moral and economic imperative for action.
deserves and so desperately needs. We agree most useful to their future career prospects. We have sought to lay out our contribution
with the recommendation laid out in the Fair This means that external, impartial one-to-one to the solution, in the neglected area of
Education Report Card 2014 (Gill, 2014) that advice is crucial for pupils. There needs to be teacher training. But teachers can’t do it
destination data for eight terms after pupils quality, independent and impartial services alone. The long-term systemic change
leave Key Stage 4 is gathered and that this which schools can access at the right time necessary, requires efforts from policymakers,
‘Destination 8’ data should eventually form part for their students and which can provide up- employers, and rest of civil society.
of headline school accountability measures, to-date training for teachers. We call for the
broken down by FSM-eligibility. Currently Government to publish a list of organisations It is time for all of us to act.
destination data only provides information
for two terms after pupils leave school aged
16, not showing whether post-16 education or
22 | Policy recommendations Policy recommendations | 23References
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24 | Referencesteachfirst.org.uk Teach First is a registered charity, no. 1098294
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