AEIAG0023

Written evidence submitted by NAHT

1. NAHT believes that good quality careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is important to all pupils in our schools. We have continually stressed that CEIAG should be appropriately resourced and of a high standard in order to support pupils to make the best choices and maximise their life chances.

2. A report by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation in 2013 set out a number of benchmarks that would lead to ‘good careers guidance’ and Price Waterhouse Cooper assessed the cost to schools of implementing these benchmarks. The conclusion was that the cost of implementing all the benchmarks a medium-sized school outside London is estimated at £53,637 in the first year and £44,676 per annum thereafter.  This figure would clearly have increased in the years since this assessment. Although the annual cost of providing good CEIAG may be a small proportion of a school’s overall budget, schools do not have even this percentage available unless cuts are made from other areas which could be considered just as, or even more, important. Additional funding from government is therefore a necessity.

3. Despite clear support for the provision of high quality CEIAG from school leaders and the clear framework provided by the Gatsby benchmarks, current provision remains underfunded and therefore inconsistent.

4. NAHT believes that schools’ contribution to the government’s careers strategy must be reasonable, clearly defined, well-funded and appropriately resourced, yet there is still no additional funding for all schools, nor any budget with which to support high quality work experience placements or to provide impartial and independent CEIAG. Without significant investment, schools will not be able to make progress to meet all eight of the Gatsby benchmarks.

5. The Children and Social Work Act introduced compulsory Relationships Education in primary schools, compulsory Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools and Health Education (both mental and physical) became statutory from key stages 1 to 4. This statutory content represents the majority of Personal, Health, Social and Economic (PSHE) education but the decision was made that the ‘E’ in PSHE, which covers economic wellbeing and careers, would not be made statutory and this was a missed opportunity which, if taken, would have helped to embed and integrate careers education across the primary and secondary curriculum.

6. NAHT supports the development of high-quality careers education for all pupils in all schools. NAHT believes that careers education, linked to raising aspirations and broadening horizons, should begin in primary schools by helping pupils to understand how working hard at school can bring fantastic opportunities in later life and giving primary age pupils an insight into different careers.

7. The Primary Futures initiative run by the charity Education and Employers and the NAHT is based on established research and robust evidence from a large scale-up pilot involving over 60,000 children funded by the DfE. Primary Futures uses a proven methodology to motivate children in their learning, leading to improved academic attainment especially in the core subjects of Maths and English. It is a successful, low-cost, high impact intervention. It can be rolled out nationally at pace with visible results in communities where creating opportunities, tackling regional inequalities, levelling up and recovery from Covid is needed most.

8. Primary Futures works with schools to broaden horizons, challenge stereotyping and bring learning to life from an early age. Primary Futures provides primary-aged children the chance to meet inspirational and diverse role models from the world of work. People who can help children see the relevance and importance of school and the subjects they are studying. People who can excite and motivate children, broaden their horizons, and raise their aspirations and in so doing improve education.

9. In July 2021 Primary Futures published ‘Scaling up: Developing and extending career-related learning in primary schools’. This report looks at the impact of Primary Futures and explores how the programme can be scaled up. The evidence from children’s feedback shows gains in attitude to school and learning, which can support engagement and attainment, as well as positive impacts on children’s ambition, confidence and ideas about future careers. Across almost all measures of outcomes, the feedback found that children from schools with a high proportion of Free School Meals (FSM >30%) benefit the same and often more, than those from schools with a lower proportion of FSM.

10. NAHT ask that more investment is provided for Primary Futures in order to continue its success in supporting more schools and pupils. Additional funding would also enable comparison group trials, with research able to strengthen understanding of the scale and duration of positive effects, how career-related learning interacts with other activities, and how best to support disadvantaged groups.

11. Following these foundations at primary school, pupils can start secondary school with more understanding of career opportunities, higher aspirations and a better understanding of the importance of their education. Secondary schools can build on this, facilitating engagement with employers, showing pupils the importance of the workplace skills they require and helping to motivate them to think about their future plans.

12. Pupils at secondary school need to have access to good quality information, advice and guidance as they make choices which will impact their future career opportunities. One element of this provision is through the taught curriculum (careers education) and for this to be effective sufficient curriculum time, appropriate training for teachers and freely available high-quality resources are needed.

13. A further necessary element in developing the quality and consistency of provision of CEIAG at secondary level is a need for an increased number of independent, well trained and well-resourced careers advisors and action must be taken to meet this need. The withdrawal of funding for independent careers education in schools has created a particular shortage of advice and guidance about vocational and technical routes. Funding should be provided to all schools to enable them to access independent provision and facilitate its delivery to pupils.

14. NAHT is part of the Quality in Careers Consortium which owns and governs the Quality in Careers Standard, the single national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance in England’s schools and colleges. As of December 2021, 719 schools and colleges had achieved the Standard and a further 472 were actively working towards the Standard which is fully aligned with the Gatsby benchmarks. NAHT supports The Quality in Careers Consortium submission to this inquiry, including the call for dedicated financial support to enable all secondary schools and colleges in England to improve and quality assure their careers provision.

March 2022