AEIAG0078

Written evidence submitted by The Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust champions social mobility through programmes, research and policy influence. Since 1997 and under the leadership of founder Sir Peter Lampl, the Sutton Trust has worked to address low levels of social mobility in the UK. The Trust works to improve social mobility from birth to the workplace so that every young person – no matter who their parents are, what school they go to, or where they live – has the chance to succeed in life.

Introduction

The Sutton Trust has long highlighted the need for high-quality, impartial careers information, advice and guidance to be available to pupils from all backgrounds. Since the Trust last examined careers guidance in 2014,[1] when access to high-quality guidance was a postcode lottery, the policy landscape has changed considerably, with many changes made with the aim to improve careers guidance in schools. However, our most recent report, published in March 2022, still finds noticeable differences in provisions between the state and private sectors, and between the most and least deprived state schools. A new careers strategy is urgently needed to set out clearer requirements for schools and ensure that all students are receiving high-quality, impartial guidance on all routes available to them.

Our response outlines the Sutton Trust’s key recommendations on effective careers education in schools for disadvantaged young people. We provide a summary and list of our policy recommendations in Appendix A.

1. Whether the current system of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is serving young people, particularly:

• those from disadvantaged backgrounds
• those who are known to the care system
• those who are not in mainstream education, including home-educated pupils and those in alternative provision
• those from different ethnic minority backgrounds; and
• those who have a special educational need or disability.

There have been recent improvements to careers guidance in schools, with almost all state schools now having a Careers Leader (95% of senior leaders report their school has this role), and a wide range of activities taking place in schools, including sessions with careers advisors (reported by 85% of senior leaders) and careers fairs or events (84%).

But despite positive changes, the system is still not serving all young people effectively, with our research finding that 1 in 3 secondary school pupils are not confident about their next steps in education and training, with those in state schools 10 percentage points more likely to feel this than private school students (39% vs 29% respectively).[2] Over half (51%) of state school teachers say there is not enough staff time to deliver careers education and guidance, 32% say there is not enough funding, and 22% say careers staff and teachers lack knowledge about different career paths.

We have also identified several disparities between state and private schools, as well as between state schools with more and less affluent intakes. As stated, 32% of teachers in state schools say they do not have enough funding for careers education and guidance, but this is just 6% in private schools.[3] Furthermore, schools in more deprived areas are less likely to have access to a specialist Careers Adviser, with 21% of teachers in the most deprived areas reporting that non-specialists delivered personal guidance, compared to 14% in more affluent areas.[4]

Careers advice around apprenticeships – which are a vital route to skills and employment - also needs to be improved. Whilst 46% of 17- and 18-year-olds (year 13) surveyed said they have received a large amount of information on university routes during their education, only 10% said the same for apprenticeships.[5] Research by the Trust also found that a quarter of young apprentices found the application process difficult to navigate, and 14% of young people who made it into an apprenticeship received no information or outreach before starting in their role.[6] While teachers discussing apprenticeships with their students is on the rise (47% of young people reported that their teacher had discussed an apprenticeship with them in 2019, compared to 31% in 2013)[7] – there is still much more work to do to ensure that all young people are made aware of the benefits of undertaking an apprenticeship.[8]

Our research additionally found that less than a third of 17-18 year olds have completed work experience arranged through their school.[9] This means that thousands of students are missing out on an important opportunity to experience a workplace whilst developing key employability skills.[10] As it is those from disadvantaged backgrounds who are less likely to have social connections to gain work experience opportunities from elsewhere, it is vital for students to be supported in finding a placement through their school. The Trust would like to see all pupils having access to work experience between the ages of 14 and 16. To facilitate this, additional funding should be awarded schools, to allow them to pay for the staff time needed to support students to organise good quality placements. Insurance and logistical support for employers providing placements will also be required.

Overall, while there are aspects of good practice, there is no overarching strategy to link elements up across the system, causing a considerable amount of disparity between schools, with not all able to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks as outlined in existing guidance. The government needs a new national strategy for careers guidance, as outlined in our response to Question 2, at the core of which should be a ‘Careers Structure’ for all secondary schools, again discussed in Question 2.

Additional support for employability and career education should be viewed as key part of catch-up plans for education in the wake of the pandemic. Our polling found that 72% of teachers think the pandemic has negatively impacted their school’s ability to deliver careers education and guidance, with 75% reporting this in state schools, compared to just 59% in private schools.[11] Throughout the pandemic, the Trust has highlighted the need for greater investment in education recovery,[12] and funding for careers guidance activities should be a central part of this.

2. Whether and how the Government should bring responsibility for CEIAG under one body, for example a National Skills Service, to take overall responsibility for CEIAG for all ages, and how this might help young people navigate the CEIAG system.

Whilst the Trust recognizes that changes are required to make the CEIAG system easier to navigate, we should avoid dismantling the foundations that are already in place and creating potentially counter-productive upheaval. Responsibility for CEIAG has already shifted significantly over the past few years; it previously moved from BEIS to the DfE, and changes by the coalition government also moved responsibilities from local authorities to the DfE. This has left behind a fragmented system with a lack of targeted funding.[13]

A new national strategy for careers guidance must be developed by the government, now that the 2017 strategy has lapsed. Rather than setting up a new service, this should make clear how the various elements, such as the CEC and the National Careers Service, fit together, and which should set out clearly the aims for the overall system to achieve delivery of high-quality CEIAG. The strategy should cover the full lifecycle, from the very start of a child’s education, all the way through to the workplace, and should be formed in partnership with employers, with a view to help prepare young people for future labour market trends. The strategy should also explicitly tie into other key existing government strategies, particularly the Levelling Up agenda, with an aim to ensure that careers guidance is improved nationally, but with a particular focus on improvements in the most disadvantaged parts of the country.

At the centre of this strategy should be a core ‘careers structure’ which should be put in place, and adequately resourced, across all secondary schools. At present there is too much inconsistency, with no standard expectation of what schools should have in place to successfully deliver the Gatsby benchmarks of good careers guidance. This structure should guarantee that all schools:

1. Have a Careers Leader with the time, recognition, and resources to properly fulfil their role: Whilst the vast majority of schools have a Careers Leader in place, this is not universal, and the role can vary considerably within schools, with many Careers Leaders not having the time or space needed to do their role successfully. The Careers Leader role should be established as a key role within schools and be given equivalent time off-timetable to other similarly vital roles, such as a Head of Year. They should be given adequate time and resources to enact a clear strategy across their school and maintain strong relationships with internal staff and external partners like local businesses. The role should also come with a Teaching and Learning Responsibility pay increase, to reflect the importance of this role within every school, all facilitated by additional government funding.
2. Are part of a Careers Hub: All schools should be able to access the benefits of being in a Careers Hub, coordinated by the Careers and Enterprise Company. Being part of a Hub has been associated with a higher likelihood of working with employers[14] and increases the likelihood of a school holding a Quality in Careers Standard award.[15] Given the specific challenges facing schools in the most disadvantaged communities, it is vital that the most deprived schools are prioritised in any expansion.
3. Have access to a professional career adviser for their students (qualified to at least Level 6; as is recommended by the Career Development Institute[16]): Careers Advisers could work with individual schools, or be shared across schools, for example over a local authority. However this is done, the hours of advice provided should ensure enough time is available for at least two one-to-one meetings with a Careers Adviser during a student’s time in secondary education (as recommended in Gatsby benchmark 8).[17] As there is currently no ringfenced funding for Advisers, the Trust would support additional funding for access to Careers Advisers initially being focused on schools with the highest levels of deprivation. In the longer term, ring-fenced funding should be offered universally for this role.

This underlying architecture, with adequate funding behind it, would help tackle the inconsistency in careers provisions across schools, by putting in place the same standard underlying set up in all schools, to aid them to deliver guidance as set out in the Gatsby benchmarks.

Whilst the Trust believes it is better to avoid another overhaul of CEIAG policy, if a National Skills Service is introduced, it would need to navigate the very different needs of young people in schools with those of adults in need of reskilling or interacting with the benefits system. One size fits all approaches to these groups have the danger of appealing to neither. The National Careers Service, an all-ages service, currently has to contend with this issue.

3. Whether such a National Skills Service is best placed in the Department for Education or the Department of Work and Pensions to avoid duplication of work.

The Trust believes responsibility for CEIAG should continue to lie primarily with the DfE, as a significant amount of careers activities take place in schools and colleges. The Careers and Enterprise Company currently links education providers with employers though Careers Hubs and Enterprise Advisors, and it should continue to do so. An overarching, cross-departmental strategy on careers would help to connect thinking across different areas - by facilitating a framework for the DfE to work with multiple departments and bring in their views and expertise, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

4. Whether organisations like the Careers Enterprise Company and National Careers Service provide value for money to the taxpayer.

Improvements to careers guidance have been made since the Careers and Enterprise Company’s inception in 2015, and we believe they should continue to be a significant part of the CEIAG package. The focus should be on growing existing provisions to more schools, with a particular focus on those in the most disadvantaged areas, including improving the provision offered by Careers Leaders and having all secondary schools in Careers Hubs (as previously outlined).

The Trust would also like to see investment in CEC-led programmes which target socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Increasing the number of pilots, ideally through government funding but through partnerships with private companies where this is not possible, could help to ensure that the most impactful interventions are identified, allowing them to be expanded so that high quality provision can reach disadvantaged young people

At present, the National Careers Service is more suited to adults than young people. An update to the resources offered through the National Careers Service website, as set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper, would be welcomed by the Trust. Our research found that 43% of secondary students reported not receiving guidance from online sources, including the National Careers Service website. Any changes must be closely evaluated to ensure that awareness and use of the platform improves, with content regularly updated to reflect available opportunities. The service must also be correctly resourced so that the service is appropriate, up to date and has content that is of value to young people.

5. How careers and skills guidance could be better embedded in the curriculum across primary, secondary, further, higher and adult education, to ensure all learners are properly prepared for the world of work

As discussed previously, the Trust has found that staff time is a key barrier for state school teachers in delivering guidance, with a disconnect seen between senior teachers and classroom staff - 54% of SLT (including headteachers) said that there was not enough staff time compared to 47% of classroom teachers. Careers Leaders highlighted the difficulties involved in fitting in activities during lessons and trips outside of school into the daily timetable.

To ensure guidance is delivered across the curriculum to prepare students for the world of work, the Trust would like to see greater time earmarked and integrated within the overall curriculum, and within subject curricula, to deliver careers education and guidance. While there are always multiple competing demands on teaching time, the value of careers guidance warrants special consideration. Doing so would reflect its importance and help teachers to prioritise it in the face of many competing demands. Content should be delivered both in careers-specific lessons, such as PSHE, as well as in individual subjects, where specific links can be made between course content and career paths.

Teachers should also have access to high quality training in delivering guidance and linking subject-specific content to career paths. Our recent report found that classroom teachers in English state schools are less likely than senior leaders to say links to possible careers are being made within curriculum lessons, at 59% vs 80%, perhaps reflecting some ambitions for careers guidance not filtering down into classroom practice.[18]  Indeed, over three quarters of state school teachers (88%) feel their teacher training didn’t prepare them to deliver careers information and guidance to students. The Trust believes that to upskill teachers, additional CPD and NPQ opportunities should be available on careers content. Careers Leaders should deliver CPD on careers education to all teachers in their school, as well as monitoring availability of external training for staff in their setting. Delivering training in school will allow teachers to receive real-time knowledge of the current landscape which reflects the local context of resources and partnerships. This should also be accompanied by improved training for teachers on careers education within initial teacher training.

Embedding careers activities into the curriculum for those in primary and lower secondary school years is also important. These activities can influence future plans from a young age, and guidance from school is particularly important for socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, who are less likely to be receiving advice and guidance, and have access to role models, outside of the classroom.[19] Based on analysis of a survey of 18 to 20 year-olds in the UK, UCAS found that 1 in 3 students begin to think about higher education when in primary school, with disadvantaged students 1.4 times less likely to do so compared to more affluent peers.[20] Despite the importance of careers guidance from younger ages, the Trust found that only 2% of those in years 11 to 13 recall receiving careers guidance at primary school and during year 7.[21] This figure rises only slightly to 4% saying they received guidance in year 8 and 13% in year 9.  By year 11, 53% of pupils say they received careers guidance. The Trust welcomes the upcoming change for guidance to be offered in year 7, but would also like to see guidance in primary schools included in any future careers strategy.

To ensure young people are ready for the world of work, the development of essential life skills should also be embedded into the school system. During the pandemic, many young people will have missed out on activities that help support vital development of skills such as confidence, motivation and resilience. These skills are associated with better academic outcomes and better prospects in the workplace, and there is an increasing emphasis on their value, with 94% of employers saying that life skills are at least as important as academic results for the success of young people. Participation in extra-curricular activities to develop such skills is less likely for socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils (those eligible for FSM) at 46%, compared to 66% of their better off peers. [22] It is crucial that all young people can access extra-curricular activities and are supported to develop the skills vital for accessing the workplace.

6. How schools could be supported to better fulfil their duties to provide careers advice and inform students of technical, as well as academic, pathways.
1. ○ How the Baker Clause could be more effectively enforced
2. ○ How the Government can ensure more young people have access to a professional and independent careers advisor and increase the take-up of the Lifetime Skills initiative.

Better enforcement of the Baker Clause is vital to ensure that young people are receiving the same level of information about both technical and academic routes. The Trust would support increasing Ofsted’s involvement in the enforcement of the clause, potentially by limiting Ofsted grades in schools who do not comply with the clause - a move previously suggested by this committee.[23]

Ultimately to get better implementation of the Baker Clause, schools must be better supported in delivering it - through expansion of programmes like the Careers Hub network, which connects schools with employers, and through coordination with Local Enterprise Partnerships. Schools should be given access to a wide range of information on apprenticeships and other technical routes – the government’s ASK programme offers this information, but the service needs long-term funding to make forming strong partnerships with schools easier. Schools and colleges also should be encouraged to use tools like the CEC’s Compass+,[24] which provides information on available placements.

As the government makes changes to the qualifications landscape, including the introduction of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, T Levels and the upcoming Lifelong Loan Entitlement, it is more important than ever that young people from all backgrounds are provided with a guaranteed level of careers advice. There is a risk that, without proper advice and guidance, these positive new developments in the qualification landscape will make the system more complex and difficult to navigate.

7. Whether the proposals for CEIAG in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper will effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system
1. Whether greater investment to create a robust system of CEIAG is needed, and how could this be targeted, to create a stronger CEIAG

Our recent research has found that both teachers and careers staff believe more funding is required to facilitate delivery of high-quality CEIAG.[25] The Trust’s priorities for funding have been discussed throughout our response and include:

-          Allocating Careers Leaders more time and recognition in their pay

-          Careers Hub network expansion

-          Targeted funding for Careers Advisers

-          CPD opportunities on careers guidance

-          Support for schools in sourcing work experience placements.

The Trust would support investment in Careers Leader training in principle– the Careers Leader role is a vital part of the careers guidance offer in schools, as highlighted in our response to Question 2. However, plans would need to be produced which set out how this would contribute to improvements in CEIAG overall. Training that covers how to guide students on apprenticeships and other technical routes would be a priority for the Trust because, as previously discussed, guidance students are receiving on these pathways is not on the same level as guidance received on university.

Aligning the National Careers Service to the work of the Careers and Enterprise Company would also be supported by the Trust. This should a ensure that there is a more coherent careers system overall, an issue which should be covered in any new careers strategy developed by government.

However, it should be noted that bringing the two services together may be challenging, as they have different ways of working and the NCS currently has limited services for young people.[26] The Careers and Enterprise Company’s Careers Hubs could play an important role in bringing the two services together, linking education providers to employers.

The Trust also supports the proposed expansion of the Careers Hub network as just half of state schools are currently in a Hub, as discussed in our response to question 2. Evaluation of t1he Careers Hub programme should also continue, as well as pilots of Hubs for primary schools, to ensure that any expansion remains to be impactful.

Appendix A: Summary of response from the Sutton Trust

Summary of response

The Sutton Trust has long highlighted the need for high-quality, impartial careers information, advice and guidance for young people. This guidance is particularly important for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, who are less likely to have access to information and knowledge from family or wider personal networks. 

The Trust has recently published a new key piece of research that looks in detail at careers guidance in secondary schools and colleges in England.[27] When the Trust last examined careers guidance in 2014, our research found a ‘postcode lottery’ of provision. [28] Since then, the policy landscape has changed considerably, with many changes made with the aim to improve careers guidance in schools, including the creation of the CEC and targets around the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Our recent report has given the first detailed look at how these changes are being implemented, and what they have meant for students’ experiences of careers provision on the ground. Overall, while we have found improvements since 2014, provision is still too variable, especially between the state and private sectors, and between the most and least deprived state schools.   

A new careers strategy is urgently needed to set out clearer requirements for schools and ensure that all students are receiving high-quality, impartial guidance on all routes available to them. Schools also need additional funding to be able to put high quality guidance in place.

Our other policy priorities are highlighted below:

For government

1. The government should develop a new national strategy on careers education. Provision would benefit from a clear overarching strategy now that the government’s 2017 careers strategy has lapsed. The strategy should sit primarily in the Department for Education, but with strong cross-departmental links, to join up what are currently disparate elements in the system. The strategy should look at the very start of a child’s education, all the way through to the workplace. It should be formed in partnership with employers, with a view to help prepare young people for future labour market trends, and link clearly into the government’s levelling up strategy.

2. At the centre of this strategy should be a core ‘careers structure’ outlining a minimum underlying structure for careers provision in all schools. There is too much variation in the careers provision available to students. This underlying architecture, with adequate funding behind it, would help tackle this inconsistency, by putting in place the same standard underlying set up in all schools, to aid them to deliver guidance as set out in the Gatsby benchmarks.
   This offer should guarantee that all schools:

• Have a Careers Leader with the time, recognition, and resources to properly fulfil their role
• Are part of a Careers Hub
• Have access to a professional career adviser for their students (qualified to at least Level 6)

3. Greater time should be earmarked and integrated within the overall curriculum, and within subject curricula, to deliver careers education and guidance, to reflect its centrality to students’ future prospects. With competing demands on the school day, setting clearer requirements on the time schools should be spending on careers education, both on overall careers guidance (for example in PSHE lessons or as a scheduled careers week for pupils), and for subject specific careers guidance within lessons, would help give the topic the required priority within schools. This should be accompanied by better training for teachers on careers education within initial teacher training.

4. All pupils should have access to work experience between the ages of 14 and 16. Experience in the workplace can be extremely impactful for students, allowing them to gain important insights into the world of work and develop essential skills, with support given to help them find relevant placements. This should also be accompanied by additional funding for schools, to allow them to pay for the staff time needed to support students to organise good quality placements. 

5. Better support and guidance should be made available for schools and colleges on apprenticeships, with better enforcement of statutory requirements. More investment should be made in national information sources and programmes on technical education routes to improve the advice available. Evidence suggests that too many schools are not meeting their statutory requirements under the ‘Baker Clause’. Better enforcement should be introduced, for example looking at incentives such as limiting Ofsted grades in schools who do not comply with the clause.

For the Career and Enterprise Company (CEC)

1. All secondary schools should be part of a Careers Hub, with schools serving the most deprived intakes prioritised. Plans for the Careers Hub network to be expanded are to be welcomed, but now is the time to expand the network to reach all schools. Given the disparities in careers provision identified here, it is vital that the most deprived schools are prioritised in this expansion plan. Evaluation of the programme should continue to ensure that expansion is impactful.

2. The CEC should continue to roll out pilot programmes of promising interventions based on evidence, again where possible with a focus on the most deprived schools. We welcome recent pilot programmes, including partnerships with businesses, to help to give young people greater insights into the world of work. Further such work should continue, with programmes likely to benefit the most deprived schools prioritised. 

March 2022

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