At the end of September, Ofsted published an independent review of careers guidance in schools and further education and skills providers.

Ofsted said the following about the report:

There have been substantial changes to the careers landscape in England over the past decade, including the introduction of the Gatsby benchmarks and Baker clause. In 2022, the Department for Education (DfE) asked Ofsted to review careers provision in schools and further education and skills (FE and skills) providers. During the spring term 2023, we carried out research visits to 30 schools and 14 FE and skills providers. We also reviewed a sample of inspection evidence and held focus groups with inspectors, employers and independent learning providers (ILPs).

It’s a very long report but we’ve summarised it here for easy reading:

What are the key takeaways?

In some places, there was insufficient strategic planning and attention to the needs of individual pupils.
Careers guidance was often underdeveloped in KS3, particularly in Year 7. Teachers and pupils both faced a lack of clarity about what the purpose was.
Around a quarter of schools were demonstrating less effective practice in careers guidance.
Leaders and staff do understand the importance of careers and the role of the careers leader is well embedded. Schools and skill providers found the Gatsby benchmarks useful.
There is a moderately effective linking of the curriculum and careers.
There are clear gaps in understanding about T-levels and apprenticeships.
There is also a lack of engagement with parents although it’s an important piece of the puzzle.
Pupils find virtual work experience less helpful. In general, employers are offering less work experience.

There is also some evidence that being uncertain about career aspirations at age 16 (‘career uncertainty’) is associated with poorer outcomes. Similarly, young people who have underestimated the qualifications they will need for a particular job (‘career misalignment’) are more likely to be NEET.

Recent research suggests some improvements in the quality of careers guidance since 2013. For instance, a longitudinal review of young people’s experience of careers guidance indicated that, in 2018, 18- and 19-year-olds were satisfied overall with the careers guidance they had received.

There is limited evidence available on how effective careers education is when delivered through PSHE. However, the available evidence does suggest it can be more effective when it is specifically timetabled within the PSHE curriculum.

The report also included some developed clarity on Gatsby benchmarks:

Gatsby Benchmarks

1.

Gatsby benchmark 8 recommends that every pupil should have an opportunity to meet a trained careers adviser. The statutory guidance states that advisers should have a level 6 qualification in a career development subject.

2.

Gatsby Benchmark 5 states that pupils and learners should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about the world of work. This can be done through various activities such as visiting speakers, career fairs and mentoring.

3.

Gatsby benchmark 3 recommends that schools and colleges should keep a record of the individual advice given to pupils and learners.

Several schools cited benchmark 3 as the most difficult to achieve. Benchmark 3 includes systematically recording the advice given to each pupil, and maintaining accurate data on their education, training or employment destinations. Schools found it challenging to maintain accurate destinations data. This was often because of the time it took to collect this data. Leaders said tracking destinations for 3 years could be ‘almost impossible’, and they were not able to efficiently collect the data they needed.