Enhancing school-based careers work for years 7-9 in the context of the new statutory requirements in careers

guidance

Dr Charlotte ChaddertonCass School of Education and Communities

University of East London

This presentation

• Action research project conducted in two schools in East London 2013-14 Funded by Greater London Authority Aim: to enhance careers work for years 7-9. • Arguments: There is much that schools can do, through internal change, to

enhance their school-based careers programme. The new arrangements have left schools with requirements

they have neither the funding, experience, expertise nor networks to fulfil.

Recommendations.

Definitions

• Careers Guidance often used as a catch-all term• Guidance is understood as support provided

normally on a one-to-one basis to support individual transitions and decision-making.

• Careers education provides the wider context for this guidance, and can include Labour Market Information, a wider understanding of training and study routes and job families (related roles in a given field), decision-making processes, career management skills

Benefits of Careers work

Benefits to young people

• Help students navigate complex array of education options

• Raises motivation and achievement

• Raising participation age

Benefits to the labour market • Where there skills

shortages• Countering aspirations

mismatch• Building career

management skills

Social equality benefits • Education and vocational

decisions remain highly gendered, classed and raced

• Potentially including employers

Current political situation

The Education Act 2011 handed over responsibility for careers work to schools

Funding mostly withdrawn from local authorities and

Connexions

Schools not provided with any extra funds to fulfil this

statutory requirement

Schools can choose whether to commission from the Local

Authority, from private providers, take CEIAG

provision in-house, or a combination of these

Market in CEIAG

Implications

independent impartialEducation

versus guidance

Employer engagement Qualified staff

This project funded by the Greater London Authority

• developed and tested ways of enhancing school-based careers work for pre-GCSE pupils • and worked towards a whole-school CEIAG strategy

10-month study in two schools in East London

• a more integrated approach to careers work in the school and curriculum, which provides the wider context for individual advice and guidance.

Careers Education

• careers work is more beneficial the earlier it begins, and provides context for GCSE choices made in Y9.

• But most secondary schools only engage with CEIAG in years 10 and 11

Years 7-9

• one of the groups most in need of CEIAG because of the potentially wide range of academic and vocational options open to them, but least likely to receive adequate support

Middle-attainers

School 1• a mixed, 11-16 school in a deprived area

with a large number of pupils eligible for free school meals.

School 2• a single-sex girls’ school with a sixth form in

an area of high deprivation with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Local authority support

Careers coordination

Focus on year 11 (occasionally

10)

GuidanceLittle

integration in lessons

Pupils unaware and

unsupported

Connections with careers not explicit

Findings. Stage 1: mapping provision

Findings: stage 1 contd.

Low awareness among teachers

Lack of impartiality

Data not used to inform careers

programme

Lack of employer contacts

Lack of vocational

options and info

Enhancing provision

Education focus Leadership Working

groups

CPD for teaching staff

Employer contacts

Impact: staff

• “Teachers are getting more involved in CEIAG than they would otherwise”. (Careers Coordinator School 1)

• “After the CPD session I’ve seen some change in some staff.” (Careers Coordinator, School 2).

Impact: students

• “It was really useful because people from different jobs came and from that we could decide our options and it could help us in our life” (Pathways event , year 9 pupil, School 1)

• “I liked it cos we learned different things, I’d never done engineering before at all so I learnt that you can do engineering with anything even scrap stuff, you can make it and plan design”. (STEM day, year 7 pupil, School 2)

Impact: students

• “...he said that if somebody asks you what you want to do if you don’t tell them with confidence that means you don’t really want to do it, so that made me think as well as I need to make sure that I’m 100% sure that I do want to do what I want to do and if anyone asks me I need to hold my hand up straight and say yeah this is what I wanna do even if anyone laughs at me”. (Pathways event, year 9 pupil, School 1)

• “I wasn’t too confident if I wanted to be a solicitor before this

but after the event and the assemblies we had I’m confident”. (Careers assemblies and pathways event, year 9 pupil, School 1)

Conclusions

• Schools unprepared for shift• There’s a great deal schools can do via internal

changes• Year 7-9 not too young to engage: evidence of

widening horizons and increasing confidence• Most important factor is leadership• However, schools lack careers expertise,

networks, experience which suggests shift of responsibility to schools possibly naïve

Policy recommendations• Short of recommending the re-introduction of a discrete and targeted

careers service…• More specific guidelines based on work of e.g. Association for Careers

Education and Guidance;• Careers as strategic priority;• Focus on general careers education rather than just guidance;• Less focus on business and more focus on internal changes;• Bridging services to be set up to intermediate between employers,

educational institutions and organisations offering careers activities;• Qualified careers coordinator (or even a careers coordination team/

staff advisory group) with high status in school;• CPD for teachers, including Labour Market Information;• Extra funding to be made available for these changes.