OfSTED (England) and the Education Training Inspectorate (Northern Ireland)
Ofsted
Ofsted is legally required to comment in an inspection report on the careers guidance provided at colleges for 16-to-18-year-olds and students up to 25 with an education, health and care plan. In schools it will assess the quality of careers information, education, advice and guidance provision and how well it benefits pupils in choosing and deciding on their next steps. Careers information, education, advice and guidance is one of the key areas that informs inspectors’ overall judgements on Personal Development.
Inspections of Post-primary schools in Northern Ireland includes specialists who will look at whole-school areas, including CEIAG. The specialist inspector will evaluate both the extent to which the curriculum offer meets the needs, aspirations and career goals of the pupils and the extent to which the pupils receive high quality, impartial careers education, information, advice and guidance, are well informed about progression pathways and make sound subject and careers-related choices.
Statutory Guidance
The Government in England has published guidance and advice about how institutions must ensure a quality CEIAG offer to all students (including statutory guidance that institutions must have regard to). The Government recommends that all schools should work towards a quality mark for careers education, information, advice and guidance as an effective means of carrying out a self-review and evaluation of the school's programme.
The Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby Foundation commissioned Sir John Holman to research which actions and guidelines could improve career guidance in secondary schools. The influential report "Good Career Guidance" was published in 2013 and includes 8 benchmarks against which an institution can measure their CEIAG provision. The Quality in Careers Standard awarded by Ixion (part of the Shaw Trust Group) has been fully mapped against the benchmarks. The mapping document is available to all registered institutions. The Careers and Enterprise Company along with the CDI have also produced further materials to support institutions in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks.
The Gatsby Report: Good Careers Guidance
The Career Development Institute (CDI)
The CDI is the professional body for the careers sector. The new CDI Framework, published in 2021, includes 6 learning areas:
- Grow throughout life
- Explore possibilities
- Manage career
- Create opportunities
- Balance life and work
- See the big picture
The framework will support institutions to plan, deliver and evaluate high quality careers work. The Quality in Careers Standard awarded by Ixion (part of the Shaw Trust Group) has been fully mapped to illustrate which areas of the framework correspond with the performance criteria in each of nine units of the award. The mapping document is available to all registered institutions.