Careers implications for Kent Kent Council: Skills and Employability Service 30 th April 2013 Louis Coiffait, Head of The Pearson Think Tank thepearsonthinktank.com

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Q1: Overall, how has careers provision changed where you work? 1. We’re doing a lot less than last year 2. We’re doing less than last year 3. We’re doing about the same as last year 4. We’re doing more than last year 5. We’re doing a lot more than last year

Q2: I’m not worried about the careers services available to my students in the future 1. Strongly disagree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Agree 5. Strongly agree

The policy context for careers – recent events  £200m invested in careers work in 2011  The Education Act 2011 puts onus on schools  Connexions, Aimhigher, EBPO funding slashed  No careers funding transferred to schools  Funding for face-to-face guidance from qualified advisers removed  Duties to provide careers education and work-related learning ended  National Careers Service launched in 2012  But NCS not all-ages, no support for <13 yrs, or f2f for <19 yrs  Statutory guidance issued in April 2012 and updated in March 2013  From Sep 2013 duty extended to year 8 (12-13 year olds) and years 12 and 13 (16-18 year olds)  Neither proposed National Curriculum nor PSHEE mention careers

The policy context for careers – concerns  Overall availability, consistency and quality of careers provision  Adequate funding  Levels of awareness in schools about careers and recent changes  Sufficient support and guidance available to schools  Impartiality of careers services, particularly for vocational options  Lack of data about either careers provision or outcomes  Suitable monitoring and accountability mechanisms  Low prevalence of school-wide and curriculum-led approaches  A low priority for schools with little time devoted to careers  More complex progression routes for learners  International evidence of negative outcomes from similar policies  Ownership falls between BIS-DfE, most funding from latter withdrawn  Long-term economic, equity and social costs

The Careers 2020 project Phase 1 Mapping existing knowledge and evidence Autumn 2012 Phase 2 Comparing recent activity with future plans Spring 2013 Phase 3 New thinking about the future of careers work Summer 2013 Scoping out how young people can best be supported to plan for, and progress into, their futures.

Phase one (published + on this event website) Mapping existing knowledge and evidence The first phase of the project, conducted with iCeGs at the University of Derby (Tristram Hooley, Tony Watts), features an evidence- based review of careers work covering recent history, the current situation, a menu of possible options for schools, and recommendations for how careers work can be strategically integrated across everything schools do, including the curriculum.

Phase one (published + on this event website) Mapping existing knowledge and evidence Whole-school strategic priority? Curriculum-led? Supported? Monitored?

Phase two (currently editing final draft) Comparing recent activity with future plans The next phase surveyed a nationally representative sample of those involved in school based careers activities Explore which careers activities recently took place in schools and which they are planning to deliver in the future. How has provision changed over three time periods?  Previous years  Last academic year (2011/12)  This academic year (2012/13 Which activities are being delivered? (building on the ‘menu’) What age groups is careers being delivered to? What partners are schools working with?

Phase two (currently writing up) Comparing recent activity with future plans Hoping to publish in May but a few early findings below… Overall a very mixed picture – a careers postcode lottery? Non-selective state school respondents relatively negative / hit hard A few areas where school-based activity has increased… …but in more cases there is a decline in activity this academic year Among the hardest-hit activities were;  careers-related resources  work experience (unsurprisingly given recent policy direction)  Face to face careers guidance (lack of funding, support orgs or time) Scope to do more with younger learners and after GCSEs

Q3: Which ONE would improve careers services the most at your school? 1. Make it a whole-school priority 2. Make more of governors 3. Make more of parents 4. Make more of employers 5. Make it part of the curriculum 6. Get ring-fenced funding from government

Thank you! Find out more about the project, add your own comments and sign up for occasional updates on our website at: search/careers-2020/ You can also use the #Careers2020 hashtag on Twitter …any questions? search/careers-2020/ #Careers2020