What is the
Quality in Careers Standard?
Secondary schools, special schools, academies and colleges can gain formal external accreditation of their careers programme through the Quality in Careers Standard (“the Standard”) - the single national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance.
Introduction
DfE strongly recommends that all schools and colleges work towards the Standard to support the development of their careers programme.
In DfE’s consultation on the January 2023 Provider Access Legislation, respondents commented on how the Standard ‘opened their eyes’ to the quality of careers provision they should be offering and endorsed the value of an independent, expert review of their offer.
Department for Education
The Quality in Careers Consortium
The Standard is owned by the Quality in Careers Consortium, comprising the four major professional associations of school and college leaders:
Alongside the Career Development Institute and Careers England. The Consortium Board oversees the Standard.
Ownership and Governance
The Consortium
The Quality in Careers Standard is fully aligned to the internationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks and incorporates Compass and Compass+ into its processes.
The Standard seeks additional evidence of the impact of careers provision on students’ career-related learning. It challenges how well programmes meet student needs and improve learning outcomes.
The Standard
- Our Goal
‘Learner voice’ is a key part of Quality in Careers assessments.
Young people have been among the hardest hit groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve experienced disruptions to their education, many suffering a reduction in confidence and mental well-being as well as facing challenging transitions to the labour market. So securing high quality careers support is of even greater importance.
Learner Voice
Career Leaders Handbook
2022
Career is not just important to individuals, it also matters for families, communities and societies, where people are able to effectively manage their careers it helps governments to ensure that the education system works effectively and that the skills we develop in learning are useful for the workplace.
The Careers Leaders Handbook 2022
Effective career guidance, helps individuals reach their potential, economies to become more efficient and societies to become fairer. It's critical to the smooth transitions of people as they make choices about education and training to mobility and integration within the labour market.
CEDEFOP European Centre for the Development of Vocational Education
Securing effective day-to-day leadership, management, and delivery of the careers programme by all relevant staff – including giving full support to a named individual in the role of Careers Leader;
Securing clearly identified, appropriate and progressive learning and behavioural outcomes for learners – referenced to a recognised national framework of career development outcomes - with a range of effective methods to deliver them to suit learners’ needs;
Regularly monitoring, review and evaluation of the careers programme focusing on its impact on learners’ career-related outcomes;
Evaluating how the careers programme involves learners in assessing and meeting their own needs and those of their peers and evaluating its impact.
Examples of what Quality in Careers assesses as
“A Stable Careers Programme”
Where Quality in Careers fits
In context of:
Quality in Careers = External Assessment
Why go for
the Standard?
Despite the disruptions of the pandemic there’s been a sustained commitment to the Standard. At the start of 2023, around a third of schools and colleges were actively engaged with the Standard.
Here are some schools and colleges who’ve shared the benefits they’ve gained from their Quality in Careers journey.
The Benefits Gained
The Coop Academies Trust
Multi Academy Trust
The Strategic Careers Lead for the Trust, Jo Sykes, says:
“As a Trust, CEIAG is a key part of our 3-year strategic plan, and I am keen to be the first large MAT to have all academies meeting the Quality in Careers Standard to reflect our outstanding practice.
Gaining the Standard is by no means an easy feat and there was some trepidation from our Career Leads. However, the process with (the Awarding Body) C+K, from start to finish, was highly professional and strategic whilst maintaining a personal touch. Pre-assessment meetings were thorough and concise, so our CLs knew exactly how to map their evidence against the criteria.
I am delighted that the majority of our secondary academies and our college have been successful in gaining the Standard and I look forward to our primary academies and SEND academy coming on board over the next 2 years.”
The Priory Federation of Academies Trust
Lincolnshire & Leicestershire
The Strategic Careers Lead says:
“The Trust will continue to evaluate its provision as it aspires to the full achievement of the national Quality in Careers Standard for all of its academies, to ensure the careers curriculum rigorously meets the evolving needs of our learners and continues to make a positive impact on the life chances of our students so that they become true citizens of the world.
The Trust aspires for each of its academies to hold the national quality award. Currently, five of the six secondary academies have been awarded the Quality in Careers Standard, with the sixth due to start the process of accreditation in the academic year 2022/23. The Trust will then seek accreditation for its primary academies”.
Bradford College
West Yorkshire
The Careers and Employability Manager says:
“Achieving the Standard helps us to transform students’ lives for the better and our careers department is in the strongest position ever. Having been through the process, SLT has now recognised the true value of the Standard – it is highly regarded.”
Critchill Special School
Somerset
The Careers Leader says:
“As a school, we’re thrilled to have been externally assessed as ‘Fully meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks’ in achieving the national Quality in Careers Standard. We will continue to evaluate our provision to ensure further progression, with the aim of meeting the everchanging needs of all of our children and young people – and retaining our Quality in Careers accreditation."
Kettlebrook Short Stay School
A Pupil Referral Unit
Staffordshire
The Careers Leader says:
"Careers has always been an important part of the school’s work with its students – ultimately, KSSS wants each student to overcome their barriers to learning and empower them to achieve the success that they deserve, moving forwards on to their next educational step with greater knowledge, understanding, skills set and positive behaviours that will enable them to be more resilient, resourceful, responsible and respectful.
This has been a particularly proud achievement as we come out of COVID, especially as we are a PRU. This national Standard provides us with the recognition that we are implementing good practices in the world of careers and information, advice, and guidance for our students, who often find it difficult to engage with education.
The Careers Leader adds:
"As leaders, we are ensuring that our students are offered the knowledge, skills and understanding to continue to develop their Careers into adulthood and beyond. Use the national Quality in Careers Standard as a development tool, not simply an award, and it will help you to make sure that you and team offer every student the best bespoke opportunities as possible. If we can do it so can you.”
What the typical process of working towards the Standard involves.
The Process
an in-depth audit of your careers programme including completion of the Compass self-assessment tool;
advice and support available on developing your provision from a ‘consultant’ or ‘mentor’; and
consultation/discussions with the school or college’s key stakeholders including staff, parents and young people:
culminating in an external assessment by a Quality in Careers assessor who has not been involved previously in the process.
The Process
Whilst each of our Licensed Awarding Bodies has a slightly different and distinctive approach, certain key elements form part of the process, which is best described as a “development journey”:
Working towards the Standard
How to Get Started?
We recommend you begin by looking at the national accreditation criteria set out in the Guide to the national Quality in Careers Standard. The criteria describe what is required of learning providers in terms of overall careers provision, and therefore what our Licensed Awarding Bodies will assess. You may also want to look in more detail at what our Assessors require you to evidence in assessments – this is set out in our Assessment Guide.
Explore the National Criteria
Experience tells us that you'll also find it helpful to contact some schools and colleges who already hold the Standard in your area to hear their experiences of the value of the process as well as the benefits for students and the impact of the Standard. We publish details here of Quality in Careers Award Holders.
Contact Some Award Holders
Next, just as you’re used to choosing between different awarding bodies for examinations, we recommend that you review the Awarding Bodies we’ve licensed. Our advice is that you contact one or more directly. Here are the contact details for our Awarding Bodies and the Regions where they operate. Our Awarding Bodies have over 100 occupationally competent careers professionals as assessors = a high quality of expertise is available to support schools and colleges.
Review Awarding Bodies
By contacting Awarding Bodies directly they can outline their distinctive approach to the delivery of the Standard (their ‘offer’) as well as the prices they charge. In respect of prices, it’s important to say that whilst the fees each Awarding Body charges are broadly similar, each Awarding Body is authorised to set its fee structure in the context of the ‘offer’ it makes, so it’s essential to talk this through with them.
Contact Some Awarding Bodies
After reviewing your options, you'll be ready to make an informed choice - you’re free to choose the Awarding Body you wish to work with for the Standard.
It's Your Choice
Links to Key Resources
Guidance from
the DfE
Click the image or the link below for Statutory Duty and the Guidance from the DfE on Careers Education & Guidance
Licensed
Awarding Bodies
Click the image or the link below to download a list of the 2023 Licensed Awarding Bodies.
The Guide to the
National Standard
Click the image or the link below to download The Guide to the National Standard.
The Assessment
Guide
Click the image or the link below to download The Assessment Guide for for Licensed Awarding Bodies and Assessors.
Getting Started
with the Standard
Click the image or the link below for advice on getting started with the Standard for schools, colleges and other learning providers
Case
Studies
Click the image or the link below to access all our Case Studies for Best Practices.
To find out more about how to support and accredit your careers provision visit the Quality in Careers website.
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