Careers education remains patchy says Sutton Trust

One in three secondary school students do not feel confident about their next steps and nearly a third of state school teachers say they don’t have enough funding to deliver good quality careers education, according to a new report from the Sutton Trust. The report, Paving the Way, examines the careers education landscape across schools in England.

Previous research by the Sutton Trust in 2014 highlighted a postcode lottery of careers advice across the country. Since then, the government has set targets for schools, built on the Gatsby benchmarks for good careers guidance, and established the Careers and Enterprise Company. This latest report finds that while progress has been made, there is still variation across schools, with the research identifying gaps between state schools with more and less deprived intakes, and between state and private schools. 

As part of the research 3140 secondary school teachers were surveyed via the Teacher Tapp app in October 2021, and the following month YouGov surveyed 1083 pupils aged 11-18. Teachers and pupils were asked about the careers activities on offer at their school, including sessions with careers advisers, employer talks and trips to careers fairs. The most common careers activities reported as taking place by senior leaders in English state schools included sessions with a careers adviser (85 per cent), careers fairs or events (84 per cent), and links to possible careers within curriculum lessons (80 per cent). However, 36 per cent of students said that they had not taken part in any of the activities listed, with state school pupils more likely to say this compared to those in private schools (38 per cent vs 23 per cent). Meanwhile nearly half (46 per cent) of Year 13 pupils said they have received a ‘large amount’ of information on university routes during their education, compared to just 10 per cent who said the same for apprenticeships.  Around a third (36 per cent) of secondary school students said they do not feel confident in their next steps in education and training, with just over half (56 per cent) feeling confident

The report also examined barriers to offering high quality careers provision across schools. Almost a third (32 per cent) of teachers in state schools reported they don’t have enough funding to deliver good quality careers education and guidance, compared to just 6 per cent in private schools. Around half (51 per cent) of teachers in state schools think there isn’t enough staff time to do so, versus just over a third (34 per cent) in private schools. 75 per cent of teachers in state schools think the pandemic has negatively impacted their school’s ability to deliver careers education and guidance, while 59 per cent of teachers in private schools felt the same.

In the report the Sutton Trust set out their recommendations to improve careers provision, including that the government should develop a new national strategy on careers education that would sit primarily in the Department for Education, but with ‘strong cross-departmental links’. They suggest at the centre of this strategy should be a core ‘careers structure’ outlining a minimum offer for careers provision in all schools. They argue that as part of this offer all schools should have a Careers Leader; be part of a Careers Hub, and have access to a professional careers adviser for their students. Other recommendations include students receiving more information on apprenticeship options and that all pupils should have access to work experience between the ages of 14 and 16.

Commenting on the report James Turner, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, said: ‘All young people – whatever school they go to and wherever they live in the country – must have access to high-quality support to help them in their journeys through education and work. As the government looks to make further changes to the qualifications and funding landscape, it is more important than ever that young people have the information, advice and guidance that they need to feel confident in their next steps.’

Also speaking about the report Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘The main reason that there is variation in careers advice is that the government dismantled the national provision about a decade ago and transferred the responsibility to schools while also squeezing their funding. Since then it has endeavoured to make up for lost ground with only partial success. Careers advice is a specialist service which requires professionals who are trained experts in the field and can provide impartial guidance on the full range of routes that are available to young people.’

Mr Barton also had the following comment about one of the report’s recommendations: ‘Regarding the recommendation that all pupils have access to work experience between the ages of 14 and 16, identifying and sourcing work experience placements for 17 and 18 year olds can be very challenging, let alone for 14 to 16 year olds. While the principle is a good one, it is difficult to see how this would work in reality. Indeed, one of the main difficulties in delivering the government’s new T-level qualifications at scale is how to source the extensive industry placements which form part of these courses.’

Full report: https://tinyurl.com/a4fzncd4