HEPA Blog: Including Careers and LMI in the Curriculum – A focus on Gatsby 2 and 4.
Part of our series of blogs from our Higher Education Progression Advisers.
In 2014, a report produced by the Gatsby Foundation, ‘The Good Career Guidance Report’, set out eight benchmarks that schools could use as a framework for improving their careers provision.
The eight benchmarks for schools and colleges are:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from Career and Labour Market Information (LMI)
- Addressing the needs of each student
- Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
The aim is that all schools and colleges achieve the eight benchmarks by 2020 (ideally with 100% coverage).
If each school and college has a stable careers programme backed by appropriate senior management, this makes the rest of the benchmarks easier to tackle. Few schools are stating that they have completely met this benchmark.
Some of the other benchmarks are proving more challenging than others to achieve including ‘Learning from Careers and Labour Market Information (LMI) – (Benchmark 2) and Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers – (Benchmark 4).
Learning from the Careers and Labour Market Information (BM2)
Headlines – All students and parents should have access to high quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities.
By the age of 14, all students should have accessed and used information about career paths and the labour market to inform their own career decisions.
They will need the support of an informed adviser to make the best use of available information.
Top tips – some easy wins to introduce LMI into school/college;
- Job research – investigate a variety of careers, salaries and duties.
- Comparing qualifications with earnings to promote aspirations.
- Use of alumni to investigate what pathways previous students have gone onto.
- Researching employers in the area – using visits and contacts from Enterprise Advisers.
- Use of Information from SCR Local Enterprise Partnership/Job Centre Plus.
- Any events such as mock interviews could be prepared for/debriefed and evidence collated.
Linking Curriculum Learning to Careers (BM4)
Headlines – All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers.
Each school or college should recognise that the reach of subject teaching is far reaching than what can be achieved through a few careers education sessions.
Schools should adopt a strategic approach to linking curriculum learning to careers and develops a coherent rationale for embedding careers in subject learning.
Top tips – some easy wins to introduce careers in the curriculum;
- Identify some enthusiastic teachers to work as curriculum champions.
- Use national careers week (in March) as a springboard to develop some materials and engage departments in school/college.
- Develop a monthly schedule of involvement – this can be as basic as a display for each department. This will be more effective if SLT endorse this.
- Use alumni to track different subjects/sectors that ex-students have studied/started a career in (link in with BM2)
- Use a subject lesson to explore different skills and the range of careers that a particular subject can lead to.
- When students are choosing their GCSE options promote different careers that use the variety of subjects.
Remember to record any evidence to inform your Compass self-evaluation. It’s also important to see how the benchmarks can inform and support each other – rather than view them as separate parts of a list.
HeppSY+ is here to help!
Your link Higher Education Progression Adviser (HEPA) can advise on the Gatsby Benchmarks and deliver Careers in the Curriculum sessions – we have delivered a wide range of these sessions to date in subjects such as English, Maths, MFL, Computer Science, History, Geography and Design Technology.
Please get in touch with your HEPA or School/College Programme Manager to find out more about how we can help you.
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/schools-and-colleges – Careers and Enterprise Company link
https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/research/careers-curriculum-what-works – link to a Careers and Enterprise Company publication about maximising careers in the curriculum opportunities.
https://nationalcareersweek.com/ncw2018-careers-ed-booklet/ NCW 2019 is taking place between 4-8 March. Find resources here to help make every week a careers week in your school/college.
