Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby benchmarks ensure that every young person aged 13 and over will receive exposure to local employers in order to gain a greater understanding of the world of work.
The benchmarks also offer individualised information, advice and guidance around a range of post-16 education offers, from sixth form to technical college to university and apprenticeships, enabling young people to make informed choices about their future.
The eight benchmarks set out in the Good Career Guidance report serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government's Careers Strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges.
1. A Stable Careers Programme
Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by students, parents, teachers and employers.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named Careers Lead to be added to school website. |
Awareness of responsibility for careers promoted with parents, students and stakeholders. |
Careers Lead Admin Officer responsible for Website |
School careers section to have a complete review with proposed additions: labour market information and direct links to Unifrog. |
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Set up an evaluation process for both staff and students. |
Identify gaps within in staff and students career related learning from years 7-13 |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team |
Evaluation process to be develop and audit of gaps in knowledge to be completed. |
|
Set up a link careers representative for each department. |
Incorporation of careers within subjects. |
Careers Lead Heads of Department |
Nomination of department careers link representative to co-ordinate the delivery of careers within the department, distribute careers resources as directed by the Careers Lead. HOD to undergo Compass Plus training to add career-related activities for their department. |
| Careers training for new teaching staff. |
Developing an understanding of embedding careers in the curriculum. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team |
Careers session added to staff induction process to include training on Unifrog, the school’s careers platform. |
2. Learning from Careers and Labour Market Information
Every student, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
CPD sessions within subject departments. |
To incorporate Labour market information within lessons. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Heads of Department and Subject Leaders |
Continued use of Unifrog careers resources in lessons and PSHE. |
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Embedding of labour market widgets and links in school website. |
To provide access to LMI for staff, parents and stakeholders. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Admin Officer responsible for website
|
Identification of local LMI to update parents via school newsletter, information days/open sessions, Careers Day |
To view the Labour Market Profile for Lambeth, please click here.
3. Addressing the Needs of Each Student
Students have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each student. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
CPD sessions with staff to tackle stereotyping and to raise aspirations. |
To challenge stereotypical thinking. |
Whole school |
Displays around to school to challenge stereotypical thinking, promote STEM Displays of alternate pathways into careers such as apprenticeships/degree apprenticeships. |
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Consideration of a careers report to be attached to annual school report to demonstrate careers learning. |
To provide the student with a copy of their career-related learning, to inform parents and carers. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Heads of Department |
Data to be extracted from Compass + and incorporated with annual school reports. |
4. Linking Curriculum to Careers
All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should highlight the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Careers audit by subject careers link sent to Head of Department. |
To support careers provision within subjects and the curriculum. |
Careers Lead Head of Department Subject Careers Link |
Updating of Compass Plus with departmental careers information. |
|
Careers Lead attendance to department meeting to add careers to the agenda. |
To ensure the embedding of careers within the curriculum. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Heads of Department |
Careers Lead to report to SLT. SLT line mangers to support the embedding of careers within the curriculum. |
|
Displays within departments linking careers to curriculum. |
To enable students to link subjects to career intentions. |
Careers Lead Heads of Department Subject Careers Link |
Resources to be provided, careers posters, external providers i.e., employers, apprenticeship service invited to talk/present in lessons and assemblies. |
| Promotion of careers on staff SharePoint. |
To keep staff and students informed of career related opportunities. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team |
Resources to be added to SharePoint by Careers Lead, Subject Careers Link. |
5. Encounters with Employers and Employees
Every student should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Add employer focused events to the school calendar. |
To enable students to access face to face employer information. |
Careers Lead Governors Senior Leadership Team |
Careers Day, targeted subject events, Medical Day, Law Day. |
| Employer-led activities and workshops. |
Students to gain an understanding of the links between careers and learning. |
Face-to-face sessions with employers, interview workshops, CV writing sessions, mentoring. |
6. Experience of Workplaces
Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visits to businesses. |
Linking of subject-related learning to workplaces to support students understanding of careers. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Heads of Department Subject Teachers |
Students’ activities to identify prior and post visit the links between careers and business. |
| Virtual engagement with businesses. | Enable students to observe a real-life workplace. | Whole school |
Careers Lead, subject teachers and Heads of Department to develop relationships with employers to create engagement opportunities. |
7. Encounters with FE and HE
All studentsshould understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set up links to other organisations. | Support the Baker Clause and promote a broad range of providers of learning opportunities. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Heads of Department
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Promotion of participation programmes for further education, universities, apprenticeships, FE colleges. |
8. Personal Guidance
Every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal (a member of school staff) or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made. They should be expected for all students but should be timed to meet their individual needs.
Our Strategy
| ACTIVITY | LEARNING AIMS & OBJECTIVES | ROLES & RESPONSIBILITY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
|
One-to-one interview at appropriate timing, in particular during the students’ significant study and careers choices. |
To enable students to make informed decisions armed with appropriate information related to careers aspirations and pathways. |
Careers Lead Senior Leadership Team Independent Careers Adviser |
Careers Adviser to be present at parents’ evenings, results days. |
| Support for SEND and vulnerable students. |
To manage career expectations, raise aspirations and meet individual needs. |
Careers Lead SLT SENDCo Independent Careers Adviser |
Careers Adviser to attend meetings arranged with key workers and parents to maximise the impact of the students’ careers meeting. |