Information for Schools and Colleges

Compass and Compass + are tools that allow you to benchmark, manage, track and report on your school's careers provision at individual student level. 

Find out more about Compass & Compass +

• Career Map allows you to find apprenticeships, courses, graduate programmes and much more to give young people the kick start they need to thrive in an industry of their choice. 
• Success at School is a national careers website for students aged 13-19. Their aim is to help young people make informed decisions about their future. 
• Start Profile allows young people to explore the world of work, make their study choices, Write a CV and prepare for interviews. You can also search and apply for apprenticeships, training courses and work experience.
• Career Pilot offers expert careers information and tools for 11-19 year olds, all in one place.
• Youth Employment UK is an independent, not for profit social enterprise founded in 2012 to tackle youth unemployment.

(Other career platforms are available)

Career Development Institute (CDI) Framework

This new framework builds upon the former CDI framework which started at KS2 and brings career related learning (CRL) into an all age framework from the age of 4 years upwards.

Find out more about new CDI Framework

Ofsted Guidance

Ofsted have recently clarified how it will report on careers guidance. Please read the update about the expectations for secondary schools in relation to careers information, advice and guidance, the ‘Baker Clause’ and how this will be reflected in inspection reports (paragraphs 256-259).

Careers Guidance and Access for Education and Training Providers

Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth

This white paper sets out reforms to post-16 technical education and training to support people to develop the skills needed to get good jobs and improve national productivity.

Skills for Jobs - White Paper

• South East Skills collect Labour Market Information to help inform their activities and interventions and to aid monitoring of their Skills Strategy 
• The Careers and Enterprise Company website provides resources on  Gatsby Benchmark 2 - Learning from Labour Market Information 
• The Careerometer from Careermap is a useful tool which enables you to compare working hours and average wages of job roles in the UK that you’re interested in pursuing. 
• Parental Guidance is a careers information and guidance portal that offers useful Labour Market information.

Sharon Murphy - Brompton Academy, Careers Lead

"Working with Mel and the Network has not only provided us with a brilliant team of people that we can call on for advice and guidance, but we also receive amazing resources that we can pass on to our students.  It has given us the opportunity to team up with our Enterprise Adviser, where we work together to educate our students about the future workforce and what companies are looking for.  Schools need to have a link with the outside world and CEC definitely provides us with that."

Katy Tibbles - Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager - Turner Schools

"Folkestone Academy first joined the EAN back in 2016 when it was in the early days of being established in the county. With a basic career programme already in place, we were keen to develop relationships with any organisation that could support our journey to providing excellent careers education. Over the years, our Enterprise Coordinator has worked in partnership with the school to develop our offer and help make connections with local businesses. He has provided guidance on all aspects of the Gatsby Benchmarks and we are now successfully achieving 100% in all areas. As well as linking with employers, the network has provided opportunities to share best practice amongst schools and is an ongoing pillar of support."

Linda Bourne - Careers Link Governor, Rainham Mark Grammar School

"I have been a Careers Link Governor for two years. Initially I underwent training to gain knowledge and understanding of the Gatsby Benchmarks and attended the career related events organised by the school. Since then, I have regularly met with the school’s careers leader to assess the provision offered within the curriculum and to determine where any gaps might exist with an aim to promote the careers profile across all subjects. We use the Compass self-evaluation tool to identify strengths and weaknesses and then discuss where and how improvements can be made. I have attended virtual meetings with the enterprise coordinator, school’s careers leader and the Enterprise Link. These have provided me with valuable information regarding a variety of resources on offer for students and has given me insights into the world of work including the opportunities that employers can offer and the skills and attributes that students need to develop. Having a Careers Link Governor allows the careers department to celebrate what has worked well, identify where improvements need to be made and set out a vision for the future. I can help ensure that the careers department is well resourced and that the school is finding ways to imbed careers into the schemes of work of every department. I ask the questions expected of a critical friend which I hope might give rise to ideas or issues not previously thought of. I write a brief report to the LGB so that our discussions are shared with every member of the board who may in turn provide me with questions to take back to the school’s careers leader. Where possible, this also allows governors to offer meaningful work experience that the school can draw upon."

Carol Coleman, Dover Christ Church Academy - Careers Link Governor

"Obviously, the principal role of the Careers Link Governor is to ensure that the Gatsby Benchmarks are implemented across the school. I am trying to support the Careers link lead in any way I can and being someone with many outside interests I can hopefully identify contacts not normally considered available to the school. Recently this has been working with the lead and the district council in arranging an online careers period at which four local major employers participated. The school has initiated a partnership with Think Forwards to mentor those most likely to leave the schools as NEETs if not helped earlier in their education. Obviously the current COVID situation will make work experience and enrichment difficult until restrictions are lifted but I am sure the school will take every available opportunity it can whether that be online or in person."

Sara Swanton - Careers Manager, Weald of Kent Grammar School

"I have been the Careers Lead at Weald of Kent Grammar School for several years. We have a well-established Careers Programme and our links with the Careers and Enterprise Company have definitely helped develop this. Our EC has helped enormously providing links to employers, particularly in relation to Skills Fest our collaborative careers event in West Kent. Our EA has provided help in developing our careers strategy and supporting the school and our trustees to improve the careers provision for our students."

Gillian Buisson - Careers Link Governor, Grange Park School

"I have been a governor for two years as part of the Teaching and Learning Committee at a special school for children with Autism Spectrum Condition. As part of this role I have focused on particular subject areas for monitoring purposes such as Humanities. For the last year I have been Careers Link Governor. The Kent & Medway Enterprise Adviser Network provided induction training and Ofsted Guidance Training for Careers Link Governors which proved useful in deepening understanding of the Gatsby Benchmarks and the role of a Careers Link Governor to monitor the quality and frequency of careers interactions, helping to boost the focus on careers within the whole school and see the delivery of the school’s careers programme.

As a Careers Link Governor, I work primarily with the Careers Leader in school, we use Compass+ which helps particularly planning and measuring the delivery of the school’s careers plan. A key part of my role is to ask lots of questions and be a ‘critical friend’ to ensure that our careers programme is embedded fully and is of the highest quality meeting all the Gatsby Benchmarks. I am part of the team aiming to make improvements wherever possible to ensure that all pupils are supported to reach their individual career potential."