Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges:

Careers Guidance in

Schools and Colleges:

A Guide to Best Practice and Commissioning

Independent Career Guidance Services

September 2021

The Career Development Institute (CDI) is committed

to making sure that everyone receives the highest

quality career guidance. That support begins in

schools and colleges, ensuring young people are

equipped to take successful next steps in education,

training or employment.



college leaders new to commissioning high quality,

independent careers support. This is the second



Guidance for schools and colleges published by the

Department for Education (the DfE) in July 2021.



careers education and guidance is critical to young

people’s futures” and recognises the value that





help schools and colleges commission independent

careers guidance for students”.

This guide provides practical information and

advice, including a step-by-step approach and useful

templates, to help schools and colleges secure

careers services that not only meet the statutory

requirements but also the professional standards

set by the CDI. The guide also places the provision

of individual careers guidance in the wider context

of a planned programme of careers education,

information, advice and guidance.

This commissioning guide is best used alongside

the CDI’s Career Development Framework of

recommended outcomes, developed to support

schools when planning careers programmes in

line with the Gatsby benchmarks. We also strongly

endorse the commissioning of services from



whether through external career guidance providers

or employed directly. We recommend using the

UK Register of Career Development Professionals,



providers and practitioners.

With the Covid-19 pandemic adding to the effects of

leaving the European Union, climate change and new

employment practices, providing high quality careers

support has rarely been so critical in helping young

people make choices about their future education,

training and employment. I hope that this guide,

along with our other frameworks and services,

enables you to establish the best career arrangements

for the young people you work with.

David Morgan

Chief Executive, Career Development Institute

The Career

Development Institute

(CDI) is committed

to making sure that

everyone receives the

highest quality career

guidance.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Foreword

Chief Executive, Career Development Institute



Introduction to the Guide

The Statutory Duty

Best Practice

Assuring Quality

The Career Development Institute

A Step-by-Step-Guide to Commissioning Careers Guidance

Sources of Further Information

Annex A – Template for identifying services the school, or college,

needs to commission

Annex B – Template for researching potential providers

Annex C – Join Us!

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Contents

Acknowledgement

This guide has been written and edited by David Andrews, formerly CDI Policy Associate and Honorary

Life Member of the CDI.

Introduction

to the Guide

In 2012 provision for the delivery of careers support

for young people underwent one of the most

profound changes in four decades. For almost forty

years schools and colleges had worked in partnership

with the local careers guidance service to provide

careers education, information, advice and guidance

to young people. The service was universally available

across England and free of charge to schools and

colleges. It was a national service, locally delivered

and funded by government.

The Education Act 2011 transferred responsibility

for careers guidance from local authorities to schools



been required to secure access to independent and

impartial careers guidance for their students, and in



colleges.

This guide has been published to assist schools and

colleges with meeting their responsibilities to put in

place arrangements that will best support students’

choices and transitions as they progress through

learning and into work.



subsequently revised in 2018 following the

publication of the DfE’s careers strategy, which placed

the duty to provide independent careers guidance

in the wider context of the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Benchmark 8 states that every student should

have the opportunity for guidance interviews with

a careers adviser, trained to level 6, whenever



This third edition has been produced following the



in July 2021. The updated guidance replaces, and

brings together into a single publication, the formerly

separate documents for schools and colleges. The

requirements to ensure that pupils and learners are

provided with independent careers guidance remain

in place and all maintained schools, academies,

further education colleges and sixth form colleges



carrying out their duty. The guidance sets out both

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

By following the step-by-step approach outlined

in this guide, schools and colleges can ensure they

meet government requirements and offer careers



their students.

1. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/



Updated to incorporate

the Department for

Education’s Statutory

Guidance for schools and

colleges published in

July 2021.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

The Statutory Duty

Schools

Maintained schools and Pupil Referral Units

(PRUs) have a statutory duty to ensure that all

registered pupils, from year 8 to year 13, are

provided with independent and impartial careers

guidance.



external to the school and ‘impartial’ as showing

no bias towards a particular institution, education,

training or work option. Governing bodies must

also ensure that the guidance provided includes

information on the full range of education and

training options, including apprenticeships and

technical education, and promotes the best interests

of the pupils to whom it is given. The DfE’s statutory

guidance goes on to say that personal careers

guidance does not have to be external – it can be

delivered by school staff, if trained

– but where it is

internal it must be supplemented by external sources

of support to ensure compliance with the legal duty.

These requirements also apply to academies and

free schools, through their funding agreements. The

Department for Education encourages academies

without the requirement in their agreement to

follow the guidance as a statement of good practice.

Although independent schools are not subject to the



made the provision of impartial careers guidance a

factor in determining compliance with regulatory

requirements and advises schools in the private



the DfE.

In its Skills for Jobs White Paper published in January

2021 the DfE stated its intention to lower the age

range for the duty on schools to provide independent



subject to legislation, this is likely to come into effect





introduced an additional requirement (commonly

referred to as ‘the Baker Clause’) on all schools and

academies to ensure that there are opportunities

for a range of education and training providers



purpose of informing them about T levels and other



apprenticeships.

2. This means that a school could choose to employ their own careers adviser to

deliver personal guidance. In such cases the CDI recommends employing only

careers advisers who are Registered Career Development Professionals as they



FE and Sixth Form Colleges

All FE and sixth form colleges in England are

required, through their funding contracts, to secure

access to independent and impartial careers guidance

for all learners up to and including the age of 18,

and 19-25 year-olds with an Education, Health and

Care Plan. Colleges also have a legal requirement to

provide all learners with a wide range of up-to-date

reference materials relating to careers education and

career opportunities. The DfE’s guidance goes on to

say that personal careers guidance does not have to

be external – it can be delivered by college staff, if

trained – but where it is internal it

must be supplemented by external sources of support

to ensure compliance with the requirement in the

funding agreements.

Other providers of post-16 education and training,

including apprenticeship providers and independent

learning providers, are encouraged to follow the

guidance as good practice.

Local authorities

Local authorities continue to have responsibility for

providing support for vulnerable and disadvantaged

students: this includes students with special



birthday and those 16-19 year-olds who are

not engaged in employment, education or training



National Careers Service



information and advice for young people through

its website, https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

telephone helpline and web chat service.

The Careers & Enterprise

Company has published

research on what works

in the provision of

personal guidance in

schools and colleges

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

The Careers & Enterprise Company

In 2018 the remit of The Careers & Enterprise

Company was extended to providing support to

schools and colleges for all eight Gatsby Benchmarks.

The Company published research on what works

in the provision of personal guidance in schools

and colleges and followed this up with a personal

guidance fund to support the development of

different models of delivering personal guidance.

Both the ‘What works?’ document and the evaluation

report on the funded projects can be downloaded

from the Company’s website.

https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/



https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/research/

our-research/personal-guidance-fund-evaluation/

The Gatsby benchmarks

International research, funded by The Gatsby





practice for careers guidance in schools:

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market

information





5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experiences of workplaces



8. Personal guidance.



http://www.goodcareerguidance.org.uk/the-

benchmarks. In 2018 a version of the benchmarks for

colleges was produced



With reference to Benchmark 8 the expectation is

that every student should have opportunities for

guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who

could be internal (a member of the school or college

staff) or external, provided that they are trained to an

appropriate level, whenever study or career choices



of training as being at least the full QCF Level 6, which



to the Institute’s Register of Career Development

Professionals.

In schools every student should have at least one

interview by the age of 16, and the opportunity for a

further interview by the age of 18. In colleges every

learner should have at least one interview by the end

of their study programme.





Best Practice





expectations of governors, school and college leaders

and careers leaders.

The guidance from the DfE is permissive in that it

allows schools and colleges to decide how best to



guidance. There is, however, a clear message that

the school’s or college’s provision of advice and

guidance should comprise a coherent programme of

activities that cover all eight Benchmarks and that

help young people to choose their pathways, improve

their life opportunities and contribute to a productive

and successful economy. Access to good quality,

independent and impartial personal career guidance

is seen as a key component of such support.

Career guidance has become more important than

ever as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which

has had an unprecedented impact on the economy,

education and the opportunities open to students.

Pupils in schools and learners in colleges all need

help to make choices and manage transitions: they

need good quality careers education, information

advice and guidance.



• comprehensive and up to date information on

the full range of options in education, training

and work, accompanied by information on the

progression opportunities and possible destinations

that follow from each of those options;

• timely and impartial advice and guidance;

• programmes of careers education that equip them

to understand their strengths and interests, to

make effective use of the information, advice and

guidance provided and to develop their career

management and employability skills.

As a result of the

Covid-19 pandemic

career guidance has

become more important

than ever

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

The CDI believes that schools and colleges

should have in place a co-ordinated programme

of careers support that includes the following

elements.

Careers information

Information on the full range of options available in

education, training and work, and the progression

opportunities that follow those options. Careers

information can be provided through a range



software, websites; social media and telephone

helplines; information talks from colleges,

universities, apprenticeship providers and

employers; visits to colleges, universities, training

providers and businesses.

[ref. Gatsby benchmarks 2 and 7]

Career advice and guidance

Advice helps students to interpret information

and apply it to their own situation; guidance is the



professionals to help students explore their options

and make informed choices that are best for them.

Advice and guidance are closely linked to related

activities such as tutoring, progress reviews,

academic monitoring and mentoring. Through these

activities school and college staff begin to help

students look at future options and identify when

students need to be referred to careers advisers for

more in-depth guidance. Advisers offering career



guidance theory and practice. Guidance from the

DfE supports the CDI’s view that they should hold a



Registered Careers Professionals. They should also

be able to act impartially and this is a key principle

in the CDI’s Code of Ethics. A later section of this

guide provides detailed guidance on commissioning

independent career guidance services.

[ref. Gatsby benchmarks 3 and 8]

Careers education

Planned and progressive programmes of activities in

the curriculum which help students to understand

themselves, research the opportunities available,

make decisions and move successfully on to the

next stage. The CDI has published a new Career



skills, knowledge and attitudes that should form

the recommended outcomes of an effective careers



Guidance refers to the Framework and also

recognises that career learning can be provided as a

subject in its own right, alongside work embedded in

other subjects.



Framework

[ref. Gatsby benchmarks 1 and 4]

Advisers oﬀering career

guidance should be

professionally qualiﬁed

in guidance theory and

practice.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Eﬀective engagement with employers

‘The careers programme should include

opportunities to be inspired, informed and advised

by employers through talks and workplace visits.

Employers can also enhance programmes of careers

education through contributing to classroom-

based lessons, running CV workshops, conducting

mock interviews and supporting enterprise

activities, plus offering work experience and work



integrated into the programme of careers support

and complemented by access to impartial career

guidance.

[ref. Gatsby benchmarks 5 and 6]

Assuring quality

The CDI supports the three aspects of quality

assurance for careers support in schools and

colleges.

1. Professional qualiﬁcations for careers

advisers

As the UK-wide professional association for all

career development professionals, the CDI believes

that all advisers employed or contracted to provide

career guidance to young people should hold an



development and be registered on the UK Register of

Career Development Professionals, the public register

that can be searched through the home page of the

CDI’s website http://www.thecdi.net/Professional-

The pages that follow provide further information on



Development Professionals held by the CDI and the

other services available from the Institute.

2. Reviewing and evaluating the CEIAG

programme in the school or college

The CDI is a member of the Consortium Board

that oversees the national quality award for career

guidance in England, the Quality in Careers Standard.

The award, which is fully aligned to the Gatsby

Benchmarks, provides a framework for school or

college self-review and evaluation and offers a means

of externally assessing and accrediting careers

programmes. There are 11 licensed awarding bodies

for the standard. Information about the standard

and contact details for the 11 awarding bodes can be

found at http://www.qualityincareers.org.uk/

The DfE strongly recommends that all schools and

colleges should work towards achieving the Quality in

Careers Standard.

3. Quality assured providers of career

guidance

The quality standard for the guidance sector is

matrix

. The CDI recommends that only organisations

with matrix accreditation should be used. This is

in line with the requirements placed by the DfE

on providers of career guidance to adults through



not expect independent careers advisers working

as sole traders to gain matrix accreditation but

instead expects them to be on its Register of Career

Development Professionals.

http://matrixstandard.com

The CDI is a member

of the Consortium

Board that oversees the

national quality award

for career guidance in

England, the Quality in

Careers Standard.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Career

development

framework

How to have the career that you want

Career describes our journey through life, learning and work.

We need to actively develop our careers to make the best of

them. This process of career development takes skill as well

as knowledge and the right attitude. You will need to work

on these career development skills throughout your life.

The Career Development Institute has undertaken extensive research and

consulted with career development experts and practitioners to identify

the six career development skills that you need to have the career that

you want.

Work on your career development skills

Whether you are in education, in work, unemployed or involved in caring

or voluntary activity there will always be opportunities to work on your

career development skills.

Career development skills can be improved by taking courses, trying new

things, learning through doing, reading and engaging with the media

and by reﬂecting on what you do well (and not so well).

Try and talk about your career with as many people as possible and take

the opportunity to see a registered career professional when you can.

For a positive career

you need to...

Manage career

Manage your career

actively, make the most

of opportunities and

learn from setbacks.

Create opportunities

by being proactive

and building positive

relationships with others.

Grow throughout life

Grow throughout life by

learning and reﬂecting

on yourself, your

background, and your

strengths.

Balance life and work

Balance your life as

a worker and/or

entrepreneur with your

wellbeing, other interests

and your involvement with

your family and community.

Explore the full range

of possibilities open to

you and learn about

recruitment processes

and the culture of diﬀerent

workplaces.

Explore possibilities

See the big picture by

paying attention to how

the economy, politics

and society connect

with your own life and

career.

See the big picture

More than ever, it’s important

people manage their careers

through their working life. The

CDI framework gives a clear,

structured approach to help you

develop your career.”

Stephen Isherwood (CEO),

Institute of Student Employers

“

Career

development

framework

How to have the career that you want

Career describes our journey through life, learning and work.

We need to actively develop our careers to make the best of

them. This process of career development takes skill as well

as knowledge and the right attitude. You will need to work

on these career development skills throughout your life.

The Career Development Institute has undertaken extensive research and

consulted with career development experts and practitioners to identify

the six career development skills that you need to have the career that

you want.

Work on your career development skills

Whether you are in education, in work, unemployed or involved in caring

or voluntary activity there will always be opportunities to work on your

career development skills.

Career development skills can be improved by taking courses, trying new

things, learning through doing, reading and engaging with the media

and by reﬂecting on what you do well (and not so well).

Try and talk about your career with as many people as possible and take

the opportunity to see a registered career professional when you can.

For a positive career

you need to...

Manage career

Manage your career

actively, make the most

of opportunities and

learn from setbacks.

Create opportunities

by being proactive

and building positive

relationships with others.

Grow throughout life

Grow throughout life by

learning and reﬂecting

on yourself, your

background, and your

strengths.

Balance life and work

Balance your life as

a worker and/or

entrepreneur with your

wellbeing, other interests

and your involvement with

your family and community.

Explore the full range

of possibilities open to

you and learn about

recruitment processes

and the culture of diﬀerent

workplaces.

Explore possibilities

See the big picture by

paying attention to how

the economy, politics

and society connect

with your own life and

career.

See the big picture

More than ever, it’s important

people manage their careers

through their working life. The

CDI framework gives a clear,

structured approach to help you

develop your career.”

Stephen Isherwood (CEO),

Institute of Student Employers

“

The Career

Development Institute

If you care about being a careers professional -

join the Career Development Institute

The Career Development Institute (CDI) is the UK-

wide professional body for the career development



education and skills policy as it affects those with

whom career development practitioners work and a

clear purpose to improve and assure the quality and

availability of career development opportunities for

all throughout the UK.

We have a strong and growing membership of



– over 5000 - all of whom subscribe to a Code of

Ethics and are committed to the principles of CPD.

We manage the UK Register of Career Development

Professionals and produced the CDI Blueprint of

Learning Outcomes for Professional Roles in the

https://www.thecdi.net/

CDI-Blueprint-for-Professional-Roles

https://www.thecdi.net/write/Documents/2021-



We provide:

• A powerful brand supported by an comprehensive

website www.thecdi.net; social media (Twitter



quarterly magazine Career Matters and twice yearly



• A schedule of online and face-to-face events and

conferences based on the needs of members; free

webinars; digital bytes, costed expert training, a

CPD resources area and a monthly CPD newsletter;



Understanding the role of the Careers Adviser within



https://www.thecdi.net/write/Documents/CDI_119-





Communities of Practice:

https://www.thecdi.net/Community-of-Practice-for-

Career-Development-Professionals-

https://www.thecdi.net/Community-of-Practice-for-

Careers-Leaders

• A strong media presence with the CDI as the expert

voice 

conferences and commenting on policy;

• The UK Career Development Awards – sponsored

awards including Careers Adviser/Coach of the Year

and Careers Leader of the Year;

• ‘Careers in Careers’ job board, advertising current

vacancies in the sector.

For more information visit the website -

http://www.thecdi.net/Join-Us . You can apply online



support you in your role.

UK Register of Career Development

Professionals



as a means of assuring the quality of provision of

independent career guidance. It is seen as the sector’s



Registration requires the individual to hold a



or above. Many registrants also hold postgraduate

diplomas in career guidance and development and

some hold Masters degrees.



are:

• Diploma in Career Guidance

• Post Graduate Diploma in Career Guidance/

Career Development/Career Management/ Career

Education and Coaching/Career Development and



• Post Graduate Diploma in Career Education,

Information and Guidance in Higher Education

We have a strong and

growing membership

of individuals,

students and aﬃliate

organisations – over

5000 - all of whom

subscribe to a Code

of Ethics and are

committed to the

principles of CPD.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

• QCF Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and

Development





Units or HE Modules in Career Guidance Theory;



career and labour market information with clients





All registrants are currently practising and must keep

their skills, knowledge and understanding up to date

by undertaking a minimum of 25 hours Continuous

Professional Development per year. This is planned,



the CDI website and monitored as part of the CDI’s

ongoing commitment to maintain professional

standards across the sector.

A critical condition of registration is adherence to

the CDI Code of Ethics. This Code is detailed and

covers for example, adherence to professional

standards; impartiality; maintenance of professional

boundaries; updating skills and knowledge; accuracy

of information provision; working in an open and

transparent manner and in the best interests of

the client; promotion of equality and diversity and



where there is clear evidence of risk. As such it is the

cornerstone of the practice of a career development

professional.

By using careers advisers who are on the Register you

can be assured of the high quality of the independent

career guidance provided. They are entitled to use

the post nominal RCDP and a bespoke logo which can

be used to promote the quality of the independent

career guidance on offer in the schools and colleges in

which they work.

By using Careers

Advisers who are on

the Register you can

be assured of the

high quality of the

independent career

guidance provided.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

A Step-by-Step Guide to Commissioning

Careers Guidance

This section of the guide offers information and advice to schools and colleges on how to commission career

guidance services from external providers.



independent and impartial career guidance. In the past schools and colleges were used to having available just

one service for their locality; now they are free to purchase services from a range of providers operating in a

market that includes both established careers organisations and new providers that have emerged since 2012.

Whether schools, or colleges, decide to commission career guidance from a local authority, careers company or



Step 1:

Determine the school’s, or

college’s, policy decision to

commission independent career

guidance services

Step 4:

Review the current provision of

careers support, including career

guidance

Step 5:

Identify the services that need to

be commissioned

Step 8:

Research potential providers

Step 9:

Draw up a shortlist of providers,

invite bids and agree a contract

Step 2:

Decide whether to commission as

an individual school or college, or

as part of a multi-academy trust

(MAT) or other grouping

Step 3:

Identify a senior leader to

take responsibility for the

commissioning process

Step 6:

Conﬁrm the budget for career

guidance services

Step 7:

Identify possible providers

Step 10:

Monitor and keep under review the

services provided

The Statutory Guidance

makes it clear that

schools and colleges are

free to decide how best

to meet the requirement

to secure access for

students to independent

and impartial careers

guidance.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Step 1:

Determine the policy decision to

commission independent career guidance

services

The careers leader in the school or college, together

with the senior leader with overall responsibility for

careers, should study the guidance from the DfE and

brief the governing body or corporation. They should

then seek formal approval to commission career

guidance services. It will be helpful at this stage to

determine an indicative budget although the detail of



Step 2:

Decide whether to commission as an

individual school or college, or as part of a

MAT or other grouping



arrangements for commissioning career guidance

services for students or they may decide to do so

in partnership with other establishments. There is

a strong tradition of collaborative working among

secondary schools, and with colleges, in many

areas. Commissioning career guidance services as

a member of a MAT, consortium, partnership or

federation brings several advantages. Firstly, there

are economies of scale; secondly, the commissioning

process could be led by one senior leader working

on behalf of all the schools and colleges in the group;

thirdly, the arrangement enables careers advisers to

move across the different establishments at various

times during the year to meet particular demands

and to cover for any absences.

Step 3:

Identify a senior leader to take responsibility

for the commissioning process

If the school, or college, is planning to commission

services on its own, it will be important to identify

who will lead the commissioning process, taking

advice from the careers leader. Where schools and

colleges decide to collaborate to commission services,

the individual establishments will need to agree on

a senior leader who will lead the process on their

behalf and a mechanism for consulting with each of

the partners.

Step 4:

Review current provision

Before starting the process of identifying needs

and selecting an appropriate provider, schools and

colleges will need to take stock of their current

arrangements. This requires a review of what is

provided and some evaluation of how effectively it is

meeting the needs of all students.

The statutory arrangements place schools and

colleges at the centre of the process, proactively

determining what is needed, from whom, rather than

responding to a menu of pre-determined services.

The commissioning process, therefore, presents an

opportunity to look afresh at the existing support

offered to students and to take greater control over



the strengths of their current provision and any

improvements they wish to make, taking account of

feedback from the young people themselves.

Step 5:

Identify the services that need to be

commissioned

This stage involves looking at the total provision of

careers education, information, advice and guidance

that the school or college considers students should

have access to and determining which elements the

school or college itself will provide, what the local

authority continues to provide in terms of more

targeted support for vulnerable or disadvantaged

students, before then identifying what services the

school or college needs to purchase.



guidance they could provide in-house. They should

also clarify what support they will continue to receive

from the local authority, for certain groups of young

people.

Over the time that the new arrangements have been

in place, it has become apparent that local authorities

differ in how they interpret the requirement to



and colleges should ask their local authority to



support, and what services they can expect.

Schools and colleges

may choose to make

their own arrangements

for commissioning

careers guidance

services for students or

they may decide to do

so in partnership with

other establishments.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice



provision of advice and guidance they can make

available internally, and what access to targeted

support they will continue to have, they can then

determine what additional career guidance they need

to commission.

When schools and colleges begin to think about



service, the starting point is often one-to-one careers

guidance interviews. This is understandable as

this is the aspect of careers support that schools

and colleges often have neither the time nor the

professional expertise to provide. Individual guidance



although schools and colleges can also think

differently or more widely about the services needed.

Thinking differently about face-to-face guidance

interviews means looking afresh at who needs

guidance and when. Under the statutory duty, the

only priority groups are those that the school or

college decides.

Thinking more widely about the services needed

means looking at other activities for students

additional to careers interviews: these could include

groupwork sessions, drop-in surgeries and support

on results days, mentoring, coaching and support in

liaising with employers. It also means considering

what services should be provided for parents and for

the staff involved in careers education, information,

advice and guidance. For parents or carers, activities

could include information talks at options meetings

and access to careers advisers at consultation

evenings; for staff, services might include in-service

training for tutor teams and access to network

meetings for careers leaders.

A template for identifying the services that the

school or college wishes to commission and



A to this guide.

Individual institutions

are expected to ﬁnd

the money to purchase

careers guidance

services from within

their existing budgets.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Step 6:

Conﬁrm the budget for career guidance

services



additional funding to meet the new requirement.



money to purchase career guidance services from

within their existing budgets including, in the case of

schools, the pupil premium funding. Clearly, however,

any school or college will need to identify a budget

for services before entering into negotiations with

providers and the economies of scale that follow

when working in a group may help to secure better

value.

Step 7:

Identify possible providers



external career guidance service for state schools

was free of charge, but schools and colleges were



schools and colleges are free to use a provider of their

choosing. This is an evolving market and includes

a range of providers of careers guidance services,

including:

Local Authorities

All local authorities in England are required to

continue to provide targeted support and several

have also continued to offer a universal career



latter local authorities offer services only to schools

and colleges within their area, while others may sell

services to institutions in neighbouring areas.

Careers companies

Most of the careers companies that previously

provided services under commission to local

authorities are offering services to schools and

colleges. At the same time, new organisations,

including social enterprises established by groups

of careers advisers, have entered the marketplace.

Many of the careers companies are members of the

trade body for career guidance organisations, Careers

England https://www.careersengland.org.uk

Individual careers advisers

Many careers advisers who worked with schools

as part of local authorities or large companies are

now offering services to schools and colleges as sole

traders.

Education - Business Partnerships (EBPs)



schools and colleges on work experience and

enterprise activities, have recruited careers advisers

to offer schools and colleges integrated services for

career guidance and work-related learning.

FE and sixth form colleges and universities

Colleges have within their student services



universities have their own careers advisory services.

A few offer career guidance services to schools.

The Career Development Institute (CDI) holds a

be accessed and searched via its website,

https://www.thecdi.net/Professional-Register-.



work as part of partnerships, social enterprises or for

small or large organisations.

Step 8:

Research potential providers

Commissioning career guidance services is still

relatively new territory for most schools and

colleges. There are several options available and the

market for providers working with young people is

unregulated. In researching the possibilities schools

and colleges are advised to ask about the following

issues:

Range of services

This is the obvious place to start: to clarify the range

of services that the provider can offer and to check

the list against the services that the school or college

wishes to commission.

Many careers advisers

who worked with

schools as part of local

authorities or large

companies are now

oﬀering services to

schools and colleges as

sole traders.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Quality standards



individual or organisation is a reputable provider

of career guidance services. The recognised UK

quality standard for the guidance sector is the matrix

standard, http://matrixstandard.com.

If the provider is not matrix accredited, the school or

college should ask what alternative quality assurance

arrangements the provider uses. The matrix quality



website and provide a useful checklist to assess

potential providers.



and CPD

Another important question is whether the

individuals who would be providing career guidance



recognised Code of Ethics.



admission to the CDI’s UK Register of Career

Development Professionals are listed in an earlier

section of this guide. To join the Register individuals

are required to hold a relevant careers guidance







that is not recognised by the Register without three

additional QCF Level 6 units or HE modules:



• Career guidance theory

• Use of career and labour market information with

clients.

The CDI advises schools and colleges to check that



can demonstrate that they have achieved the three

additional units or HE modules above.

In addition to holding an appropriate initial



regular continuing professional development to

update their knowledge and skills. Careers advisers

on the Register must complete and record at least

25 hours of CPD annually. The worlds of education,

training and employment are constantly changing

and guidance practice is continually developing.



intends to keep up to date, so that the career

guidance offered to students remains relevant and



Impartiality



guidance provided to students must be impartial.

This means that the guidance offered is in the best

If the provider is not

matrix accredited, the

school or college should

ask what alternative

quality assurance

arrangements the

provider uses.

PICS

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

interests of the young person and does not favour any



to ask how the provider ensures impartiality. Being

a member of CDI requires the practitioner to work

towards an agreed Code of Ethics which includes

impartiality as a key requirement.

Experience of working with schools and colleges,

and with young people



the provider has experience of working not only

with schools and colleges but also with students of

different ages and across the whole ability range.

Local knowledge

Although students today choose to pursue

opportunities in education, training in work further

from home that previous generations, initial

destinations are usually within the local area. It is

important for careers advisers working with the

school or college to have up to date knowledge of the

local labour market and the education and training



colleges should ask providers how they will ensure

that careers advisers have access to this information.

This will be particularly important if the school or

college is considering commissioning services from

an organisation that has not previously operated

locally.

Referral and support

Even experienced careers advisers can be presented

with questions from students, or their parents,

that they have not encountered before and require



colleges should ask what arrangements the provider

has for supporting advisers in these situations,

particularly when considering working with a sole

trader.

Cover for absence

There will, inevitably, be occasions when careers

advisers are not available for work, including illness



should ask the provider what cover will be available

in such circumstances.

DBS checks

Careers advisers working in schools and colleges

are usually in situations where they are with young

people, often one-to-one, without an adult present.

It follows that schools and colleges should ask to

see documentary evidence that any careers adviser

who will be working in the school or college has







Public liability and professional indemnity

insurance

In the context of career guidance given to young

people by external providers, public liability

insurance provides cover for claims for damage or

injury caused by a careers adviser while working in

the school or college, and professional indemnity

insurance provides cover for claims for losses caused

as a result of the information or advice provided



insurance are combined into a single policy for



ask for evidence that the provider has adequate

insurance cover.

5. The CDI provides information on insurance for careers professionals -



Costs

Of course, having determined whether or not the

provider can supply the services needed, to the

quality required, the school or college needs to decide

whether it can afford them. Each provider will have

its own tariff of charges: schools and colleges will

need to negotiate the costs of what they wish to

commission.

Costs might be per interview or group session, or



others might breakdown delivery from preparation

time. Always be clear as well if the price includes any

follow up and agree what format and timescale any

reports will be provided in.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Even experienced

careers advisers

can be presented

with questions from

students, or their

parents, that they have

not encountered before

and require ongoing

supervision and support.

Step 9:

Draw up a shortlist of providers, invite bids

and agree a contract

Having researched potential providers, schools and

colleges should follow their usual procedures for

obtaining quotations, seeking tenders and awarding

contracts.

A template for researching providers can be

found as Annex B to this guide.

Step 10:

Monitor and keep under review the services

provided

Prior to the change in careers policy in 2012 only a

few schools evaluated their careers provision with

any degree of rigour. Gatsby Benchmark 1 highlights

the need for regular evaluation and collecting

feedback from students and parents. Any evaluation

should pay particular attention to elements



colleges are advised to monitor the contract they

agree with a provider, review it at least once a term

and evaluate the impact annually, before making

decisions about re-commissioning for the following

year.

Finally, we should not lose sight of the fact that the

main reason for commissioning career guidance

services is to ensure that young people receive

the best possible support for progression and the

transitions they face. Except in cases where the school

or college commissions career guidance services

from the local authority that is also providing the

targeted service, schools or colleges will be working

with at least two providers: the local authority, for

young people considered vulnerable, and another

provider, for the universal career guidance service.

It will be important for the school or college to

establish a means of monitoring which students

have been provided with guidance, by whom, so that

young people do not slip through the net and so that

individuals can be cross-referred where necessary.

Finally, we should not

lose sight of the fact

that the main reason for

commissioning careers

guidance services is

to ensure that young

people receive the best

possible support for

progression and the

transitions they face.

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Services for students

One-to-one guidance interviews

Groupwork sessions

Drop-in surgeries

Support on results days

Other

Notes

Which year groups? Numbers? When?

Which year groups? On what topics?

When?

Dates

Annex A:

This section of the guide provides a template for schools and colleges on how to

commission careers guidance services from external providers

Services for parents

Presentations at information evenings

Availability at consultation evenings

Other

Notes

Which year groups? Dates

Services for staﬀ

Careers information support

Support for careers education

Professional development

Notes

Publications. Advice on library

Resources. Curriculum advice. Training.

Co-ordination

CPD. Network meetings

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Services available

Quality standards e.g. matrix

Professional qualiﬁcations of careers advisers and professional development eg

• Diploma in Career Guidance

• Post Graduate Diploma in Career Guidance/Career Development/Career Management/ Career Education

and Coaching/Career Development and Coaching Studies

• Post Graduate Diploma in Career Education, Information and Guidance in Higher Education

• Qualiﬁcation in Career Development/Career Guidance/Career Guidance and Development

• QCF Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development

• S/NVQ Level 4 in Guidance/Advice and Guidance/LDSS plus the QCF Level 6 Units or HE Modules in Career

Guidance Theory; Reﬂect on and improve professional practice; Use career and labour market information

with clients

• Diploma in Career Guidance combined with the NVQ Level 4 in Guidance

Costs Notes

Annex B:

Template for researching potential providers

Name of provider:

Contact person:

Address:

Postcode:

Email: Tel:

Website:

Membership of the Career Development Institute (CDI) and Registration on the UK Register of

Career Development Professionals

Impartiality

Experience of working with schools, colleges and young people

Local knowledge

Referral and support

Cover for absence

DBS checks

Public liability and professional indemnity insurance

Other notes

Careers Guidance in Schools and Colleges: A Guide to Best Practice

Annex C

Join Us!



information, advice and guidance and are passionate

about providing high quality services to your

students and want to network with like-minded

people, now is a key time to be part of your

professional membership organisation – the Career

Development Institute.

Types of Membership and Prices

The membership fee is £105 for individuals and





to pay a one-off admin fee of £25.

If you would like to join the UK Register of Career

Development Professionals as a Registered

Professional Member this costs £160 and includes

your register fee of £55.



type of membership are on the website. Joining is

easy, you can:

• Complete the online membership form on the

website http://www.thecdi.net/Join-Us

• Download a membership form from the website

http://www.thecdi.net/Join-Us

• Complete a membership form at any CDI event

Bulk Membership



organisations and groups wishing to enrol 10 or more

members. This method of payment is particularly

popular with employers and groups of practitioners

because it means that employers and members can



memberships are purchased through a single invoice.

Methods of Payment

• Credit/debit card: we take card payments over the



• Direct debit - see website for details -

http://www.thecdi.net/Join-Us/-How-you-can-pay

• Cheque: made payable to the Career Development

Institute. Please write the name of the member

that the cheque covers on the reverse side, eg



application form to - Career Development Institute,











member clear as the reference.

Number of

Members

10-100

101 +

Bulk Membership

Discount

10%

25%

Now is a key time to be

part of your professional

membership

organisation –the

Career Development

Institute.

Join Us

The Career Development Institute

(CDI) is the UK-wide professional

membership body for the career

development sector. Our members

are careers advisers, careers leaders,

career coaches, career managers

and other professionals working in

the public, private, voluntary and

community sectors.

We have a key role to play in inﬂuencing

UK careers and skills policy and a

clear purpose to improve and assure

the quality and availability of career

development opportunities for all

throughout the UK.

Joining is easy

For full details of the member beneﬁts,

including joining the UK Register of

Career Development Professionals,

visit www.thecdi.net

Apply online: www.thecdi.net/apply

CDI 120

Ground Floor,

Copthall House,

1 New Road,

Stourbridge,

West Midlands

DY8 1PH

Tel: 01384 376464

Email: [email protected]