Schools and Colleges Issued with Latest Guidelines on Careers Education and Guidance
Over 12,500 senior school and college staff have received a briefing clarifying the arrangements for careers education and guidance (CEG).
In a collaborative effort, two of the leading professional organisations in careers education and guidance, the Association for Careers Education and Guidance (ACEG) and the Institute of Career Guidance (ICG), have worked with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) to issue good practice guidance to all ASCL members including head teachers, deputy heads, principals, vice-principals, assistant heads, assistant principals and others in England and Wales.
The publication outlines the statutory framework for the responsibilities now carried by schools and colleges and provides the most up-to-date guidelines for staff regarding the management of CEG provision.
ASCL General Secretary Dr John Dunford said: "Careers education and guidance plays a pivotal role in helping students make appropriate choices starting as young as age 11 through further and higher education. However, with the publication of the 14-19 Implementation Plan and the Youth Matters paper, the national picture on careers education is changing substantially, particularly the role of Connexions. Some schools and colleges have been left wondering exactly what the new regulations are and how to provide the most effective careers education."
"We believe this guidance is extremely timely and we are grateful for the work of our partners within the sector in putting together such a clear summary document."
Careers education and guidance has underpinned s everal recent publications notably the ' 14-19 Education and Skills Implementation Plan', the White Paper 'Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work' and 'Youth Matters: Next Steps' which all identify good quality CEG as a high priority to enable young people to make successful transitions through learning and into employment.
In a joint statement ACEG President Kath Wright and ICG President Rachel Mulvey said: "Recent evaluations have shown that good quality careers education and guidance is patchy and that learners want more help with their choices. There is evidence that learners who receive good quality information and guidance achieve better and are less likely to drop out of learning or change course after they are 16."
School and college responsibilities outlined in the new briefings include schools providing a planned programme of careers education within the curriculum in years 7 to 11; that schools are also required to give careers advisers, now usually Connexions personal advisers (PAs) in England, access to students to provide careers guidance and that schools and colleges should work with the statutory 'careers service' provider, to provide students with up-to-date information on all opportunities for learning and work through their own resource centre or library.
The Secretary of State for Education and Skills also has a statutory duty to provide a careers service for young people. | 
