Why a Bill is needed to extend the duty to provide careers guidance in schools

On 16 June 2021, Mark Jenkinson (@MarkJenkinsonMP) presented the Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill, which is a Private Member’s Bill to extend the duty for schools to provide careers guidance.

In his announcement of the Bill, the MP for Workington said it would extend the current requirements to provide careers guidance to include children in year 7, and implement the proposals in the Skills for Jobs White Paper, which the Government published in January 2021

I have decided to to focus my Bill on providing careers advice for young children.

Watch my video to find out more!#SkillsforJobs #BuildBackBetter@educationgovuk pic.twitter.com/hQVOsg3EEl

— Mark Jenkinson MP (@markjenkinsonmp) June 17, 2021

What would the Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill change?

The Bill would require all state-funded schools in England to provide careers guidance for children for the entirety of their secondary education. Currently, guidance does not have to be provided until year 8.

The Bill would place this duty on academies as well as local authority schools. Academies are not bound by the existing legislation, although many are required by their funding agreements to provide careers guidance in line with the requirements of local authority schools.

The Bill would have effect in England only. The explanatory notes set out the intention that the changes would come into effect on 1 September 2022.

Second Reading of the Bill took place in the House of Commons on 10 September 2021. Both the Government and Opposition indicated their support for the Bill.

Recent efforts to improve careers education

In recent years, the Government has tried to improve the provision of careers education, most notably in the 2018-20 Careers Strategy and requirements on Ofsted to comment on careers guidance in its inspection reports. The Skills for Jobs White Paper set out plans to expand careers guidance, and more strictly enforce the requirements to give pupils information about technical education routes and apprenticeships.

The Library briefing, Careers guidance in schools, colleges and universities (England), provides wider information on the careers guidance system in England and its performance:

This House of Commons Library briefing paper looks at the requirements on schools, colleges and universities in England to provide careers guidance, the quality of the advice provided, and also the organisations working to provide careers advice.

Since September 2013, local authority-maintained schools in England have been under a duty to provide impartial careers guidance to pupils from years 8 to 13 (ages 12-18). The Department for Education has published statutory guidance (most recently updated in October 2018) for maintained schools on their duty to provide careers guidance.

Many academies and free schools are subject to the duties relating to careers guidance through their funding agreements, including those which opened from September 2012 onwards and those which have moved to an updated funding agreement. Academies without the requirement are encouraged to follow the guidance as a statement of good practice. 

All further education (FE) colleges and sixth form colleges have been required to secure access to independent careers guidance from September 2013. This requirement is part of FE college and sixth form college funding agreements. The Department for Education has published guidance for FE and sixth form colleges to draw on in fulfilling this duty. 

The quality of careers advice has been subject to frequent criticism, and recent governments have made several reforms, including the establishment of the National Careers Service and the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), aimed at improving the quality and range of careers advice on offer.

In 2019, the Local Government Association called upon the Government to “end the patchwork of careers activity in England”, and hand funding and control of employment schemes to local authorities (local authorities being responsible for providing a careers service prior to the Education Act 2011).

Also in 2019, the Augar Review on post-18 education stated that it believed secondary schools “careers support [to be] still underfunded” and recommended that every secondary school become part of a Careers Hub. Careers Hubs, run by the Careers and Enterprise Company, work with schools and colleges to train staff to improve careers advice and provide opportunities to engage with employers.

Higher education institutions are not required to provide careers advice, but nonetheless this service is offered across institutions.

DfE Careers Strategy and Skills for Jobs white paper

The Department for Education’s Careers Strategy was published in December 2017.  It set out a series of measures to be implemented between 2018 and 2020 to improve careers guidance in England, including the introduction of new benchmarks for careers education, an investment fund for disadvantaged pupils, and a named Careers Leader in every school and college.

The Government’s ‘Skills for Jobs’ white paper on further education and skills, published in January 2021, included further plans to strengthen careers advice.

The Government has stated that it will consult on these changes.

Private Members’ Bills: At the start of each parliamentary year, all backbench MPs are invited to enter a ballot. The few MPs who are lucky in the draw can each bring in a Bill of their choosing. Mark Jenkinson drew the first position in the ballot held on 20 May 2021.