Robert Halfon to be quizzed by MPs on careers education

• Careers education, information, advice and guidance 
• Tuesday 14 March at 10:00, Committee Room 15          
• Watch live on parliamentlive.tv 

The Skills Minister Robert Halfon will be questioned by the Education Committee in the final session of its inquiry into Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG).

The cross-party Committee will ask about proposals to roll-out careers education in primary schools across England, after the Department for Education (DfE) announced £2.6 million to provide careers programmes at primaries in disadvantaged areas.

MPs will also enquire about the quality of careers education offered to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and about the support offered to schools’ SENCo’s to ensure those pupils receive careers education of the same quality as their peers.

Mr Halfon will be questioned on whether there should be stronger enforcement and evaluation of the eight Gatsby Benchmarks – a set of guidance for schools and colleges on how to provide quality CEIAG. The Committee has been told that only 12% of schools met the eight benchmarks in 2021/22.

The Minister, who has been a critic of the Careers & Enterprise Company, may be asked to comment on whether he plans to improve its performance. The body was created to help with setting up Careers Hubs and to support staff appointed in schools as Careers Leaders. He will also be asked to explain the role of the National Careers Service, after DfE’s mixed messages on whether the frontline service is aimed at children as well as adults. A 2021 study found only 10% of 18-19-year-olds had used it.

Under the Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Act, all state schools have had a legal duty to teach pupils from years 7-13 about careers since September 2022. The duty only previously applied to children from year 8 onwards at local authority-run schools. As of September, all further-education and sixth form colleges were also required to secure access to independent careers guidance as part of their funding agreements. 

Witnesses from 10:00     

• Robert Halfon MP, Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education