The government’s vision is to improve social mobility so that no-one is prevented from fulfilling their potential. As part of their Strategy for Social Mobility, new destination measures are being introduced for Key Stage 4 and 5 students which will focus on their progress after leaving school, college or a training provider.

The new destination measures will ensure that all students:

• Achieve qualifications which provide them with the best opportunities for their future

• Receive the help, support and advice necessary to enable them to make choices about their next steps in education, training and/or employment and make successful transitions.

This September, secondary schools in the UK will have a new legal duty to provide impartial careers guidance to their students. With that time fast approaching, we look at some of the issues and challenges that are facing schools.

Preparing to deliver new duty

Schools have had details of their new responsibility from the Education Act 2011 and the statutory guidance issued by the Department for Education (DfE) earlier this year. The government expects schools to put arrangements in place this academic year for delivering careers guidance in September. It is essential for schools to prepare and plan their new duty, but what does this involve?

The new statutory guidance for schools was published on 26th March 2012 and provides guidance on delivering impartial careers guidance in schools. With this new responsibility on headteachers and school staff, we take a look at the implications.

New duty for schools

The Education Act 2011, established late last year, places schools under a new duty in terms of providing careers guidance for pupils in years 9-11 in England. Schools will be expected to provide ‘independent and impartial careers guidance’ for their students from September 2012. The statutory guidance for providing careers guidance has been published with a recent statement from John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning: “The publication of this new statutory guidance marks an important step as schools prepare for the introduction of the new legal duty to secure independent careers guidance from September. Schools will be expected to work in partnership with external and expert careers guidance providers, as appropriate, to ensure pupils get good advice on the full range of post-16 options. The statutory guidance makes it clear that face-to-face careers guidance can benefit pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to make informed choices and successful transitions.”