Hub Newsletter Education 19.01.2026

We hope you have had a good start to the year. We welcome Sam Baker, who has joined us as Operational Hub Lead and Lorraine Emmerton who joins us on 02/02 as our Bedfordshire Careers Consultant. Find out more about them in the term 2 kick off slide deck.

Huge shout out to everyone that took part in Peer to Peer reviews last week! Great collaboration by the 11 schools and special schools that took part – Abbeyfield School, Academy of Central Bedfordshire, Challney High School for Girls, Isebrook School, Lord Grey, Maplefields Academy, Sandy Secondary School, Sir Herbert Leon, The Duston School, The Gateway School and Wrenn School.

Thanks to those of you that joined us for our spring term kick off and Benchmark 2 & LMI CPD session. Slides available to download below, recording of spring term kick off HERE and BM2 & LMI recording HERE

48%

Career Impact System – Internal Leadership Review

We are now really close to over half of our schools completing their internal leadership review. 48% of schools and colleges across the region have already completed theirs – have you? The Internal Leadership Review, available on Compass and Compass+ looks inward at leadership, governance, and strategic impact – how careers education is embedded in the school/college culture and leadership priorities.

If you have completed your ILR, or are planning to and would like to book in for a Peer to Peer review – see available dates below!

Date Time Event 
20/0115.30Inclusive apprenticeships masterclass
03/02 – 04/02 All day Career Leader training, local cohort 
04/0212.30Provider Showcase (Apprenticeship Ambassadors, T-level ambassadors & Proactive Education, Northampton Saints Foundation)
05/0214.30Inclusion COP
05/0214.00North Northants CL Network Meeting
12/0212.30SMCH Careers Hub – Data & insights, learning from best practice
24/0214.00FE COP
02/03Spring compass evaluations begin
05/0315:30Inclusion COP
09/0315:30BM5 & BM6 – how to engage employers
11/0312:00West Northants CL Network Meeting
12/0309:30 – 15:00Peer to Peer review – spaces available
17/0309:30 – 15:00Peer to Peer review – spaces available
17/0315:30Equalex – what works
23/0309:30 – 15:00Peer to Peer review – fully booked
25/0315:30FSQ for SEND

Compass Live Webinars

Resources

National

South Midlands

Opportunities

NAW webinar with Morgan Sindall

Date: 12TH February 2026

⏰ Time: 11am – 12pm

📍 Location: Online – free registration via the QR code on the attached flyer or click  this link NAW 2026 at Morgan Sindall Group Virtual Webinar Session on Thursday 12th February @ 11am – Fill in form

During this session they will:

•             Learn about the different apprenticeship programs/offer within Morgan Sindall Group

•             Gain an insight from current apprentices and T level Students

•             Get Hints and Tips from our HR Partner

Opportunity to join the 4YP careers team for an hour of discussion, reflection, networking and information as we gather online to improve our shared knowledge and our practice. Wednesday 11th February at 3.30pm. 💡 This term’s topic: Exploring career guidance strategies for supporting with special educational needs in mainstream settings. All Level 6 or trainee Level 6 Career Advisers and Coaches working with young people across our area welcome. Please RSVP info@4ypuk.com at your earliest convenience and we will send all participants a Teams link to join.

Amazing apprenticeships upcoming webinars – opportunity for parents and students to hear directly about amazing apprenticeship programmes and get hints and tips on applying https://www.amazingapprenticeships.com/workshops-webinars/

STEM Opportunities update – please share with STEM lead and any other relevant staff

STEM Learning’s 2026 placements programme is open. Next summer, eligible Year 12 or equivalent students can participate in a hands-on UK workplace experience. Students benefit from a bursary, and STEM Learning takes care of all the logistics, from securing placements to providing resources and support – so you can focus on encouraging participation. For further details, visit STEM Learning’s website or contact the programme team directly via students@stem.org.uk.

STEM Learning’s Spring mentoring now ready for sign ups a chance for your students to join STEM Learning’s high-impact mentoring programme launching in February. It’s open to young people aged 13–19, completely free, simple to promote, and fully supported throughout. Discover more here or contact students@stem.org.uk to see how to get your students involved.

Winter virtual national Professional careers forum 27/01/26 15.30 – 16.30 Hosted by Julie Poppleton, Director of careers at Terrance Chase Academy. For a meeting link email J.Poppleton@chaseterraceacademy.co.uk Guest speakers include Emma Bridge IDP, Katherine Jennick, – Whats My Strength, Romario Ellis – The Outer Circle, and Matthew Williams – Futures for all.

ERIC’s Netflix-style on-demand library of creative career talksFor National Apprenticeship Week & National Careers Week, ERIC is centralising talks designed for schools, colleges and universities to help students aged 14–21 explore creative career pathways.

👉 Library launching Monday 9 February to kick off National Apprenticeship Week
👉 More talks dropping Monday 2 March for National Careers Week
👉 The library will be available all year round, with new talks added regularly
👉 Register your school, college or university now to get access and launch-day updates

Link to further details HERE

Website updates

Hub Newsletter Education 08/12/25

Phew – what a term it’s been with the implementation of the refreshed Gatsby Benchmarks, the updated statutory guidance and the updated Compass evaluation too!

Thank you to all of you that joined us last week for our first online Modern Work Experience Showcase 03.12.2025. The recording and slides are available on the newly updated HUB CPD & Masterclasses area our our website HERE along with recording and slides from our Benchmark 1: Frameworks and Tools 27.11.2025 session, CPD session, SMCH Twilight Webinar: Careers in Radiotherapy 18.11.2025, Mid Term 1 Kick Off 05.11.2025, and How to use Inset Days to Drive Careers 14.10.2025

We also hosted our first Training Provider Showcase on 26.11.2025 and were joined by Starting Off, Young Enterprise and SSG. Recording will be available soon & slides are available to download below.

Wishing you and your families a happy ‘careersmas’ when it comes and we look forward to continuing to support you through 2026 and beyond!

53%

The New Compass Evaluation is Live!

The updated Compass evaluation is now available on both Compass and Compass+.

53% of schools and colleges across the region have already completed theirs – have you? Please make sure to complete your evaluation with the support of your Careers Consultant before the end of term. If you haven’t booked a meeting yet, reach out to them as soon as possible. This is your first chance to benchmark your current careers provision against the refreshed framework – don’t miss it!

To help you prepare, we’ve compiled: 
– A ‘How to Prepare’ guide for your Compass evaluation  – Compass Questions Preparation – Nov 2025
Link to CEC guidance for each type of Compass evaluation

46%

Career Impact System – Internal Leadership Review

46% of schools and colleges across the region have already completed theirs – have you? The Internal Leadership Review, available on Compass and Compass+ looks inward at leadership, governance, and strategic impact – how careers education is embedded in the school/college culture and leadership priorities.


Save the date – Tuesday 12th May 2026, 5:30pm – 7pm – online live apprenticeship and T-level event showcasing opportunities across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes – working in partnership with Amazing Apprenticeships

Date Time Event 
15/12/25 12.30 CPD Session Benchmark 7 
12/01/26 15.00 Term 2 Kick Off 
13/01 – 15/01 All day  Peer to Peer Reviews 
14/01/26 15.30 CPD Session Benchmark 2 
20/01/2615.30Inclusive Apprenticeships Masterclass
03/02 – 04/02 All day Career Leader training, local cohort 
12/02/2512.30Benchmark 5 and 6: How to engage employers

For all upcoming dates please view our hub calendar.


New ATE Resources for Teachers and Careers Leaders 

Amazing Apprenticeships is working in partnership with The Careers & Enterprise Company to launch an exciting new suite of digital, adaptable Apprenticeships & Technical Education (ATE) resources for schools and colleges.

Available now – designed for anyone to be able to pick up and use – careers leaders, teachers employers. The resource decks include delivery notes, presentation script and animation.

Amazing Apprenticeships What is technical education FAQs

Coming soon

  • Regionalised slide decks
  • Industry sector films
  • T Level assembly and animation

Further information available in the webinar recording Introducing New ATE Resources for Teachers and Careers Leaders Webinar – Amazing Apprenticeships

Bedford Borough LMI update for schools

You can access the most up-to-date LMI shared by Bedford Borough Council for Q2 2025 using the slides linked here – Bedford Borough LMI Q2 2025

MYPATH short video – Who’s involved in a pantomime? in collaboration with Theatrecraft 

MYPATH has created a short video called Who’s involved in a pantomime? in collaboration with Theatrecraft in Central London, which is now live on our YouTube channel. It is completely free for schools to use and is ideal to show in class or assembly before any school trip to a pantomime.

The video:

  • Introduces the key on-stage roles (actors, dancers, etc.)
  • Highlights the off-stage roles that make the show possible (directors, set designers, technicians, front of house and more)
  • Helps children see the range of jobs and skills involved in putting on a performance

You can watch it here: Who’s Involved In A Pantomime?

Ofsted inspection framework

The Ofsted inspection framework has been updated. The CEC has developed a guide to support educators and Careers Leaders with understanding the key changes to inspecting careers education frpm November 2025

Ofsted – Education Inspection Framework Guide | CEC Resource Directory

Hub Newsletter Education 11/11/25

Thank you to all of you that joined us for our mid term kick off last week, download the slides below and watch the recording here.

Mid Term 1 Kick Off – 25_26

For Action

The new Compass evaluation is now live on Compass and Compass+. 

Over the past month, the South Midlands Careers Hub team has been reviewing the updated questions and working to ensure a consistent approach to self-evaluation across the South Midlands. This has included: 

  • Workshops at the Careers Hub conference in September 
  • Additional sessions during Career Leader Network meetings 
  • Gathering frequently asked questions 

While we’re making good progress, this is a significant change and one that will continue to evolve. We’re committed to supporting all schools and colleges through their first Compass evaluation under the new framework this term. 

Thank you to everyone who has already booked their Compass evaluation support meeting – we’ll complete the evaluation together during that session. To ensure we can support you effectively and complete the Autumn evaluation within the allotted time, it is imperative that you review the compass questions in advance, to familiarise yourself with the updates and changes that have been made.

If you haven’t yet booked, please do so asap with your Careers Consultant to ensure timely support. 

To help you prepare, we’ve compiled: 

  • Link to CEC guidance for each type of Compass evaluation 

Please be assured that this is a change for everyone, and we’re here to support you through it. We won’t have all the answers straight away and want to thank you for your patience as we continue to adapt and respond to emerging questions. Once the first round of evaluations is complete, we aim to produce a more comprehensive guide to support ongoing self-evaluation.  

Upcoming Dates

For all upcoming dates please view our hub calendar.

For Info

New ATE resources webinar 02/12/25

Amazing Apprenticeships is working in partnership with The Careers & Enterprise Company to launch an exciting new suite of digital, adaptable Apprenticeships & Technical Education (ATE) resources for schools and colleges. Join this webinar to ensure you feel confident and knowledgeable ahead of presenting the resources in your setting.– Amazing Apprenticeships link to attend

Upcoming Compass+ webinars

Using Compass+ and Unifrog together effectively Wednesday 26th November 2025, 3.30pm to 4.30pm

Compass+ integrates with Unifrog to help support planning and delivering a progressive careers programme.

Explore how to use Compass+ and Unifrog together – Learn how to prepare effectively for exporting data from Unifrog into Compass+ – Understand the value of uploading this data into Compass+ – Know where to access further support and guidance.

Keen to explore how to use Compass+ and Unifrog together now? Take a look at our supporting resources before the webinar: How to upload your data from Unifrog Troubleshooting : Using Compass+ with a Partner Platform

Wednesday 12th November 3.30pm – 4.30pm 

The Future Skills Questionnaire – 5 steps to success

Thursday 13th November 3.30pm – 4.30pm 

Using Compass+ effectively to support Careers Impact Internal leadership reviews

Thursday 20th November 3.30pm – 4.30pm 

Compass+ data and reporting

Thursday 27th November 3.30pm – 4.30pm 

Fully optimising Compass+

Hub Newsletter – Celebrating Success

South Midlands Careers Hub Inclusion Conference 2025

On 1st July 2025, the South Midlands Careers Hub held its very first Inclusion Conference. It was truly inspiring to see such a passionate mix of educators from SEND settings, mainstream schools, FE SEND teams, employers, and wider stakeholders come together with a shared commitment: improving outcomes for young people with SEND. Throughout the day, we celebrated the incredible work happening across our network to ensure young people are confident, prepared, and supported as they take their next steps.

We were honoured to welcome a fantastic lineup of guest speakers and schools showcasing great practice, including:

  • Kelly Dillon, Senior Manager Progression, Transition and Removal of Barriers at The Careers & Enterprise Company: sharing national updates and resources for learners with SEND
  • Gareth Ivett, Principal of Creating Tomorrow College: promoting the incredible work being delivered across their colleges
  • Louise Worts, Assistant Head at Careers Lead at Daventry Hill School and Beccy Brown, Careers Lead at The Woodlands School MK: highlighting how they meet Provider Access Legislation in their schools
  • Lee Nelson, Work Experience Coordinator and Careers Lead at Woodlands Secondary School: delivering practical and creative ideas around embedding enterprise for learners with SEND

In addition, a huge thank you also goes to our inspiring panellists who discussed and explored two key themes that emerged from the Gatsby 10 Year review – parental engagement in careers, and meaningful encounters and experiences with employers. Our panellists included:

  • Roger Williams, Assistant Headteacher and Careers Lead at Ivel Valley School & College
  • Josh Bell, Deputy Headteacher and Careers Lead at the Academy of Central Bedfordshire
  • Lorraine Emerton, Partner & Recruitment, Social Values & Early Careers Section Manager at John Lewis Partnership
  • Sarah-Jane and Bertie from Creating Tomorrow College – two incredible young voices, sharing their insights and experiences

We would also like to thank Bedford Academy’s work experience students, Liam and Finlay, for capturing the day as our photographers.

This event marked the exciting launch of our Inclusion Community of Practice – a space for continued collaboration, learning, and innovation for our practitioners working in SEND. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed – this is just the beginning!

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Inspiring futures across MK

This term has been packed with exciting opportunities and achievements as students across Milton Keynes schools continue to develop vital skills for their futures.

Spotlight on Oakgrove School

  • Year 9: Took part in a dynamic STEM workshop with NiftyLift and emerged winners of the Robotics Competition!
  • Year 8: Engaged in a hands-on Enterprise Activity Day, exploring business ideas and building creativity, teamwork, and entrepreneurial thinking.
  • Year 7: Began their careers journey through PSHE and Unifrog, focusing on communication, problem-solving, and resilience.

DHL Employability Programme at Lord Grey School

  • 24 Year 10 students were selected from 41 applicants to join this transformative programme.
  • Activities included employability workshops and a week at the Outward Bound Facility in Wales.
  • Students gained confidence and leadership skills—one student was even praised for stepping up as a group leader!

Speed Interview & Networking Events

  • Held across MK schools, including Ousedale School, where students connected with parents and local enterprise volunteers.
  • Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with students gaining valuable insights and confidence for the world of work.

Celebrating Excellence

  • Ousedale School: Re-awarded the Quality in Careers Standard for their continued commitment to high-quality careers education.
  • Kents Hill Park School: Achieved the QiC Standard for the first time—an exciting milestone for their careers team!

Fond Farewells

  • Emma Barnett-Vincent: Moving on to a new role at Northampton School in September—wishing her every success!
  • Karen (Stantonbury) and Renuka (Lord Grey): Retiring this year. Thank you for your passion and dedication—you’ve made a lasting impact!

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Celebrating activity across West Northants

Welcome Sophie Allan – Wootton Park School
Sophie Allan joins Wootton Park School as the new Careers Officer, bringing a wealth of experience from Norfolk. She’s passionate about helping students explore and engage with the world of work. Welcome, Sophie!

CE Academy Business Breakfast
On 18th June, CE Academy in Northampton hosted a vibrant Business Breakfast, welcoming 13 local employers. Attendees heard inspiring stories from Headteacher James Thomas, Careers Leader Paul Kairis, and former student-turned-staff Lorna. Industry Partner Dave Gilmour highlighted the school’s commitment to preparing students for diverse career paths. The event sparked new partnerships in sectors like healthcare, retail, security, and construction—offering students more real-world experiences. This model of schools organising a business breakfast to develop employer networks works well, giving schools the opportunity to build a story behind their students and their aspirations.

Young Inspirer Dillon’s Apprenticeship Workshop
On 8th July, Dillon Considine led his first apprenticeship session at Malcolm Arnold Academy for Year 8 students. Sharing his personal journey, Dillon introduced students to apprenticeship pathways and sparked conversations about future choices. Key takeaway: only 25% of people end up in their dream job from school—so exploring options is key! Highlights included a “Week in the life of Dillon’s apprenticeship” and started to make them think that finding and applying for an apprenticeship is competitive.  We had a look at the latest apprenticeship vacancies in Northampton, and they were surprised to find that there were not as many as they would have expected.  

Dillon said “Honestly, it was very much out my comfort zone to be speaking with Year 8’s and being back in school, but I really enjoyed hearing their thoughts, having them engage and answering their questions.”  

DSLV Academy at National Careers Challenge Finals
Six students from DSLV E-ACT Academy in Daventry competed in the National Careers Challenge finals at London’s Barbican Centre. Senior Deputy Head Teacher Bev Maughan said “their hard work, creativity and ambition have brought them to this prestigious stage, and we couldn’t be prouder! “ The National Career Challenge offers a dedicated challenge per year group; each aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Each challenge is designed in response to our sponsor’s real, business-critical needs, and students build the skills required for the world of work.  Find out more here The National Careers Challenge | The Inspirational Learning Group 

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North Northants Highlights

Celebrating Shona Smart – Corby Technical School
Following two years of study, this term Careers Leader, Shona Smart was successful in completing her Level 6 Certificate in Careers Leadership. This qualification requires a long term commitment to study and is a significant achievement which supports Shona’s ability to continue her development of Corby Technical School’s Careers Programme. Well done, Shona! Congratulations!

Montsaye Academy: Provider Access Legislation

This term Year 8 & 9 students from Montsaye Academy, Raunds continued their apprenticeship journey supported by the Young Inspirers Project.

Having welcomed Engineer Apprentices from Tresham College to their school earlier in the term for an introduction and activity session, staff and students enjoyed the opportunity of experiencing an apprenticeship lesson at the Corby campus. The apprentices took the lead by delivering a workshop tour and demonstration of engineering equipment and materials.

The students greatly enjoyed this ‘hands on’ experience.

A huge thanks to Clare Beevis-Shemilt for making the visit possible, Zak Lowe of Zeeco, Inc. Lewis Chandler and Will Owen of Tata Group. for such a fantastic guided tour- the learners loved asking lots of questions as they were taken around!

Also thank you to Tresham College – Engineering Department for providing students with access to the impressive facilities. It was a wonderful day and we are confident that students went away feeling extremely inspired about their future plans!

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For Action

Please ensure you complete you final Compass evaluation by the the end of term.

South Midlands Careers Hub Annual Conference 2025 – 75% of places now booked

Date: Thursday 25th September 2025
Time: 9:00am – 3:00pm
Venue: Delta by Marriott, Milton Keynes

This year’s theme, Careers Reimagined: Innovation, Impact, Inclusion reflects our mission to continuously improve careers provision and embed meaningful, modern work experience into every young person’s journey.

For more information and to book now click here.

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For Information

Recording of our recent LinkedIn Masterclass from Dale Willis, My Great First Job available here

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/ysD2XVF8ENgIkyOE8OChXjvzIEZO-Ieok2lxg_tS87sdDW7TA_T-l8JyLjwV5F7j.8THAWHrzHC8cQjn1

Hub Newsletter – Education 16/06/24

We had a great turn out to our recent briefings on the updated statutory guidance, it was lovely to see so many cameras kept on too – so much nicer than speaking to circles! You can download the slides below and view a recording here

Don’t forget if you have a question about the updated guidance please add it to our FAQ Padlet here

Thanks to those of you that joined us for James Wilmot’s masterclass on using social media for parental engagement – copy of slides are available to download below.

Key Dates

Local Cohort Career Leader Trainingin partnership with The University of Derby

We will be running another Career Leader training local cohort next academic year. The CEC have updated the career leader training on offer and full details will be available on their website soon. The local cohort course we will be running with the University of Derby and will consist of part one (3 in person workshop days) and part two (2 in person workshop days). Part one will run in the autumn term and part two in the spring term. We have now confirmed dates for the information webinar in September and the 3 workshop dates for part one which are below.

Please register EOI here

  • 17/09 @16.00 – Information webinar including course content, sign up funding conditions
  • Part one – workshop 1 – 15/10/25
  • Part one – workshop 2 – 16/10/25
  • Part one – workshop 3 – 11/11/25

Upcoming Hub Events

  • 18/06/25 @16.30 – Repeat Career Leader and Industry Partner briefing – updated careers guidance (repeat of the CL briefing held 3/06 @12.30) link to join here
  • 19/06/25 @15.00 – Using a School LinkedIn Account & building an Alumni network
  • 30/06/25 @15.30 – Hub Induction – introduction to South Midlands Careers Hub for new Career Leaders and Industry Partners link to join here
  • 01/07/2025 Inclusion Conference – this is now fully booked. We have 11 people on the waiting list, if you have booked to attend and can no longer make it please let us know so someone else can attend in your place
  • 099/07/25 Employer Engagement masterclass, link to join is here
  • COMING SOON – watch this space for your Careers Hub 2025/26 Conference invitation next week – this will be taking place in September and we will share details once the date/venue are confirmed.

Upcoming Compass Webinars

  • Using Compass+ to support compliance with the updated statutory guidance for Careers (Tuesday 17th June 2025, 3.30pm – 4.30pm)
  • Compass+ : Getting ready for the new academic year (Thursday 19th June 2025, 3.30pm to 4.30pm)

Webinars: register for Compass+ training – The Careers & Enterprise Company

Following on from webinars, new resources will be available;

  • Help Centre article specifically for C+ and stat guidance
  • PDF that maps C+ functionality to excerpts lifted directly from stat guidance
  • Checklist for users to help them get ready for next academic year

For Action

Request your Hub Buddy now – As we mentioned at our statutory guidance briefings If you would like to be matched with a Hub Buddy for the 2025/26 academic year please complete this form. We will aim to match you with a colleague from a different local authority area where possible to encourage sharing of practice across the region.

We are booking in dates for autumn term Peer 2 Peer reviews. If you have completed or are planning to complete your ILR (Internal Leadership Review) and want to book in please email mandy.green@southmidlands.org.uk.

For Information

Free Parent Newsletter

Free Quarterly Emailed Newsletter from Get My First Job aimed at helping Parents and Carers support their young adults as they navigate out of education and into the big wide world – sign up here.

Storing employer contacts

With Modern Work Experience planning now a priority it’s a good time to think about where and how you store your employer contacts and ensure that they are accessible to everyone in your institution who need them, and that they wont get lost as a result of a Careers Leader moving on. Careers Partners is a safe, secure and scalable database where you can store all employers, organisations and providers that deliver careers activities to your learners.

Careers Partners are only accessible to you and other Compass+ users within your institution.

  • Store all of your careers partners in one place
  • Add careers partners directly into Compass+ 
  • Upload organisations and organisation contacts into Compass+ using our Careers Partners upload template
  • Create contacts who are retired or not part of an organisation
  • Build a comprehensive record for each organisation and organisation contact so you have a full overview of the careers activities they can support 
  • Link individual contacts or whole organisations to activities they have delivered or participated in 
  • Export Your Careers Partners as an Excel spreadsheet to help target employer engagement more effectively.

Careers Partners can be added to Compass+ in two different ways; entered directly into Compass+ from the Careers Partners section or uploaded into Compass+ using the Careers Partners upload template

Hub Newsletter – Education 20/05/25

With the updated statutory guidance for careers finally being released, this week we are mostly focusing on the our plans to support you with the implementation of this, along with some key dates, new resources and info on ILRs and peer to peer reviews.

Key Dates

20/05/2515.00 – 16.00Using social media to develop parental engagement, James Wilmott, Priory Academies Trust
03/06/2508.00 – 08.20
Teams link to join HERE
Senior leaders briefing, May 25 updated statutory guidance for careers
03/06/2512.30 – 13.30
Teams link to join HERE
Career leader Briefing, May 25 updated statutory guidance for careers
03/06/2515.45 – 16.05
Teams link to join HERE (this will be exactly the same as the 08.00 to 8.20 briefing
Senior leader briefing, May 25 updated statutory guidance for careers (repeat of 08.20 briefing)
10/06/2515.00 – 16.00
Teams link to join HERE
Employer Engagement masterclass
16/06/2515.30 – 16.30
Teams link to join HERE
New Career Leader Induction
19/06/2515.00 – 16.00
Teams link to join HERE
Creating a school LinkedIn account, Dale Willis

Updates Statutory Guidance

  • Full guidance available here its for a PDF version with page numbers select print and save as PDF.
  • CEC summary and checklist available here

The guidance makes it clear that from September 2025 DfE expects all institutions should adopt the updated benchmarks. It also places a great deal of emphasis on meaningful and reducing barriers.

The Benchmark 6 section confirms the governments intention to introduce two weeks worth of work experience0 across key stages 3 and 4 and makes it clear that from September 2025 schools should begin planning towards this.

At the moment we are taking time to absorb the guidance and will be feeding back on key takeaways and actions at our briefings after half term. In the mean time have added a bit of a visual below.

  • PAL (Provider Access Legislation) is mentioned 15 times
  • Strategic 18 times
  • Disadvantage 14 times
  • Meaningful 39 times
  • Leadership 31 times
  • FSQ (Future Skills Questionnaire) 8 times
  • Gatsby Benchmarks 29 times
  • Work Experience 31 times
  • Parents 36 times

For Information

If you want further details of Internal Leadership Reviews take a look at our masterclass here, which includes key differences between ILRs and the Quality in Careers standard.

If you are interested in taking part in a Peer to Peer review we still have a few slots available this term and are taking EOIs for next term too. To find out more take a look here and email careershub@southmidlands.org.uk if you are interested or speak to your careers Consultant

The Careers & Enterprise Academy has a range of courses for career leaders, senior leaders, teachers and other staff

The CEC has released a range of updated resources including

Hub Newsletter – Education 06/05/25

We hope you enjoyed the bank holiday weekend. As we (still) await the updated statutory guidance a slimmed down newsletter for you this week. To continue to help you prepare for the upcoming changes we have created a useful summer term checklist for careers leader full of useful links and information. There are also links to slides and recording of last weeks AI masterclass and our Term 3 Kick off meeting and an exciting announcement about our inclusion conference taking place later this term.

For Action

Inclusion Conference – we’re pleased to announce that the South Midlands Careers Hub will be hosting an Inclusion Conference on Tuesday 1st July 2025 at The Forest Centre, Station Rd, Marston Moretaine. This will be for Careers Leaders and Industry Partners working in Special schools and Alternative Provision settings. There will also be a limited number of places available to SENDCos working in mainstream settings (with the option for the careers leader to also attend as their plus one)

The conference will focus on preparing for the updated Gatsby Benchmarks and ensuring compliance with Provider Access Legislation, with a SEND-specific focus. In addition, there be guest speakers, interactive workshops, exhibitor stalls and networking opportunities. A registration link via Microsoft Forms will be shared directly shortly, but in the meantime, please save the date or if you work in mainstream share with your SENDCo 

For Information

Term 3 Kick off – narrated slides from our term 3 kick off meeting can be found here and download below

Recording of AI Masterclass can be found here and copy of Robs slides below.

Careers Hub Industry Newsletter – you may have seen our reimagined industry newsletter on Linked In – copy available below, please share with employers and volunteers in your network

CPD Opportunities

 Learn more about key product functionality and how it can effectively support you to make important strategic decisions about careers delivery in your institution. Click on the webinar titles below to register

Thursday 8th May, 3.30pm – 4.30pm – Delivery, analysis and impact of Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) – https://bit.ly/3DL2aAJ
Thursday 15th May, 3.30pm – 4.30pm – Preparing for and recording a Careers Impact internal leadership review – https://bit.ly/4jdUHJv
Tuesday 20th May, 3.30pm – 4.30pm – Compass+ : Using data intelligence – https://bit.ly/3FVM47K
Thursday 22nd May, 3.30pm – 4.30pm – Using Compass+ effectively to support learners with SEND – https://bit.ly/3FMByjc

If you are unable to attend a webinar, register for the webinar anyway and you will be emailed a copy of the webinar recording after the session

Further Compass TrainingComplete self-paced training  Watch a webinar  Read a Help Centre article

Webinar to Support Current Unqualified Staff in School who wish to train to teach and gain their QTS – 21st May 5-6pm – Please share details below with staff in your school

This webinar is designed to support those currently working in school who do not hold a QTS qualification: It will explain

  • The different routes available to enable these staff members to train to teach. This will include tuition fee and apprentice routes.
  • How The Postgraduate and Teacher Apprenticeship Degrees work.
  • How the funding for these and other QTS courses work.
  • Who locally offers these training routes.
  • How to apply.

Book here