Benchmark 1

To achieve Gatsby Benchmark 1, every school and college should have an embedded programme of careers education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents and carers, staff, governors, employers and other agencies.

• Every school and college should have a stable, structured careers programme that has the explicit backing of governors, the headteacher and the senior management team, and has an identified and appropriately trained careers leader responsible for it.
• The careers programme should be tailored to the needs of pupils, sequenced appropriately, underpinned by learning outcomes and linked to the whole-institution development plan. It should also set out how parents and carers will be engaged throughout.
• The careers programme should be published on the school’s website and communicated in ways that enable pupils, parents and carers, staff and employers to access, and understand it.
• The programme should be regularly evaluated with feedback from students, parents, school/college staff and employers as part of the evaluation process. Schools must give providers of technical education and apprenticeships the opportunity to talk to all pupils.
• The programme should be regularly evaluated using feedback from pupils, parents and carers, teachers and other staff who support pupils, careers advisers and employers to increase its impact.

Why is Benchmark 1 important?

• Benchmark 1 provides the foundation for careers provision across your school, special school or college and supports you to link careers provision to your vision, priorities and to school or college improvement
• Developing a progressive careers programme shaped and driven by a strategic careers plan, enables your students to make well informed decisions about education, training, apprenticeship & employment opportunities and supports then to cope with challenging labour market conditions.