Meeting Gatsby Benchmarks
Helping Your School Meet the Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby benchmarks are a set of standards that measure the quality and effectiveness of career education in schools. These benchmarks were created by the Gatsby Foundation, a UK-based charity that works to improve career education and guidance for young people.
About Gatsby Benchmarks
The Gatsby Benchmarks were developed on behalf of the Gatsby Foundation by Sir John Holman to outline what world-class careers provision in education would look like. The eight benchmarks set out in the report serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government’s Careers Strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges in 2017.The framework should be used to help careers leads organise the careers provision at their school.
Providing the best careers guidance
Providing high quality careers education, information and guidance which meets the diverse needs of every student is a critical challenge for every school today.
Schools that put MyFutureChoice tools at the heart of their careers programme can not only be confident they are meeting their obligation to provide independent careers advice to all of their 12-18 year-old students, but that they will help them to meet the eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Careers Guidance.
What are the Gatsby benchmarks?
The Gatsby benchmarks are a set of eight standards that schools must meet in order to provide high-quality career education and guidance to their students. These benchmarks include:
1.
A stable careers programme
2.
Learning from career and labour market information
3.
Addressing the needs of each pupil
4.
Linking curriculum learning to careers
5.
Encounters with employers and employees
6.
Experiences of workplaces
7.
Encounters with further and higher education
8.
Personal guidance
How do schools meet the Gatsby benchmarks?
In order to meet the Gatsby benchmarks, schools must take a comprehensive approach to career education and guidance. This includes:
The benefits of meeting the Gatsby benchmarks
Meeting the Gatsby benchmarks not only helps schools to provide high-quality career education and guidance to their students, but it can also have a number of other benefits. These include:
Why are Gatsby Benchmarks important?
The Gatsby Benchmarks provide a world-class framework to help schools provide all of their students with high-quality careers education. The Gatsby Benchmarks form a baseline for Department of Education expectations, so, by meeting the benchmarks, schools can be confident they are giving their students the best possible chance of success in their future careers. Expectations include, but are not limited to:
Evidencing Gatsby Benchmarks for Ofsted
Ofsted will focus on seeing high-quality careers education; this is defined by a careers programme that offers unbiased advice, contact with employers via presentations and work experience, and providing up-to-date labour market information. Careers programme should inspire students and help them understand what they need to do to attain and succeed in their selected career.
Meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks can help schools to:
Using MyFutureChoice’s full suite of programmes allows schools to monitor and evaluate their careers provision. Lesson plans and teaching resources are available to all admin users, and the implementation of the programmes provides clear evidence of career guidance during Ofsted inspections.
The Gatsby benchmarks are a set of standards that measure the quality and effectiveness of career education and guidance in schools.
By meeting these benchmarks, schools can provide high-quality career education and guidance to their students, and help them to be better prepared for the world of work.
MyFutureChoice and the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Now that we have addressed the importance of meeting the Gatsby benchmarks within schools and colleges, how can MyFutureChoice help you to achieve this provision?
1.
A stable careers programme
MyFutureChoice provides a stable careers programme which addresses the needs of each pupil, providing them with information and insight to explore the future education and employment options best suited to their strengths.
2.
Learning from career and labour market information
The WORKBRIEF careers database provides regularly updated information on over 490 different careers, plus live updated data on apprenticeships.
MyUniChoices provides up-to-date information on available undergraduate courses from UCAS, EUNICAS, CAO and Canadian universities.
3.
Addressing the needs of each pupil
Our psychometric tests identify students’ key interests, strengths, and abilities, and align each individual with suggestions for courses and careers tailored to their personal results.
The MyFutureJourney Experiences tool gives students a base in which they can log their experiences and skills over the course of their academic careers, which can be used for future employment and academic application purposes.
The Special Educational Needs indicator allows teachers and careers advisers to note which students require additional support and specialised guidance.
4.
Linking curriculum learning to careers
The Resource Library provides lesson plans, presentations, and information links to contextualise the students’ results within the learning curriculum and the wider workplace.
The MyFutureChoice psychometric tests highlight the specific academic subjects and qualifications students will need in order to pursue their chosen pathways on an individual basis.
5.
Encounters with employers and employees
Our WORKBRIEF careers database gives students access to information on 51 broad career areas and over 490 individual career suggestions, including key information regarding broader prospects, training opportunities, entry requirements, salary expectations, and further research links.
The MyFutureJourney Experiences tool allows students to log interactions with workplace professionals and employers, and keep track of skills they have developed for future job applications.
6.
Experiences of workplaces
Students are informed about realistic expectations of working within each career and the broader prospects for development within those sectors.
Our WORKBRIEF careers database encourages students to seek employment opportunities that will last, focussing on job satisfaction and long-term endeavours within which they can develop and progress, as opposed to just earning money.
The MyFutureJourney Experiences tool allows students to log work experience and keep track of skills they have developed for future job applications.
7.
Encounters with further and higher education
MyUniChoices gives students direct access to more than 48,000 undergraduate courses at over 772 institutions, highlighting the subject areas that suit them based on their questionnaire responses, and the ability to rank these courses in terms of academic ability.
The MyFutureJourney Experiences tool allows students to log relevant work experience, academic and extracurricular activities, and keep track of skills they have developed for future further and higher education applications.
Students are provided with resources and guidance on open days, how to select their final five options, and how to write a successful personal statement with our Personal Statement Planner.
The DegreeCourseDescriptions tool establishes expectations by defining course titles so they can understand the specifics of certain subjects (i.e. biomedicine vs biotechnology).
8.
Personal guidance
MyFutureChoice provides qualified guidance on a 1-1 basis with students, contextualising students’ results, discussing their ideas, and motivating them to continue their research and achieve their potential.
Teachers can log their own encounters with students on their MyHQ admin portal, as well as track progress and students’ personal development to provide better guidance.
