Quality Standards

Using quality standards and criteria is an effective way in which to improve provision and practice in careers education and IAG. They: 

  • provide a framework for monitoring, reviewing, evaluating and improving the leadership, management and delivery of careers work in a range of settings, particularly schools, sixth form and FE colleges
  • provide a benchmarking and assessment tool – making it easier to identify strengths and weaknesses, areas for development and action to improve
  • promote and support collaborative work  with colleagues, young people and external partners –  encouraging ‘joined up’ curriculum and IAG provision
  • provide evidence for use in reports to governors, board members  and others
  • provide evidence to support completion of the self-evaluation forms and self-assessment reports that are the starting point for all Ofsted inspections.

 

When planning how to improve provision and practice, local consortia and their partners should consider the role of:

  • national Quality Standards for Young People’s IAG – these relate to the universal IAG service for young people aged 11 to 19. They are the benchmark for the IAG services that local authorities commission for young people and also for the level of IAG service that consortia must provide in order to offer Diploma programmes.
  • careers education and guidance quality standards and awards –most areas have access to external quality standards and/or awards developed by external IAG providers and others. Some are local schemes and others are available nationally under licence (e.g. Investor in Careers). Some cover all aspects of careers education and IAG. Others focus on specific aspects such as careers information and work experience. Providers working towards quality standards and/or awards receive support, often from external IAG providers, to bring about improvements in provision and practice.
  • the Matrix standard – all IAG providers funded by the LSC must achieve accreditation against the matrix standard. This identifies the essential features of successful delivery of a Matrix service, provides key indicators to help organisations assess their current activities and supports continuous improvement.

 

Questions to ask yourself

  • Do organisational and/or local consortium arrangements make effective use of external quality standards and criteria to drive up the quality of provision and practice in careers education and IAG?
  • How do you know?
  • What, if anything, could be done to improve the use of external quality standards and criteria to support improvements in quality who could help?

 

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