Operational Priorities
The 14-19 reforms are designed to raise young people’s aspirations, create an expectation of staying in education and training, and support individual achievement and progress. They give young people more choice in what they study post-14 and a wider range of general, work-related and vocational routes post-16. They reduce the emphasis on next steps decisions and encourage young people to take a broader, longer-term view of their learning journeys and career pathways.
Evidence so far suggests that providing coherent support for young people in this changing context requires consortia and their partner organisations to review the structures, systems and processes that they have in place for careers work. Strategic planning should, in particular, address the following operational issues.
Strengthening careers education and IAG at key stage 3
Many schools locate a large proportion of their key stage 3 careers education and IAG in year 9 to support key stage 4 options choices. The 14-19 reforms demand a different balance of provision; early and continuous support is required to underpin young people’s choices. In addition to assistance with progression and transition planning in year 9, they need support from year 7 onwards to:
- think about what they want to achieve in learning and work in the short, medium and longer term
- challenge stereotyped and traditional thinking and other barriers to progress
- find out about different opportunities, what they involve and how they are changing
- establish broad goals and work out what they can do to achieve them
- understand and gain experience of the options that interest them.
Developing a collaborative approach to progression planning and transition support
Working with many different systems presents practical problems that can impede young people’s progress and cause transition difficulties. A proven way to overcome such problems is to develop a common approach to, and joint support materials for, progression planning and transition support. A collaborative approach helps to:
- engage young people – encouraging them to take ownership of their learning journeys and helping them to establish broad learning and career goals for the 14-19 phase and plan how to achieve them
- promote consistent practice – that focuses on young people’s needs and increases the quality and value of individual learning planning
- facilitate the monitoring and review of young people’s progress 14-19 – encouraging them to become more proactive, which helps to improve retention and reduce course switching and drop-out
- assist learner mobility and progression – by enabling young people and those supporting them to record data and achievements gained in a range of settings
- support smooth transitions – by improving access to and transfer of information.
Building the capacity and skills to support effective delivery
This is essential and typically involves:
- reviewing organisational structures and roles and responsibilities to ensure that they support an integrated and co-ordinated approach to learner support, progression and transition
- reviewing and improving transition arrangements, procedures and practices
- raising whole staff awareness of developments and identifying and meeting specific development needs – particularly those of tutors and staff delivering the 14-19 Diplomas who will have a key role in providing initial IAG
- planning for and safeguarding time for staff development, curriculum inputs, IAG activities (including individual reviews in year 9) and work with parents and others
- reviewing and developing careers information resources and other support materials for young people, parents, carers, staff, employers and others
- reviewing and improving quality assurance in relation to careers education and IAG.
Questions to ask yourself
- How well do your current arrangements score on each of the operational issues mentioned above?
- Which require further attention and why?
- What must, should or could you do to tackle these issues?
