On 24th June 2021, the Quality in Careers Consortium announced that it was delighted to offer the opportunity – for Awarding Bodies who provide a quality award for careers education in primary schools – of “National Endorsement” of their award by the Consortium – further details can be found here: Careers Education in primary schools
Several Awarding Bodies have established quality awards to promote careers education and support in the primary phase. All have confirmed their readiness to work towards securing ‘National Endorsement’ by the Quality in Careers Consortium.
You can view all Awarding Bodies for primary school awards here Primary School Careers Education Quality Award Providers 12.2.24
Following consultations in 2020/21 with the Department for Education, the Careers and Enterprise Company, and Awarding Bodies for the Quality in Careers Standard, the Consortium resolved to offer this scheme for ‘National Endorsement’ of quality awards to recognise and celebrate excellence in children’s careers education and support in primary schools.
National Endorsement, of a primary school careers education award by the Quality in Careers Consortium, has a clear rationale and purpose:
- to promote consistency between different Awarding Bodies in the quality criteria they use. This will improve public confidence in their primary school careers awards.
- to provide Awarding Bodies with objective confirmation that their approach is fit for purpose relative to the aims of careers education. This will improve primary schools’ confidence in their ability to improve the quality of their careers education provision continuously.
National Endorsement also supports these important priorities:
- to improve synergy between primary school careers awards and the national Quality in Careers Standard. Secondary schools committed to the Quality in Careers Standard are already encouraged to liaise with their feeder primary schools on children’s career-related learning and development.
- to grow a community of practice of like-minded Awarding Bodies, primary schools, and their external partners to promote continued innovation and creativity in approaches to pupils’ careers education and support. Primary schools with the highest quality of careers education and support should be encouraged to become influencers in the education system.
- to strengthen the connections between the careers education and support curriculum, and the whole curriculum in primary schools; and to promote further recognition of the usefulness and value of this approach in educational policy-making at the national, local, and school levels.
- to improve public understanding of the benefits of beginning careers education and support in the primary phase.
With an ever-increasing focus on careers and the importance of starting early, more focus will likely be placed on developing careers education in the primary curriculum. Therefore, through the ‘National Endorsement’ process, the Consortium seeks to ensure that a structure for improving quality, based upon existing good practice, is in place from the outset. This may lead to the creation of a fully-fledged national standard (perhaps to be known as the “Quality in Careers Standard for primary schools”) as practice develops. The Consortium and the DfE will keep this under review.
Providers of primary school careers education awards may now seek to become nationally endorsed by the Quality in Careers Consortium. The providing Awarding Body will need to satisfy the Consortium’s National Endorsement criteria which are set out in the Consortium’s “National Endorsement Handbook”: National Endorsement of primary school quality awards
Whilst the scheme is voluntary, the Consortium and the Department for Education are pleased to report that all Awarding Bodies offering a primary school award have confirmed their wish to seek ‘National Endorsement’.
On 11th February 2022, the first ‘National Endorsement’ Panel took place – and the Consortium offered ‘National Endorsement’ for the “C+K Quality Award for careers education in primary and middle schools”.
The second Panel on 17th November 2022 resulted in the Complete Careers “Career Mark primary award” securing ‘National Endorsement’ and at the third Panel on 17th January 2023 the Positive Steps “Inspiring IAG primary award” also secured ‘National Endorsement’.