Quality in Careers

Primary Schools

Careers Education in Primary Schools:

The Quality in Careers Consortium is delighted to offer the opportunity, for Awarding Bodies who provide a quality award for careers education in primary schools, to secure ‘National Endorsement’ of their award by the Consortium.

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’ to recognise and celebrate excellence in children’s careers education and support in primary schools.

The scheme was launched on 24th June 2021 with the full support of the Department for Education and has been welcomed publicly by NAHT (a founding member of the Consortium): https://www.naht.org.uk/News/Latest-comments/Press-room/ArtMID/558/ArticleID/1028/NAHT-supports-launch-of-National-Endorsement-of-Primary-School-Careers-Education-Awards

Whilst the ‘National Endorsement’ scheme is voluntary, the Consortium and the Department for Education are pleased that all of the current Awarding Bodies have confirmed that they wish to seek ‘National Endorsement’ from the Consortium.

‘National Endorsement’, of a primary school careers education award by the 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. Multi-Academy Trusts with primary and secondary schools are also becoming active in seeking accreditation for their careers provision in both phases.
  • 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, the Consortium is pleased to be working closely with the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) regarding careers education in primary schools. We commend to primary schools the CEC’s Primary careers resource platform.

{The CEC’s Primary Careers Resources Platform was created in collaboration with the Centre for Education and Youth. The resources and tools on the platform have been provided by 15 organisations in the Department for Education-backed Primary Fund. 
Key features of the platform include:

  1. Free and adaptable resources ranging from podcasts for pupils to CPD for teachers
  2. A school self-assessment quiz, designed in collaboration with Skills Builder, will help teachers think about how they approach career-related learning in their settings
  3. Case studies that showcase different approaches to career-related learning.}

Through the process of ‘National Endorsement,’ the Consortium seeks to ensure that a structure for improving quality, based on existing good practice, is in place from the outset.

This may lead to creating a fully-fledged national Standard as practice develops (perhaps known as “The Quality in Careers Standard for primary schools”). The Consortium and the DfE will keep this under review.

The Consortium has invited all of the providers of primary school careers education awards to prepare to 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

As an example of commitment to quality-assured careers education in all of its primary schools, the COOP Multi-Academy Trust has produced this case study for us to make publicly available.

Primary schools considering working towards a careers education quality award are invited to contact one or more of the Awarding Bodies to discuss their approach to delivering their award, the support they provide in the process, and the costs.

Currently, these are the Awarding Bodies who are offering a careers education quality award for primary schools, showing their commitment to seek ‘National Endorsement’ – and those who have now secured it: Primary School Careers Education Quality Award Providers 5.12.2024