All primary teachers will be offered free professional development on careers education after a government-backed trial found pupils with trained-up teachers “broadened” their horizons and were less likely to feel held back by gender stereotypes.
However, the evaluation of the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Start Small, Dream Big programme found pupils were less likely to be interested in a career in teaching after it was completed.
Funded with £2.6 million by the last government, the programme reached 1,394 primary schools. The Department for Education had originally planned for it to reach 2,200.
The programme saw Teach First train a lead teacher in each school with CPD designed to “build knowledge and skills for the implementation of whole-school career-related learning programmes and careers in the curriculum”.
Schools were also supported by careers hubs to deliver encounters with employers for pupils.
Schools more likely to have careers strategy
The evaluation report by ImpactEd, published today, states it “found that the pilot’s innovative approach, combining teacher CPD with the practical involvement of career hubs and local employers, led to many of the intended outcomes”.
Researchers polled teachers in participating primary schools before and after the programme.
Beforehand, just 15 per cent reported their school had a formal, written whole-school strategy for careers. By the end of the programme, that had leapt to 73 per cent.
The survey of teachers also found a 36 per cent increase in agreement that they can “tailor careers advice, support and opportunities to the needs for each learner”.
Agreement that they felt “confident talking to pupils about a wide range of careers” increased 28 per cent.
At the end of the pilot, 48 per cent of teachers agreed their school “helps pupils understand current changes in career patterns and trends”, up from 10 per cent.
The proportion agreeing that their school “enables pupils to explore a wide range of careers during career-related learning” also rose from 26 to 78 per cent.
Pupils less restricted by stereotypes
And 75 per cent agreed that “over the last year, my pupils’ feeling that they are restricted by stereotypes in relation to their future job/career has decreased”.
The CEC said pupils “moved away from stereotypical ‘dream jobs’ and developed an interest in a wider range of roles”.
For example, it said girls’ aspirations in business and finance rose by 31 per cent, and interest in digital, law and construction also rose.
However, the proportion of pupils expressing an interest in a teaching career diminished from 22 to 20 per cent. For girls, the drop was from 34 to 31 per cent.
The CEC will now “focus on consolidating the gains made”, expanding the CPD offered to the pilot schools to all schools through its online platform.
It will also establish a “primary national community of improvement” through its careers hubs network.
‘The potential legacy is tantalising’
John Yarham, the company’s interim CEO, said the pilot “has shown what’s possible when schools, employers and communities come together to inspire children about their futures from an early age.
“The potential legacy of this pilot is tantalising: schools and employers are committed to sustaining this work, and we now have a blueprint for how career-related learning can become a powerful part of every child’s primary education.”
Researchers also asked parents about their child’s attitudes to careers and the world of work
Forty per cent reported having more conversations with their child about the issue than before the pilot.
Of those parents, 41 per cent cited their child bringing up the subject more as an important factor. Fourteen per cent cited their child’s school engaging more with parents on careers.
The report also found a 54 per cent increase in schools’ reported links to local employers. And 93 per cent of involved employers surveyed planned to continue supporting local primary schools.
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