IAG in the coalition era – Issues and opportunities

2. IAG in the coalition era – Issues and opportunities Brian Lightman ACEG conference 2010

3. The word "expert" is formed from the conjunction of two roots which phonetically can be represented as "x" and "spurt". Everyone knows that "X" is an unknown quantity.  A "spurt" is what one gets from squeezing a drop of water. Therefore, an expert is an unknown drip under pressure.

4. The world has changed…..again!

5. Overview • The world has changed • Where are we now? • The former Government’s position • The employer’s view • The coalition Government’s position? • The situation on the ground –issues and challenges for school and college leaders. • Where should we be going? • Other factors in leading IAG • Further issues • The way forward.

6. CE Careers Education What are we talking about? CEIAG Impartiality Advice and guidance PSHE Employer engagement Personal tutors Mentoring Learning coaches Counselling Partial advice

7. What is IAG? • IAG is an umbrella term that covers a range of activities that help young people to become more self reliant and better equipped to manage their own learning and personal and career development………..we will expect these forms of guidance – peer advice and mentoring, and opportunities for tasters and other ‘experiential learning’ to be available to young people across the country. • Para 5.16 Children’s Plan

8. What is IAG (2)? • Information , advice and guidance is a key element of local authority integrated youth support services. It is an umbrella term. It covers a range of activities and interventions that help young people to become more self reliant and better able to manage their personal and career development, including learning. • Quality Standards for Young People’s IAG

9. The former government’s view • At present, the quality of IAG falls short of what young people need. To remedy this we have published quality standards that set out our expectations of the IAG services that local authorities will provide. • The 2007 Budget announced that schools should provide every person with a learning guide who will support them to make good progress across all subjects as well as developing as an individual. • Children’s Plan paras 5.16-9

10. The employers’ view • Have been highly critical of current advice • Recognise that much more needs to be done to secure meaningful employer engagement • Skills versus knowledge • What do they mean when they talk about school leavers? • But there is a shift. – Deloitte report to Employer and Education task force.

11. Deloitte report • Employer involvement in a young person’s education is an important aspect of the careers education they receive. Whether through classroom talks, course delivery, careers fairs, mentoring, or any number of other activities, exposure to employers, when done properly, motivates, inspires and informs young people, and can equip them with skills needed to succeed in the workplace. Employers are uniquely placed to advise on the technical and personal skills required to succeed as well as provide insight about how qualifications are perceived. Their potential to inspire should not be underestimated.

12. Deloitte report • Although good practice exists, schools and employers face a range of barriers to working together, meaning that the overall picture is patchy. Key barriers include •  Communication: employers and schools not knowing who to speak to or how to develop relationships with each other •  Awareness: Employers not knowing what schools want, and schools not knowing what employers can offer

13. www.visitourschools.org

14. 14-19 alliance • The responsibility to provide information, advice and guidance does not sit easily with pressures to meet targets and improve league tables. • It could prove difficult for authorities to meet the requirements (of the IAG guarantee) given the likelihood of funding cuts and competing pressures from their new pressures for commissioning. • The material is written mainly in terms of providing guidance to young people in schools about post 16 options. In some respects it still refects the outdated view that most young people are making decisions at the age of 15 about what job they want to go into

15. So aren’t we providing anything at the moment? • Advice on learning choices • Advice on learning techniques • Advice on examination entries • Advice on managing transitions • Advice on progression routes to employment / FE and HE • Formal careers advice / assistance with applications etc. • Advice on overcoming barriers to learning. • Advice on behaviour • Advice on personal organisation. • Advice on moral and social issues. • Advice on well being including physical and sexual health • Advice on personal and domestic issues • Crisis management

16. Where is advice and guidance coming from in the school context? • Subject teachers • Form tutors /Learning coaches • Heads of Year/ Learning managers and other senior teaching staff • Learning Mentors • School counsellors • Connexions/careers advisers • Youth workers • School based social workers / police officers and other employees of children’s services. • Other members of the school workforce including classroom assistants. • Employers during work experience placements • Visiting speakers from FE/HE, employers and the community.

17. Other sources of advice and influence. • Parents • Peers • Older brothers and sisters and their friends. • Community leaders • Youth workers • Government • The media

18. Other aspects of advice and guidance. • Personalised learning • Assessment for learning • ‘Pastoral’ systems. • Personal tutoring. • Curriculum planning • The informal curriculum

19. Partial advice • Policy on school admissions and parental preference. • The wishes/aspirations of the individual learner and his/her family • The need to challenge stereotypes and promote equality of opportunity. • The needs of the labour market • Characteristics of the examination and assessment system which give rise to so called soft options and perverse incentives to meet benchmark targets and targets for take up of courses (eg MFL). • Conflicting roles and responsibilities and cultures of providers of IAG • The cost of participation in the HE system and subsequent debt. • The university admissions process. • The introduction of the new Diplomas / opening up the qualifications market.

20. Are there times when wholly impartial advice might be inappropriate? • Have conflicts of interest been fully recognised?

21. So what is the problem for which a solution is being sought? • Everyone can quote an example of bad advice given to someone. • There are examples of poor quality or biased advice especially at the year 11/12 interface. • There are examples of outstanding practice but this is not universal. Greater consistency is required. • Dropout rates post 16 in all sectors are sometimes very high. • ‘Careers advice’ is too often looked at in isolation. • Many if not most teachers lack up to date knowledge on the vast range of career routes but let’s be realistic about what can be expected. • Or is it a deficit model of policy making and is it going to change?

22. The IAG strategy • IAG quality standards were published in 2008. • IAG Strategy followed in 2009 and statutory guidance shortly afterwards • Many different consultation processes have been taking place. ASCL fully involved. • What has happened since? • A move away from ‘big government’

24. The Careers Profession taskforce • An outstanding group of practitioners • Equipped with the capabilities to provide good, impartial careers guidance…..whichever system is in place • Qualifications framework • Mandatory, funded CPD • Careers leaders are crucial to set the tone and ensure IAG has the status it needs within schools.

25. The Coalition Government’s position? • More flexibility in the examinations system so that state schools can offer other qualifications like the iGCSE. • Improve the quality of vocational education … creating new Technical Academies. • Free schools / Academies • Superfast broadband. • Will seek to attract more top science and maths graduates to be teachers. • Troops for teachers. • Set colleges free from ‘direct state control’

26. Nick Gibb – Speech to REFORM 30th June 2010 • We want to put an end to the reams of paperwork….piled onto teachers and schools …the jargon heavy instructions telling people how to do their jobs…..over 6000 pages of guidance. • We want to restore a National Curriculum to its intended purpose – a core national entitlement organised around subject disciplines. • I believe that education is about the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next.

27. The overarching principles • Freedom • Fairness • Responsibility • Academies, Academies and Academies

28. Leading IAG • Roles and responsibilities. • TLRs • Careers teachers? • Specialist support staff • Workforce remodelling • Consultation processes • Leadership Team roles? • External partners. • Where does pupil support and guidance sit in your structure?

29. So what should careers coordinators be doing. • Turning the new freedoms into an opportunity • Playing a key role in shaping the curriculum. • Positioning yourselves as key drivers of pupil motivation, raising aspirations and expectations. • Leading multi-disciplinary teams. • Changing your titles? • Demonstrating that your role is central to the success of the institution. • Influencing/shaping the staff structure to achieve that.

30. What should school and college leaders be doing? • Using the new freedoms to design the education we want to provide. • A coherent approach to guidance. • Recognition in staffing structure • A multi-disciplinary approach • A genuine commitment to the interests of the learner. • A genuine commitment to partnership and collaboration regardless of the nature of the institution. and why???

33. Issues to be examined Implications for teaching and learning and for school and college leaders

34. We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist . . .

35. using technologies that haven’t yetbeen invented . . .

36. in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet. Karl Fisch Shift Happens

37. Further questions • Careers advice in academies? • Will schools be given the responsibility for commissioning careers guidance? • What structural changes will be made to the careers service? • What will the role of LA’s look like? • How will the inspection service support CEG? • How will the accountability framework change? • What will the situation look like in Wales? • Mechanisms for influencing policy in the new era.

38. Empty Vessels

39. Brian Lightman • General Secretary Elect ASCL • brian.lightman@ascl.org.uk • 07977 541868