Primary school teachers will receive training to deliver a new careers programme to pupils in disadvantaged areas under a new £2.6 million government scheme announced today.
The scheme will be coordinated by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), working with Teach First, which will provide training and support to teachers in the 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs).
The announcement comes after a change in the law from the beginning of this month, which means schools must ensure all Year 8-13 pupils have at least six opportunities to meet a range of providers of technical education.
The new scheme aims to reach more than 600,000 pupils in over 2,200 primary schools.
Teachers will receive training to link lessons to a range of careers, training and skills and give primary pupils the chance to meet employers and role models from a range of industries.
Careers education in primary schools
The new primary school careers programme will run until 2025 and will be delivered by four of CEC’s Careers Hubs in the first year, an additional 10 in the second year and a further nine in the third year.
The move follows a government pledge made in last year’s schools’ White Paper to introduce careers learning in primary schools in disadvantaged areas.
The government said today that a change in the law through the Skills and Post-16 Education Act will give secondary students access to both technical and academic job routes.
The existing legislation, known as the Baker Clause, has been strengthened in a new law that has come into force this month, so schools now have a legal requirement to ensure pupils are introduced to education and training providers at certain points in their learning.
The Department for Education said this will build on the requirement that every secondary school should offer its students at least one experience of a workplace by age 16 and further work experience by age 18.
Robert Halfon, minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education, said: “To deliver the future workforce that this country needs, it is essential that careers advice and work experience helps young people from all backgrounds to climb the ladder of opportunity.”
Mr Halfon said the “changes” the government is making to ”boost our careers programme will raise ambitions from an early age for thousands of children in primary schools across the country, while providing opportunities to unlock talent, think about skills, engage with employers and discover different workplaces”.
