Statutory guidance

Careers guidance and access for education and training providers

Statutory guidance for schools and colleges on providing careers guidance.

Applies to England

Documents

Details

This statutory guidance is for:

  • governing bodies
  • school and college leaders
  • career leaders and staff in maintained schools
  • academies
  • free schools (including alternative provision academies and free schools)
  • colleges (that provide secondary education and post-16 education)
  • local authorities that maintain pupil referral units

It applies to:

  • all students in school from year 7 to year 13
  • all students in college up to and including the age of 18
  • students aged up to 25 with a current education, health and care plan in place

Statutory guidance is issued by law. You must follow it unless there is a good reason not to.

This guidance is part of the Skills for Jobs White Paper that sets out our vision to transform skills and training.

The Careers and Enterprise Company will provide external support to schools and colleges.

Published 25 March 2015
Last updated 5 January 2023 + show all updates
  1. 'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' has been updated to reflect changes to the provider access legislation. Updates have also been made following a consultation on proposed changes to the ‘access for education and training providers’ section.

  2. 'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' has been updated to reflect the changes to the careers legal duty that come into force on 1 September 2022.

  3. Updated 'careers guidance and access for education and training providers'.

  4. Added updated guidance document.

  5. Updates to careers statutory guidance for schools, reflecting policy changes announced in the Government's careers strategy published on 4 Dec 2017.

  6. Updated information about the new single national careers quality award (paragraph 67).

  7. First published.