Careers Statutory Guidance and Gatsby Benchmarks 2025
Updated statutory guidance for schools, colleges and independent training providers
UK Government's statutory guidance for schools and colleges on providing careers can be found on the gov.uk website (external website).
There is clear guidance and supporting resources about the Gatsby Benchmarks on the Careers and Enterprise Company website (external website) Pages include links to checklists, the top five priority steps, Gatsby benchmarks updates, and training for all levels of careers expertise.
How to use this information
- Take time to digest the updated information and be ready to discuss within your cluster or Enterprise Adviser network.
- Use the Strategic Careers of Practice Forums as a conduit to share your network’s perspectives on local priorities.
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Do a deep-dive into the impact and quality either through the Careers Impact System (external website) quality framework, Employer Standards (external website) or as a deep-dive into Benchmark 1.
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Take a short course on how to meaningfully achieve the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks, such as this one on the Careers and Enterprise website (external website).
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One Tameside school has had over 60 staff completing the CPD courses!
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Complete Compass audit and the Education Insight Questions (external website) as essential data sets for the GM Careers Hub and their planning and funds – thank you to all of those that have already completed these.
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Please note that the 2025-26 Compass questions are still to be shared nationally. We will provide more information as soon as we can.
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The Greater Manchester context
The Career and Enterprise Company's ambition is clear: continuous improvement in careers education and the implementation of a national work experience guarantee, and we continue in the prepare stage as we ready the system during this term of Parliament. The Greater Manchester Careers Hub Community of Practice (CoP) is also continuing to create the conditions for collaboration between education and business to create opportunities that improve outcomes for young people and drives quality within careers.
The Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) ambition supports young people to make informed decisions about their futures through increased access to information about technical education. We are targeting quality and equality of opportunity and it is within this context that we are sharing the implications for Greater Manchester.
1. Earlier Careers Guidance
- Schools must now provide careers guidance from Year 7 (previously from Year 8).
- This supports Greater Manchester’s goal of early exposure to technical pathways through the MBacc, allowing students to explore careers in the gateways from the outset.
2. Six Mandatory Provider Encounters
- Pupils must have six encounters with technical education and training providers between Years 8–13.
- This aligns with the MBacc’s ambition to make technical pathways (T Levels, apprenticeships and more) as visible and valued as academic routes, helping students understand and access these opportunities.
3. Emphasis on Impartial, Inclusive Guidance
- Careers advice must be unbiased and meet the needs of all students, including those with SEND.
- Supports the MBacc’s inclusive design ensuring underrepresented students can access tailored support and meaningful employer experiences driven by the equalex framework (external website).
4. Strengthened Provider Access Legislation
- Reinforces the legal requirement for schools to allow training providers into schools to talk to students.
- Backs GM’s drive to connect students with local FE colleges, training providers, and employers, which is integral to the MBacc’s success.
5. Promotion of Digital Tools
- Schools are encouraged to use digital platforms to deliver careers education.
- Compliments local initiatives like Beeline (external website), helping students in Greater Manchester explore real-time career data and educational routes that feed into MBacc gateways.
- Educators are a key influencer of young people’s next steps. The MBacc Educator Toolkit supports them with a set of resources and the MBacc messaging, so they can have clear and consistent conversations with their peers, parents, carers and young people.
Where can I find out more?
Watch our "what schools and colleges need to know" webinar on demand (external website)
Read the full Gatsby Good Career Guidance report 2024 (PDF, 4.3MB)