Guide two: stakeholders
This theme relates to Gatsby Benchmark one and two. Gatsby benchmark one states that every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers. Gatsby benchmark two states that every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities.
On this page, you will find information on the following:
- Why is engaging effectively with stakeholders important in careers education for autistic young people?
- How can stakeholders be ambassadors and offer opportunities to your young people?
- Your autistic young people and their influence
- Education engagement and Provider Access Legislation (PAL)
- Download our resources.
Why is engaging effectively with stakeholders important in careers education for autistic young people?
Stakeholders are:
- parents/carers
- governors
- local employers
- whole staff team
- Local Authority staff
- pupils and students
- senior leadership team
- your alumni.
Ensuring autistic young people can reach their potential in further education, training or employment is a collaborative effort and should begin as soon as a young person enters an education setting.
How can stakeholders be ambassadors and offer opportunities to your young people?
The SEND Code of Practice says: ‘Being supported towards greater independence and employability can be life transforming for children and young people with SEND. This support needs to start early and should centre on the child or young person’s own aspirations, interests and needs. All professionals working with them should share high aspirations and have a good understanding of what support is effective in enabling children and young people to achieve their ambitions.’
You should ensure that all members of staff, multidisciplinary teams and parents take a consistent approach to young people.
Careers education can be termed as the ‘golden thread’ throughout the whole school curriculum, and Ofsted will triangulate its judgement based on the following criteria:
- leadership discussions, including data and evidence
- the views of the school or college’s young people
- what the inspection team observes.
Your senior leadership support is imperative to ensuring the golden thread of careers education throughout your setting. Working alongside colleagues to create a visual learner journey and a three-year strategy based on your Gatsby benchmark compass evaluation results will aid these conversations. We have shared a template to help you create your own strategy and an example of our visual learner journey from The Rise School.
Download template: strategy document
Download example: The Rise School learner journey
Download template: learner journey
Here are some quick wins for improved stakeholder engagement:
- interactive careers events with parents/carers and local community members
- celebratory events, e.g. work experience employer of the year
- coffee mornings with parents and carers
- termly webinars with employers on how to support autistic young people in the workplace
- design a shop window sticker for the local businesses that support your setting
- engage with local authorities: do they have a local offer team or do they have a team of SEND specialists?
- further training
- if you are creating presentations to deliver to stakeholders and you are using figures and data, please ensure you are using the latest information
- termly meetings with special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) and speech and language therapists
- an annual report to your board of governors
- ensure that all Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan meetings have an employment-focused outcome.
Your autistic young people and their influence
Good Autism Practice, as explained in the Autism Education Trust’s ‘Good Autism Practice’ report, promotes a partnership approach to decision-making based on building positive relationships between staff and autistic young people. There should be flexibility in the curriculum to give autistic young people regular opportunities to be involved in giving feedback on their experiences and in decision-making, and providing them with the skills needed to do so.
In preparing and expanding your careers education approach, the voices of your autistic learners is paramount. You could hold a learner council focused session to understand their understanding of what careers education means to them and reflect on their experiences.
Education engagement and Provider Access Legislation (PAL)
The PAL was enacted in January 2023. It specifies schools must provide at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all their students. This is reflected in the visual learner journey that we use with young people and adults to demonstrate the careers education approach and when such encounters take place.
Our public PAL outlines the key information that employers and other stakeholders can use to better understand our process in ensuring young people can gain as much knowledge as possible for their next steps. Take a look at our PAL, which may inspire you and your own approach to ensuring the PAL is in place at your setting.
Download example: Provider Access Legislation
Download our resources
Template: strategy document
Example: Provider Access Legislation
Example: The Rise School learner journey
Template: learner journey
