How is Tomlinscote School meeting the 8 ‘Gatsby Benchmarks’?
What are the ‘Gatsby Benchmarks’?

In 2014, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation undertook an independent, international review of CEIAG in schools. They used their findings and produced the ‘Good Career Guidance Report’ which outlined a framework of 8 benchmarks that schools were to use to improve their CEIAG. The 8 benchmarks act as a framework to support schools to provide students with the best possible CEIAG to ensure they leave school fully equipped for their next steps and the world of work.

It has now been ten years since this initial report was published by the Gatsby Foundation and they have recently undertaken a national investigation of the current picture in the world of careers guidance. These findings have now been published in November 2024 in the 'Good Career Guidance: The Next 10 Years' and will make upcoming recommendations to the practice of schools and colleges moving forwards. 

1.    Benchmark 1: A Stable Careers programme

• Every school and college should have an embedded programme of careers education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, teachers, governors and employers.

2.    Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information

• Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.

3.    Benchmark 3: Addressing the needs of each pupil

• Advice and support should be tailored to the needs of each pupil. Keeping good records of pupils and their destinations after school will help.

4.    Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• Careers and enterprise education should be part of, and included in, a pupil's standard lessons, linking curriculum to real-world career paths.

5.    Benchmark 5: Encounters with employers and employees

• All pupils should have encounters with employers and employees that result in a better understanding of the workplace and the potential career paths open to them.

6.    Benchmark 6: Experiences of workplaces

• It is important for pupils to experience the workplace environment to understand the context in which they could one day be working.

7.    Benchmark 7: Encounters with Further and Higher Education

• Careers provision should cover further and higher education as well as potential professions. Pupils should have encounters with these organisations whilst at school.

8.    Benchmark 8: Personal Guidance

• Every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a career adviser, who could be internal or external, provided they are trained to an appropriate level.

Please see the documents below for our most recent termly Compass evaluation conducted against each of the 8 benchmarks.