Improving the Curriculum & Assessment System

Response to UK Government Consultation

Morrisby is a Matrix-accredited career guidance business, with nearly 60 years’ experience offering psychometric assessments that give young people insight into their inbuilt strengths and potential, suggesting careers and subjects related to their individual profiles. Morrisby employs three level 6+ qualified careers advisers, with decades of experience working in schools, colleges and HE, who have contributed to this submission.

Are there particular curriculum or qualifications subjects where: a) there is too much content; not enough content; or content is missing; b) the content is out-of-date; c) the content is unhelpfully sequenced; d) there is a need for greater flexibility?

Morrisby has recently created lesson plans for secondary schools to use with their year 7-13 students, covering careers topics. We took the framework from the careers professional body, the Career Development Institute (CDI), and created lessons which covered the topics within their framework. We then mapped the PSHE curriculum to those topics. In some cases, we were unable to map the PSHE curriculum to the key careers topics. In our opinion, the PSHE curriculum needs to cover more careers topics, and the CDI and PSHE Association should work together to ensure this happens.

Our observations; here we list the CDI framework requirements which we are not aware are covered in the PSHE curriculum:

Key Stage 3: “being aware of the relationship between career, community and society”
Key stage 4: “explore the relationship between career, community and society”,
Key stage 5:
- “explore and respond to the relationship between career, community and society”
- “actively seek out help, support and feedback” when it comes to growing students’ careers throughout their life (not just related to health, mental health, friendship, bullying, contraception, sex and fertility, as covered by the PSHE curriculum).
- “represent themselves and others” - the careers context for this is missing within the PSHE programme of study.

An important part of careers education is giving students the tools to use the skills they learn in their future careers. There are also elements of the CDI framework which encourage active participation in the career search, for example in KS5 one of the areas is to “actively seek out information on the labour market and education system to support their career”. Whilst the PSHE curriculum supports this in “how to recognise career possibilities in a global economy” (L7) and “the implications of the global market for their future choices in education and employment” (L4) the onus does not seem to be on the student going out and doing this research themselves.

Students need to be taught about simple work-based information, such as annual leave, and understanding their payslip. This could be fit into the PSHE curriculum.

In which ways do the current secondary curriculum and qualification pathways support pupils to have the skills and knowledge they need for future study, life and work, and what could we change to better support this?

When it comes to career guidance, secondary schools can use the Gatsby Benchmarks. Learners in schools and colleges achieving all eight Gatsby Benchmarks are 8% less likely to be not in education, employment, or training (NEET) post 18 than those in institutions at the lower end of careers provision (The Careers & Enterprise Company, 2024).

Too often, skills are not given the parity of esteem with academic pathways (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance: Government response to the Committee’s Fourth Report). There are great opportunities to bring the classroom to life, by employer involvement and live projects that continue the teaching of the subject, while providing the link with careers through engaging content and a natural link with industry.

We believe that Gatsby Benchmark 4 must be considered in this review; it is important that we can embed careers into the curriculum, in a genuine way. Linking careers to the curriculum is still not formally part of the teacher training requirements, to the point that we cannot be sure this is consistently delivered as part of the subject learning (how does this subject relate to the world of work?) - which means careers and employability still remains as an ‘add on’ to the curriculum. This alone would serve to give ‘meaning’ to subjects so that students can understand why they are learning what they are learning. It is important that teacher training includes careers within their curriculum, and that the work the CEC does as part of their teacher encounters programme continues and is expanded to existing teachers. A requirement for teachers to conduct a subject audit, such as that created by the Careers and Enterprise Company, could be made mandatory.

As a support to busy teachers, they should be supplied with resources to link their national curriculum subject to careers. Resources are readily available in many national curriculum areas, such as the UK Space Sector Landscape Map, but there should be funding for resources to be easily accessible to all subject teachers, with a guide on how to use them, linking to specific parts of the curriculum.

It is important that teachers and students have a way to track their skill acquisition, and having a universal language to do so is imperative. There is evidence that higher essential skill levels are linked to having clear career aspirations and higher career aspirations (Kashefpakdel & Ravenscroft, 2021). Uncertain career aspirations are associated with a higher likelihood of being NEET at the end of compulsory education (Yates et al. 2011).

With the Morrisby platform we utilise the 8 essential SkillsBuilder skills, as we believe this is a sound skills taxonomy which should be used as a universal skills language. These are embedded into our online careers guidance platform; specifically, we allow teachers/advisers to track their student’s skills in activities and careers lessons they have taken part in. They are able to see where their students have skill gaps and focus on developing them in those areas. Students can also see which skills they have used, on their individual candidate page. We also have a range of career profiles on our site, the careers which are mapped to the SkillsBuilder skills, giving young people the chance to understand where the skills they are using at school fit into the world of work. You can find out more about Morrisby’s use of the 8 essential skills here.

In which ways do the current qualification pathways and content at 16-19 support pupils to have the skills and knowledge they need for future study, life and work, and what could we change to better support this?

The theory behind T-Levels should be something that already exists within secondary schools. Spending time with employers is invaluable to a student’s skill and knowledge acquisition. The remit of the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) is to get employers to engage with state schools, which they do through Enterprise Advisers (EAs). With business volunteers saying that their time supporting schools and young people brings positive returns for organisations and the economy (Enterprise adviser survey insight briefing 2024), this work should continue, and be grown significantly, with businesses encouraged or incentivised to work with their local CEC Hub. T-Levels need more money put into them, to ensure that employers have the spaces for students. There should be a directive for employers to take on T Level learners, and an infrastructure to enforce this.

Vocational routes have often shown what can be delivered when the focus is more on career paths. More time is given to this on vocational courses and the natural link with a careers pathway helps teaching staff to see how this can be naturally linked to preparing students for the world of work, through skills and knowledge. This is also helped by Post-16 providers often having more facilities and resources for offering more practical/work-based teaching, but also in terms of time given to this, and sometimes to larger numbers of careers professionals delivering more varied careers programmes.

Are there ways in which we could support improvement in pupil progress and outcomes at key stage 3?

Working with hundreds of schools, we have repeatedly received feedback that students who are not engaged with school have reengaged once they have taken their Morrisby assessment, and have decided what they want to do as a career. This leads to motivation to return to school and do well in their exams as they can see a point to their learning. Learners in schools and colleges achieving all eight Gatsby Benchmarks are 8% less likely to be not in education, employment, or training (NEET) post 18 than those in institutions at the lower end of careers provision (The Careers & Enterprise Company, 2024 )

Even for students who are engaged, it gives them something to strive for, and will enhance their future personal economic outlook, and that of the country, as evidenced by these young people. This highlights the importance of young people having access to quality career guidance, whether this be via a platform (such as Morrisby) and/or with access to a level 6+ qualified careers adviser, to start making (motivational) decisions about their next steps.

This would be further cemented by ensuring that careers are embedded into the curriculum, so students can see how what they are learning will be used once they enter the workplace.

How can we improve learners’ understanding of how the different programmes and qualifications on offer will prepare them for university, employment (including apprenticeships) and/or further technical study?

Improving learners’ understanding of how different programmes and qualifications will prepare them for their future includes schools offering a holistic careers programme. There is much variation across schools in how effective this is and how this is achieved; see the future plans as written in the Careers Education 2022/23: Now and next report from the Careers and Enterprise Company.

From our experience, the responsibility for careers has a range of importance and visibility within schools; sometimes it sits within a school’s senior leadership team, the head of sixth or the careers lead, or just an overworked teacher. We believe that the careers lead should

sit within the senior leadership team to raise the profile of careers and to help embed it genuinely within the whole school. The careers lead needs a budget at the level required to allow the school to satisfy the Gatsby Benchmarks.. The careers lead should hold the budget to support sixth form students with their next steps; this should not be controlled by the head of sixth.

More financial resources are needed to support careers programmes. At Morrisby we work within hundreds of schools, and each school has a different level of resources directed towards careers. Some of our customers have a team of full time careers professionals and support staff managing their careers programme, whilst others have a teacher who only has half a day per week dedicated to careers, and this teacher does not often have a level 6+ careers qualification.

It should be a statutory requirement that any person assigned to a careers lead role within a school should be a level 6+ qualified careers adviser, or working towards this. Those who are not level 6+ qualified and those who are working towards this qualification should not be able to deliver personal careers guidance to students. The Independent review of careers guidance in schools and further education and skills by Ofsted providers outlines the importance of students having access to a qualified careers adviser to help them make decisions.

There also needs to be more awareness within teaching staff about the modern routes available. Whilst this needs to be integrated into teacher training, existing teachers also need an education in this, whether this training needs to be directed by the careers lead or within standard in-school training days.

Are there additional skills, subjects, or experiences that all learners should develop or study during 16-19 education, regardless of their chosen programmes and qualifications, to support them to be prepared for life and work?

At Morrisby we believe that everyone has potential, and that identifying this potential can be the key to having a fulfilling career and future. It is essential that school gives students the knowledge, opportunity and time to identify their potential and strengths, and understand how these could be useful in the world of work. A platform like Morrisby can do just that; we give students across the country (and the world) the chance to take psychometric assessments which help highlight their strengths, interests and personality, and then we match these results to suggest careers and subjects they might be interested in, giving them access to their personalised online careers account.

We have had feedback, many times, from schools that their disengaged students re-engage with school once they have more of a direction about what they want to do with their future. They start to see the “point” of the education they are getting, and this motivates and inspires them to attend school and work harder. Uncertain career aspirations are associated with a higher likelihood of being not in education, employment or training (NEET) at the end of compulsory education (Yates et al. 2011).

Students need to be taught about simple work-based information, such as annual leave, and understanding their payslip. This could be fit into the PSHE curriculum.

To future proof their skills, students should be taught how to use AI through AI literacy lessons, which extend to how to use AI within the job search, and with their career and educational decisions. However, teachers should be taught these skills in the first place, to best advise students, working alongside employers and HE to understand how AI can be used in recruitment.

Related to this, employers often comment that students do not have the skills, including the technical skills, required for entering the workplace (see evidencing the importance of employability skills (CMI)). A piece of work could be done to connect employers with the digital skills school curriculum to ensure that the skills being taught are the ones which are actually required in the workplace, supporting the efforts of HE in ensuring their students leave with the skills employers need.

Anything which requires students to have access to their own device or a computer will need funding to ensure that those who are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are not disadvantaged, and have the technology available to work alongside their more affluent peers.

Do you have any further views on anything else associated with the Curriculum and Assessment Review not covered in the questions throughout the call for evidence?

We would like to highlight the importance of careers technology in schools, within the context of diversity and individualisation, but also within the context of access for all.

Firstly, within the context of diversity and individualised education. Careers tech, especially Morrisby, gives all students the opportunity to assess their strengths, become more self aware and have careers and subjects suggested to them. We offer a truly individualised, standardised, impartial set of psychometric assessments. The assessments do not take into account gender or background, and encourage social mobility and widen horizons through responsible career suggestions crafted over a period of over 50 years.

Secondly, making careers tech available for all could contribute towards closing the social and economic gap. Careers advisers and the work they do with young people help to do just this, but the crisis in recruitment within the careers sector that we are seeing means that it is simply not possible for every child to have access to careers support. Making careers tech freely available on a national level could help to level the playing field as young people will have access to a base level of careers guidance. At Morrisby we supply the careers software to the whole of the Australian state of Victoria, in addition to coordinating careers advisers and providing interviews for every student (around 40,000 students).

https://www.schools.vic.gov.au/career-education/my-career-insights

Get in touch with Morrisby

Call: +44 (0)330 500 5000

Email: info@morrisby.com

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