Agenda item

Interview with Rajmund Brent from Kent County Council Skills and Employability Service.

The Committee considered the draft Careers Advice and Guidance Review Scope. The Committee was satisfied that the scoping document reflected what was discussed at their scoping meeting.

The Chairman invited Rajmund Brent, from Kent County Council Skills and Employability, to give evidence to the Committee for their Careers Advice and Guidance Review.

Mr Brent gave a presentation to the committee that covered the following points in relation to the responsibilities and actions of Kent County Council (KCC):

·  They had responsibility for supporting the provision of Careers Education, Information and Guidance (CEIG) to schools and colleges;

·  The Kent Education Learning and Skills Information (KELSI) website had been developed which contained careers advice and guidance;

·  There was a network of CEIG co-ordinators across the county. These coordinators were responsible for network meetings within their district council area, with representation from CEIG advisors from all schools within the district;

·  Delivery of careers briefings for all those who worked within CEIG in the county- the last one had 130 participants;

·  Publication of CEIG support materials for schools to use, for example a careers annual plan and a CEIG framework;

·  One key document that KCC produced for CEIG practitioners was a ‘district data pack’, which helped schools identify where local skills gaps were, and what were the dominant employment sectors in the local area;

·  Schools and colleges were responsible for delivering impartial careers advice and guidance;

·  Impartiality was important, for example a duty on secondary schools not to solely promote their own post 16 offer;

·  Guidelines stated that post 16 CEIG provision should be up to 600 hours per pupil;

·  No school could attain an ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted without providing work experience for its pupils;

·  Ofsted had produced a report that concluded that CEIG was found lacking in many schools; and

·  Links with employers were particularly important, as CEIG without input from prospective employers would be pointless.

The Committee thanked Mr Brent for his presentation and proceeded to ask him some questions.

A Member asked Mr Brent whether there were any particular schools in Maidstone that were excellent at providing CEIG. Mr Brent responded that KCC conducted an ‘employability health check’ for schools. This health check focused on three As- Aspiration, Attitude and Achievement- and gave schools a Red, Amber or Green status for each area and a Red, Amber or Green status overall. Mr Brent informed the committee that Cornwallis Academy had achieved Green status overall for its CEIG provision. Mr Brent also explained that there was lots of good practice evident in Maidstone schools including alumni associations, 30 minute focused career interviews for disadvantaged pupils, fortnightly timetabled careers advice lessons, talks from employers, employability skills certificates, departmental leads for careers and online video resources for pupils.

The Committee enquired what provision was available for careers advice and guidance for older people, for example those who may have been made redundant later on in life. Mr Brent explained that guidance was provided by the national careers service, and delivered locally by an organisation called CXK. Mr Brent suggested it might be a good idea to invite CXK to give evidence on this subject. Mr Brent also informed the committee that KCC was in the process of writing an adult skills strategy, and that he would circulate it to the Committee once it was ready for publication.

Finally, the Committee asked Mr Brent what Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) could do to help with the provision of CEIG. Mr Brent explained that one of the greatest challenges to schools wishing to improve their CEIG provision was links to local businesses. Mr Brent suggested that MBC could assist with this through using their connections with local businesses to try to involve them in any work experience programmes and to involve them in shaping CEIG locally.

RESOLVED: That

1)  The Committee agrees the draft scoping document for the careers advice and guidance review; and

2)  The Committee thanked Mr Brent for his evidence that would be used as part of its review of careers advice and guidance.