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Primary school pupils need more opportunities to learn about different career options to combat the "ingrained stereotyping" that sets in by the age of 7, an education expert has warned.

Talent is being "wasted" because of assumptions about gender, race and class, according to Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Speaking today at a conference in London, Mr Schleicher is due to say that primary pupils need "lightbulb moments" about their future from the time they start school.

Otherwise, he will warn, their horizons risk being limited to what their parents or carers do; what their teachers advise; or what they see on TV, films or social media.

A campaign to build a network of 100,000 professionals acting as role models for primary-aged pupils will be launched tonight by the Education and Employers charity.

Fighting gender stereotypes

Speaking at the launch,MrSchleicher will warn that skills gaps in the UK labour market stem from assumptions about the world of work, with children in primary school already ruling out potential careers because of their gender, race and background.
News: News: Science: Could referring to 'Stem' turn pupils off science? Independent schools 'are helping to close Stem skills gap' 'Parity of esteem? Education and skills don't compare'
"You can't be what you can't see," Mr Schleicher will say. "We're not saying seven-year-olds have to choose their careers now - but we must fight to keep their horizons open."

According to a report published today by the OECD and Education and Employers, gender stereotyping exists from the age of 7 and there are minimal changes in job ambitions between the ages of 7 and 17.

Only 1 per cent of pupils have the chance to hear about career options from professionals visiting their schools, the report says.

Mr Schleicher will today say: "We need major employers, including government itself, to open up their workforces to primary schools. We can't afford the mismatch between career aspirations and the reality of the job market, so we need to be bolder in getting inspiring professionals into classrooms as early as possible."

Broadening career horizons

He will add: "The best teachers enable children to discover their passions, develop their dreams and find their place in society. Pupils will invest in their education if they can link what they are studying in schools to the real world and the opportunities out there."

Carried out in partnership with the OECD, Tes Global, the NAHT heads' union and the UCL Institute of Education, today's research finds that the most common factors influencing career aspirations for primary children were family or friends and TV, films and social media.

The I am #InspiringTheFuture campaign, run by Education and Employers, will seek to build a network of 100,000 professionals to volunteer in the programme, asking employers to support the drive.

The long-term aim is to create 10 million face-to-face interactions between the pupils and the volunteers at every stage of their education.

This will expand Primary Futures, the programme for seven- to 11-year-olds developed with the NAHT. The programme links teachers to volunteers that can be invited into classrooms to conduct talks, workshops and networking sessions.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said: "The importance of exposure to the world of work at primary age cannot be overstated. The earlier children's aspirations are raised and broadened, the better."

The campaign will sign up professionals across the country, targeting disadvantaged areas, NHS providers, growing industries such as cybersecurity and AI, and leading independent schools' alumni and parental networks.

The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, which represents independent schools, is backing the initiative, with more than 60 heads pledging to help provide speakers to participate in the programme.

Inspiring the future was launched in 2012 and it has signed up 55,000 volunteers, ranging from app designers to zoologists.

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'Ingrained stereotypes' limit pupil ambitions by age 7

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Primary school pupils need more opportunities to learn about different career options to combat the "ingrained stereotyping" that sets in by the age of 7, an education expert has warned. Talent is being "wasted" because of assumptions about gender, race and class, according to Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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Great ideas from Scotland

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founder founders for school student teacher business leader life chance skill skills gap uk scale growth sherry coutu

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Scotland - Deanston Primary School Case Study

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Alan Atkinson, from Deanston Primary School near Doune, set up a Founders4Schools encounter for young people in his school from P4 - P7.

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This research compiles evidence on the career-related learning of primary aged children's decisions, aspirations and attitudes.
In the report, you will find: Introduction
A look at the importance of career-related learning in primary schools.
What is career-related learning in primary schools?
An outline of what career-related learning in primary schools is by looking at key actions taken by primary schools and the impact that it has on children even form an early age.
What impact does career-related learning in primary schools have?
An exploration of the effectiveness of career-related learning in primary schools based on evidence from academic and 'grey' literature and interviews with primary teachers and leading experts.
What are the lessons for practice?
Examples of a developed evidence base which supports the practice of career - related learning in primary schools.
DOWNLOAD [PDF]

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Career-related learning in primary. What works?

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This research compiles evidence on the career-related learning of primary aged children's decisions, aspirations and attitudes. In the report, you will find: Introduction A look at the importance of career-related learning in primary schools. What is career-related learning in primary schools?

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Fill the sheet in......

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Why Primary CRL is important

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This article is an extended version of the blog Primary career education should broaden children's horizons by Nick Chambers (CEO, Education and Employers) published by TES on 14 November 2018.

The last few months have seen a sudden interest and enthusiasm for ' careers education' in primary schools. But many teachers and parents have expressed their concerns that we risk making our children ' grow up too fast' at such a young age. They are understandably concerned about the dangers of directing children towards a particular career or job at a time when their aspirations should be very tentative and wide-ranging. I share their concerns.

Earlier this year the Department for Education published its Careers Strategy[1]. It mentioned primary for the first time and acknowledged that many schools were already thinking about how best to introduce children to ideas about the work they might want to do in the future. And in the last few months, the OECD has also stressed that schools should encourage a first-hand understanding of the world of work from the earliest years[2].

This increasing focus on careers in primary is to be welcomed and builds on research by several leading academics, as well as the work carried out by Education and Employers in partnership with the National Association of Head Teachers over the last six years.
Isn't primary too young to talk about careers?
The term 'careers' means different things to different people, encompassing work-related learning (types of work, developing skills for and through work); careers education (self-development, exploration, and management) and careers information, advice and guidance. Given this ambiguity, there is often alarm when people hear or read the word 'careers' in the same sentence as primary schools.

We should not be providing careers advice in primary schools but instead focussing on broadening horizons and raising aspirations, giving children a wide range of experiences of the world including the world of work. It is about opening doors, showing children the vast range of possibilities open to them and helping to keep their options open for as long as possible. And there is a range of attributes, skills, and behaviours that can be encouraged in this early stage of a child's life that will leave them in the best possible position as they begin their transitions to secondary education and to future life.

Robert Halfon MP and Chair of the Education Select Committee was spot on in his recent TES article when he said that " The impact of early engagement can have a hugely positive impact on wider academic attainment, motivating and inspiring both children and their families, by helping them to see a future to which they can aspire and which feels achievable[3] "
In primary, the focus for schools and teachers shouldn't be on 'careers advice' but on 'career-related learning'. Why is it important?
When thinking about what impact career-related learning can have, who better to ask than the teachers and school leaders that actually organise and experience these activities. Our recent survey, published in partnership with TES and the NAHT, asked primary teachers why introducing children to the world of work at an early age was important. It found that:

The majority of teachers believe children should be learning about the world of work and different jobs in their first years of primary school.

Nearly half (47%) believe this should start from age 5 and under

A further 21% believe this should start from age 5 - 7 in year 1 and 2

The overwhelming majority of primary schools were already carrying out a variety of activities with the aim of increasing children's understanding of the world of work.

And nearly all agreed that introducing children to the world of work was important in:

Linking learning to the real world and in doing so increasing motivation to work hard bringing more relevance to their learning

Challenging gender stereotyping about jobs and school subjects

Broadening aspirations

Volunteer taking part in a classroom career insight talk
Link to attainment
Another of our surveys, published in 2017 with the NAHT, showed for the first time that giving children the chance to meet people from the world of work and hearing about their life journeys can help them understand the relevance of subjects they are studying - and in so doing improve motivation and attainment. 90% of teachers thought that pupil achievement can improve as the result of:

volunteers of the world of work helping pupils to believe in their own abilities and helping them to understand what life is like beyond the classroom

increased motivation following exposure to role models from the world of work (adults other than teachers) interested in them and their learning

children being given the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in addition to the mainstream curriculum by exposure to the world of work

Tackling stereotypes
Despite the fact that women today are employed in greater numbers and in a wider range of roles and occupations than ever before, children still tend to think of particular careers as 'male' or 'female'. The reality of gender stereotyping starting at a young age was bought to wide attention by a very simple two-minute film called Redraw the Balance viewed over 75 million times, shows 66 children being asked to draw a picture of a surgeon, firefighter and a pilot. 61 of the children drew a picture of a man with only five drawing a woman.
Drawing the Future
Earlier this year we tried to build on this by exploring who primary-age children ideally want to become, and, what shapes (and often limits) their career aspirations and dreams for the future. Drawing the Future, asked children aged seven to 11 to draw a picture of the job they want to do when they grow up. Over 13,000 children took part in the UK and it was clear that from a young age many children had ideas about careers. 36% of children from as young as seven years old, base their career aspirations on people they know. For those who didn't know anyone who did the job they drew, 45% stated that TV, film, and radio were the biggest factors influencing their choice.

Meanwhile, less than 1% of children knew about a job from someone visiting their school. This has huge implications for social mobility, as children from poorer backgrounds may not have access to successful role models from the world of work and their aspirations are limited as a result.

All children regardless of their background should get the chance to meet a wide range of people doing different jobs, in different sectors and at different levels - from apprentices to CEOs.

This is essential if we are to improve social mobility and gender and ethnic equality. It is vital we support children to challenge the perceptions they may have about certain jobs and to better understand the evolving world they are growing up in while they are still in primary school[5].
Aspirations
It is often said that children from disadvantaged background lack aspirations but " many children's horizons are limited by who they or their parents know. You can't blame them for that. But we do. We say they lack aspiration. It's their own fault really. If only they were more aspirational, they'd succeed[6]" says TES's Editor Ann Mroz. If you can't see it, you can't be it.

As a recent article from Nesta said: " Children's conceptions of who they are and what they could be are products of their wider socio-economic surroundings: influenced by social (who their families and friends are) and cultural capital (what they consider a reasonable and possible future to be")[7].

Volunteers taking in part in a Primary Futures 'What's My Line' activity where children ask them questions to try and work out what job they do
Making it easy
Whilst teachers appreciate the importance and the benefits to children of career-related learning many cited that the lack of time and availability of volunteers are preventing them from doing more[8].

The NAHT has taken a lead to tackle this and created Primary Futures in partnership with the Education and Employers charity.

Emma Fieldhouse from South Parade Primary school in Wakefield explains why her school got involved: "It was amazing to see the children talking and listening to the volunteers, and each other, as they begin to make the link between what they do in school every day and the exciting world of the future where they will be the next scientists, teachers, politicians, vets".

Andy Mellor, President of the NAHT said "Over the last five years the NAHT has undertaken a number of studies to understand what works best in primary schools. It is clear from our work that career-related learning programmes in primary that are well planned and demonstrate the hallmarks listed below have considerable positive impacts for children. Our Primary Futures programme, developed for teachers by teachers, makes it really easy for schools to find suitable volunteers to enrich and improve their career-related learning activities".
Hallmarks of success
As part of the Primary Futures programme, I have visited a large number of primary schools across the UK and further afield and seen first-hand the different ways in which they deliver career-related learning. These 'hallmarks of success' outline the outcomes and activities that primary schools should aim for and provide when delivering career-related learning:
Outcomes:

1. Excite and motivate children about their learning by linking and embedding in the curriculum strong connections between education and the world of work

2. Broaden children's horizons and raise aspiration

3. Help children see a clear link and purpose between their learning experiences and their future

4. Challenge stereotypes that children and their parents often have about jobs and the people who do them

5. Support the raising of standards of achievement and attainment for all children

6. Help children learn more about their own talents and abilities and instill greater confidence

7. Reinforce the importance of numeracy and literacy in later life

8. Tailor career-related learning to the different ages and needs of all children

Activities:

1. Invite volunteers from the world of work to visit and chat with children

2. Deliver career-related learning programmes that help children connect their subject learning to the opportunities now and in the future

3. Organise career-related learning trips e.g. to a workplace, museum or university

4. Make good use of online learning materials in the classroom such as games, videos, role play, and individual/ group activities

5. Explore the diverse routes adults have taken to get their current job e.g. vocational (Inc. apprenticeships), academic, starting their own business etc.

If you have any feedback or learnings from what has worked well in your school, please do get in touch.

Nick Chambers
15 November 2018

Over the last five years we have worked alongside teachers to develop a great selection of resources, designed to help teachers to deliver career-related learning in primary schools. To access these go to the Primary Futures website and sign up or log in to your account.

[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/664319/Careers_strategy.pdf

[2] Musset, P., and Mytna Kurekova, L. (2018). Working it out: Career Guidance and Employer Engagement. OECD Education Working Papers, 175. Paris: OECD Publishing.

[3] https://www.tes.com/news/careers-advice-primary-school

[4] Chambers, N., Redhill, J., Kashefpakdel, E. T. & Percy, C. (2018). Drawing the Future: Exploring the career aspirations of primary school children from around the world. London: Education and Employers

[5] https://www.tes.com/news/if-were-serious-about-improving-social-mobility-issue-must-be-addressed-primary-level

[6] https://www.tes.com/news/lifes-not-fair-it-could-be-if-we-just-tried-little-bit-harder

[7] https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/great-expectations/

[8] Mann, Iredale and Kashefpakdel 2017: https://www.educationandemployers.org/research/primary-futures-connecting-life-and-learning-in-uk-primary-education/

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Starting early - the importance of career-related learning in primary school - Education and Employers

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This article is an extended version of the blog Primary career education should broaden children's horizons by Nick Chambers (CEO, Education and Employers) published by TES on 14 November 2018. The last few months have seen a sudden interest and enthusiasm for 'careers education' in primary schools.

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Preparing Primary school children for careers

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Preparing Primary school children for careers

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Preparing children for future careers

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Great example of getting the message to all stakeholders

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Careers information for STEM subjects

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National Career's Work in Primary Schools

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National Career's Work in Primary Schools

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Part of NCW now....

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Building essential skills for the future

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We are a global movement of businesses, education institutions, and impact organisations all committed to ensuring that everyone can learn the essential skills to succeed. The product of five years’ cutting-edge research and design, the Skills Builder Universal Framework makes it possible for everyone to teach, learn, and measure the eight essential skills - whether it be in education, the workplace and everywhere in-between.

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Evaluation of impact of CU

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Children who participate in Children's University have the opportunity to learn in a rich range of contexts, experience new places, visit universities and attend their own graduation ceremonies. This adventure introduces children to the joy of learning, brings a sense of wonder in the world around them and develops their confidence and aspirations for the brightest futures. We know what we do works and has an incredible impact on the lives of children. It's not just us saying this.

Children's University evaluations

UFA Young Researchers and Evaluators - Children's University Evaluation

In October 2017, Children's University had the pleasure of being evaluated by a group of our participants as part of the University of the First Age's Young Researchers and Evaluators programme.

Utilising child-led, hands-on research, the evaluation was conducted by UFA's youngest ever researchers, providing them with invaluable research, analysis, and evaluation skills as well as acting as a vital opportunity for us to hear directly from our beneficiaries.
Read and download our report on the evaluation here.
EEF - Children's University Evaluation

In 2017 the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) released an evaluation of Children's University. Like us, their fundamental mission is to ensure that the education of young people offers a level playing field that enables each and every child to aspire, attain, and succeed.

Designed to assess the efficacy of extracurricular activities in increasing attainment and providing important life skills and attitudes, the project's positive feedback serves to reiterate our firmly held belief in the worth and importance of learning opportunities outside of the classroom.
You can read the report and download it in full here.
The Cambridge Network

In 2012 an independent evaluation of the work of the Children's University was undertaken by 'Leadership for Learning - The Cambridge Network' led by Professor John MacBeath of the University of Cambridge in partnership with Fischer Family Trust. This recognised that "Children's University pupils attend better by virtue of the activities which enhance their school experience ... achieve better by virtue of renewed self-confidence in their own potential ... enjoy learning more because they extend their repertoire of interests and see learning in a new light."
You can read"Evaluating provision, progress and quality of learning in the Children's University 2012"detailing the work undertaken by, and the findings of, Professor MacBeathhere.
Sheffield Children's University - How does it make a difference?

Each year Sheffield Children's University analyses the impact of Children's University participation in Sheffield. This report provides an analysis of results in Sheffield comparing academic performance in Key Stage 2 SATS taken in year 6 at primary school, and Key Stage 4 GCSE's taken in year 11 with participation in Children's University activities. Year on year, results of this analysis have continually shown a clear link between participation in Children's University and achievement and attendance at school.
You can read "Sheffield Children's University - How does it make a difference?" here.
The University of Wolverhampton Children's University

The University of Wolverhampton Children's University - formerly known as 'Black Country Children's University (BCCU) - published an evaluation report in September 2018 by Tiller Research. Reporting on quantitative results alongside results gathered through discussion groups, the report highlighted the impact of Children's University participation on children's views of university, aspirations, attitude to learning and confidence and self-esteem.
You can read the report in full here.
External reports

As well as our own evaluations, there are plenty of external reports that reinforce the importance of what we do and the impact of extra-curricular activities.

The Sutton Trust - Life Lessons: Improving essential life skills for young people

In October 2017 The Sutton Trust released a report by Carl Cullinane and Rebecca Montacute that highlighted the importance of extra-curricular activities for equipping children with the life skills they need. It stressed that giving young people from all backgrounds a greater opportunity to develop those skills can be an engine for opportunity and social mobility. This is what Children's University aims to do.
Read the report summary and download the full report here.
NatCen - Out of school activities and the education gap

NatCen are Britain's largest independent social research agency. Together with Newcastle University and with funding from The Nuffield Foundation, they published a number of reports investigating how out of school activities help children's learning. They investigated how involvement in different types of activities varies for 5 to 11 year olds from different backgrounds and what this means for their educational achievement.
You can read more about these reports and download them here.

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The difference we make | Children's University

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Children who participate in Children's University have the opportunity to learn in a rich range of contexts, experience new places, visit universities and attend their own graduation ceremonies. This adventure introduces children to the joy of learning, brings a sense of wonder in the world around them and develops their confidence and aspirations for the brightest futures.

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What happens elsewhere

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Funded project by Department for Education

Education and Employers are pleased to announce an exciting new project made possible with funding from the Department for Education Opportunity Area Programme.

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Derby identified as an Opportunity Area

​

The aim is to inspire children and connect primary schools in Abbey, Arboretum, Boulton, Chaddesden, Derwent, Normanton, and Sinfin with the world of work. Research conducted by the charity Education and Employers last year, 'Drawing the Future', showed that children as young as six had already decided what careers they could or could not do in the future. This was influenced by who they know and what they see on TV, with only 1% having the chance to be inspired by someone visiting their school.

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In addition, the project will spark conversations at a range of events across the city to help broaden horizons, raise aspirations, and open a world of greater possibilities to the children, their families, and their teachers.

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Project delivery partners Learn by Design, East Midlands Chamber, Forum Talent Potential, and dmh associates will join forces with Education and Employers to ensure that children in primary schools receive an inspiring programme of activity until summer 2020.

In a first, the projects is being closely evaluated to measure impact. This is being led by Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE, Director of dmh associates, in conjunction with Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Head of Research at Education and Employers.

​

The project aims to:

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Open children's eyes to their future possibilities

Enable teachers to link classroom learning for children with their future opportunities through bespoke CPD sessions

Engage local employers to widen children's horizons

Work with parents to raise their children's aspirations

Develop children's employability skills

The launch of Our Future-Derby marks a significant milestone in inspiring children to see the relevance of schooling to the world of work from an early age. What makes this initiative special is the planting of seeds of hope. Children, parents, teachers, and employers working together in local communities to gain a better understanding of the changing world of work.

Research shows children's aspirations are often shaped, moulded, and restricted by gender stereotyping, socio-economic background, and the people they meet in their local area. We will be examining what works and what needs more to be done to improve children's life chances for a successful future.

​

- Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE, Director of dmh associates and Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Head of Research, Education and Employers Research.

Want to share your career story?

We are looking for volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds in all forms of job roles. Your commitment can be as much, or as little, as you can offer; from giving up just one hour to share your career journey in an assembly, to supporting a day of inspiring activities at a local school.

Our Future Derby breaking down

stereotypes and opening children's eyes

to their future possibilities.

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Funded project by Department for Education Education and Employers are pleased to announce an exciting new project made possible with funding from the Department for Education Opportunity Area Programme. ​ Derby identified as an Opportunity Area ​ The aim is to inspire children and connect primary schools in Abbey, Arboretum, Boulton, Chaddesden, Derwent, Normanton, and Sinfin with the world of work.

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Research articles and practical support

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Written by Liz Reece

The difference between children's career aspirations from age seven to 17 are marginal, and too often based on gender stereotypes, socio-economic backgrounds and influenced by TV, film and radio. This is the summary provided by charity Education and Employers on 19 th January 2018 in its report Drawing the Future. Their research in partnership with Tes, the NAHT, UCL Institute of Education and OECD Education and Skills - the biggest of its kind - was based on the aspirations of 20,000 international pupils. It is a timely report considering the Government's careers strategy published in December which acknowledged the benefits of starting careers guidance earlier and announced a £2 million programme to test approaches to careers guidance in primary schools. Working on primary careers education resources for a major retailer I've continued to research the benefits of careers work in primary schools and some of the resources available. This is what I've found out:
What is the effect of careers work in primary schools?
There isn't much research about the benefits of careers education in the primary setting. However, that which has been done gives evidence that very young pupils gain many benefits from careers education that introduces them to the world of work and helps them see the relevance of their studies. KS2 children studied are receptive to learning about employment opportunities and skills, especially when linking them to their subjects. Whilst broadening horizons about the world of work, careers events can strengthen competencies in decision-making, presentation, transition, sociability, listening and planning and can bridge gaps by raising aspiration in deprived areas.

Early research and theories around primary careers education by Seligman (1994) and Super (1996) suggests that primary children grow during a period of developing their career 'fantasies' into 'interests'. Of more practical use, Bill Law and Barbara McGowan researched and developed a framework for primary school pupils in 1999 which is set out in short in New Dots with examples of how primary children learn to 'sense', 'sift', 'focus' and 'understand' in careers learning.

An observational study by Gothard (1997) on Careers Education in a Primary School assesses the impact of a 'Careers Week' event held within a single primary school. The researcher found that six months after the careers event, the year 4 pupils remembered much of significance.

From 2009 to 2010 a Key Stage 2 Career-Related Learning Pathfinder pilot programme study was undertaken in 7 urban local authorities across England. The pilot focused on developing pupils' growing perception of their own place in the world of work. The programme included workplace visits, in-school career insight talks with professionals from the world of work, trips to local universities, and one-off events such as career-themed drama performances. Evaluation showed that the four objectives were achieved. These were to:

Increase pupils' awareness of career/work opportunities;

Increase their understanding of the link between education, qualifications and work opportunities;

Reduce gender-specific career/role stereotypes; and,

Engage parents/carers in the process and so change their attitudes, perceptions and aspirations relating to their children's education and career choices. The latter was the weakest outcome.

Pupils involved in the Pathfinder pilot also showed evidence of:

Improved skills, including team-work and independence;

Increased understanding of different sources of help/advice about making choices;

Increased self-confidence, especially around transition to secondary school.

Improved attendance and attainment, with a perception in some schools that this had improved SATs results;

Reduction in pupils' concerns about transition and improved transition to secondary school.

The apparent positive outcomes of the pilot for pupils support the idea that providing career-related learning at Key Stage 2 is an optimum time, as it is when pupils are still open and responsive to new ideas, and before they begin to narrow down their options.

Primary Futures: connecting life and learning in UK education explains the value of the Primary Futures initiative (2014) which provides volunteers willing to speak in schools about their work. Across 4,400 UK primary schools there have been 26,000 invitations to employee volunteers through the Inspiring the Future platform. The Primary Futures paper cites and backs up with research that purposes of work related learning in primary school include:

Supporting literacy, numeracy and the development of 'enterprise' and 'employability' skills.

A resource to influence both the aspirations of young people through addressing the assumptions which shape attitudes and expectations.

Further afield, in Australia, The Case for Career Related Learning in Primary Schools (2014) found a very positive impact of a range of careers activities on primary school aspiration, engagement and achievement. In Canada a research study The Early Years: Career Development for Young Children (2017) confirmed that career ideas started very young, as do concepts of self and work. In the Netherlands, Huber et al looked at The Effect of Early Entrepreneurship Education: assessing the impact of a five-day entrepreneurship education programme on 2751 primary school Dutch pupils. The study found significant positive impact on the non-cognitive entrepreneurial skills of pupils such as risk-taking, creativity and self-efficacy.

Not much in the careers world is new: in 1988 Her Majesty's Inspectorate provided Careers Education and Guidance 5 to 16, the tenth in a series of curriculum resources. Its excellent guidance on careers education within the curriculum includes specific information on the value of and ideas for primary school work and refers to involving employers and linking careers to subject skills. The resource explains that benefits of careers work in primary schools include building resilience and improving transition skills. 30 years ago, this was mainstream guidance from government and it seems that the wheel is turning this way again.
What resources are available to support primary careers education?
Free and charged-for resources for this age group include:

1. John Lewis World of Work resources are free, and mapped to careers learning outcomes for KS2. They provide nine lessons that can be used over a day or singly.

2. The Career Development Institute's learning outcomes for Careers, Employability and Enterprise Education show progression and ideas for delivery from KS2 to 5. Wales and Scotland frameworks include early years careers-related learning outcomes and progression.

3. Primary Futures links work volunteers to primary schools and aims to broaden horizons and raise aspirations.

4. NAHT's A Guide for primary school leaders on working with employers and volunteers discusses some of the most common activities to help primary school children to connect between school and the wider world.

5. Primary Schools - Enabling Enterprise provides lesson materials, staff training and skills assessment tools.

6. Enterprise Education in Primary schools provides a wide range of enterprise activities/sites.

7. Future Morph focuses on science and maths curriculum activities which can easily be adapted.

8. The CBI encourages businesses to link with primary children through its paper Primary Thinking

9. The Bonkers Book of Jobs (Complete-Careers) is targeted at an audience of 9-13-year olds to learn about careers in a fun and engaging way, similar to the style of Horrible Histories. £7.99

10. The Make it Real game (Prospects)is a tried and tested class game that meets 16 out of the 17 CDI learning outcomes for careers, enterprise and employability. CD £95 +VAT, map £50-£70

11. Paws in Jobland (CASCAID) is a fun and interactive IT resource that introduces children to the world around them and the jobs that people in their community do. £110 for a school licence

12. First JED (Job Explorer Database) (Careersoft) is a multimedia IT resource that introduces workplaces and careers in a way that catches the imagination and supports work-related learning. £165 for a school licence

13. Career Mark primary is a quality award that proven to raise aspiration: membership and the assessment framework provide guidance for careers in primary schools. Charging relates to school size.

Enough research has already been undertaken to show us the fundamental importance of primary age careers education. We need to use career learning in primary school so that children explore roles, careers, and build positive self-image. We should not wait for the government funded research as we already have enough to highlight the importance of careers work with the very young.
This report is also available to download on our Materials page. To contact the author visit lizreececareers.co.uk or email lizreececareers@gmail.com.

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The Value of Careers Work with Primary School Pupils: Research and Resources - Central Careers Hub

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Written by Liz Reece The difference between children's career aspirations from age seven to 17 are marginal, and too often based on gender stereotypes, socio-economic backgrounds and influenced by TV, film and radio. This is the summary provided by charity Education and Employers on 19th January 2018 in its report Drawing the Future.

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Practical support used by a number of Sheffield primary schools

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Skip to the content

Sheffield Children's University (CU) was established in 2008 and now has over 44,000 members who have collectively taken part in around 3 million hours of high quality learning outside of normal school hours! We work with over 70 schools from across the city and over 200 Learning Destinations (approved activity providers). Sheffield CU is part of Sheffield City Council.

We know taking part in CU makes a difference in Sheffield - each year our data tells us that children/young people who participate make more progress in their learning at school, and are much more likely to do better than they were expected to in their SATs and GCSEs. We also know it's great for growing confidence, motivation, self-esteem, and the most important thing about participating in CU? HAVING FUN!

Any child or young person attending a Sheffield school can join Sheffield CU...

- Through their school

If their school is currently subscribing to our service in Sheffield, pupils can earn CU credits by taking part in school-based learning activities either at breakfast clubs, lunchtime activities or after-school clubs.

- At a Learning Destination

All children/young people can earn CU credits by taking part in activities at a validated Learning Destination by collecting credits in a Passport to Learning (available from all Sheffield libraries for £3.50)

We do have a membership package for Home Educated children and young people who live within the Sheffield boundary - contact us for more information.

We can only track and award children and young people who attend Sheffield schools (unless they live in Sheffield and have subscribed to our Home Education membership package). However, we are working on a wider project with Sheffield Hallam University to develop and launch new CUs in the South Yorkshire area only. Contact us for more information.
Contact:
Katie Hamshaw

Tel: 0114 2039134

Email: cu@sheffield.gov.uk

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Skip to the content Sheffield Children's University (CU) was established in 2008 and now has over 44,000 members who have collectively taken part in around 3 million hours of high quality learning outside of normal school hours! We work with over 70 schools from across the city and over 200 Learning Destinations (approved activity providers).

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Fun book for students

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The Bonkers Book of Jobs - Candy Jar Books

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The Bonkers Book of Jobs by Mark Wilkinson and John Ambrose Discover your own BONKERS JOB! What's the smelliest job?The scariest? The Most disgusting? And which bonkers job would you like to do in the future. The Bonkers Book of Jobs helps you choose the tastiest, weirdest and stupidest jobs around.

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An external quality mark for schools

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Enterprise week ideas

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Practical guidance on what works

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Using LMI in primary schools

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Bexhill Primary visits a firm

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Pupils from Bexhill Primary Academy in Sunderland spent the morning with global automotive manufacturer Unipres, as part of our primary benchmarks pilot.
The North East Ambition: Careers Benchmarks Primary Pilot is testing how the government's Good Careers Guidance Benchmarks can be adapted for primary schools. It is part-funded by the European Social Fund.

During the visit, pupils worked alongside apprentices and staff at Unipres to discover more about the jobs they do and what skills they need for each role. They also got to try out some of the company's state-of-the-art equipment, including its virtual reality crane and virtual reality welder.

Andrew Hodgson, Chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "This visit has been a great opportunity for younger pupils to experience what it might be like to work in the advanced manufacturing and automotive sectors, and I hope it has inspired some ambitious ideas.

"It's fantastic to see significant regional employers such as Unipres actively involved in supporting the skills development of our young people from the very earliest age, and I am certain that these children will gain a huge amount from what they've experienced here today.

"Improving skills, access to employment and supporting career progression is at the heart of the North East Strategic Economic Plan.

"We can help to do that by ensuring young people of every age have meaningful encounters with a broad range of employers; and that they understand the link between the subjects they study in school and the career opportunities available to them. It may sound simple, but it's a huge culture change for many schools.

"The North East Ambition: Careers Benchmarks Primary Pilot is part of our commitment to improve social mobility by supporting age-appropriate careers-related experiences from primary age.

"The pilot is about exploring how we offer young pupils consistently high-quality, careers-related learning that will spark curiosity, self-belief and hope for the future. Today's event is an excellent example of just that."

A total of 70 primary schools from across the North East LEP area are involved in the pilot. Each school has the support of a Facilitator to help them implement and achieve the benchmarks and an Action Researcher to capture the impact.

They can also access seed funding, provided by the EY Foundation, to help finance careers activities in or out of school.

The schools also get to be part of a community of Primary Careers Leaders, helping to deliver a shared vision for achieving the primary benchmarks.

Sian Browne from the EY Foundation said: "Research shows that decisions made at primary age can impact future work opportunities. So, raising awareness at an early stage about the employment options available is crucial. That is why the EY Foundation is delighted to be working with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership as they begin their pilot to develop and embed career-enabling benchmarks in primary schools. We hope these benchmarks will be rolled out across the primary sector, better preparing all pupils for the next stage of career and employment support at secondary school."

The Careers Benchmarks Primary Pilot follows the North East LEP's successful delivery of the Gatsby Careers Guidance Benchmark Pilot in 2015, which led to government launching new statutory guidance for schools on how to deliver careers education.

Maureen Askew, Unipres Training Academy Senior Controller, said: "It's fantastic to welcome the pupils from Bexhill Academy to Unipres so they can discover what the engineering and manufacturing sector is really like, gaining an insight into the variety of exciting careers we offer.

"We believe it is essential that companies like ours from across the region work directly with schools to demystify industry, capture the imagination of these young people and show how the automotive industry remains a vibrant and vital sector in the North East.

"Unipres is absolutely committed to working with schools to support the Career Benchmarks agenda and help excite pupils about engineering and the many other opportunities on their doorstep."

Laura Carr, Year Six teacher and careers lead at Bexhill Primary Academy, added: "We were keen to take part in the Benchmarks Primary Pilot as it is going to really help us to structure and build on the work we're already doing in school around careers and skills.

"It's been fantastic to visit Unipres today and the pupils have learned so much about the work that happens here, from accountancy to engineering, and the skills you need to do those jobs.

"Hands-on learning opportunities like this really excite and inspire the pupils, and I know they've all really enjoyed today's visit, as well as gained a huge amount."

Year Six pupil, Molly, said: "Today has been really exciting and I've learned all about the different kinds of jobs you can do here. The shop floor was the best bit, with the big machines. You could see everyone was working really hard."

The North East Ambition: Careers Benchmarks Primary Pilot is delivered in partnership with EY Foundation, an independent charity that helps young people overcome barriers to gaining fulfilling employment.

In 2016, the EY Foundation and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) undertook research with 1500 young people about the challenges of getting into work in the 21st century. This identified the need for interventions at primary school age to develop employability skills and forge links with employers to better prepare young people for the world of work. Building on the success of new career guidance benchmarks for secondary schools (following a two-year pilot by the North East LEP and the Gatsby Foundation), the EY Foundation believes these benchmarks need to be adapted to the primary sector to enable a seamless transition from primary through to secondary education. The EY Foundation believes the pilot project in 70 primary schools across the North East is critical step towards achieving this.

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Pupils visit Unipres as part of primary benchmarks pilot

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Pupils from Bexhill Primary Academy in Sunderland spent the morning with global automotive manufacturer Unipres, as part of our primary benchmarks pilot. The North East Ambition: Careers Benchmarks Primary Pilot is testing how the government's Good Careers Guidance Benchmarks can be adapted for primary schools. It is part-funded by the European Social Fund.

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Take a normal primary visit and add careers......

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Children from Percy Main Primary school took over Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths & Museum for a day as part of a new programme designed to help children to learn about career options from an early age.

Year 5 pupils from the North Tyneside school took on the role of staff at the museum, welcoming their parents and fellow pupils and showing them around the museum.

Phil Graham, Primary Facilitator at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), explained: "The takeover day was part of a pilot programme which we're leading in the North East, designed to raise children's aspirations and help them to learn about the range of career options that are open to them.
"We know that children start to make decisions that could limit their future options from as young as five years old, so we're working with 70 primary schools in the North East to help sow the seeds of ambition from an early age."
Hear from some of the pupils, parents and teachers involved, in this short film:

Percy Main is one of 70 primary schools in the North East taking part in the Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot, testing how the Good Career Guidance Benchmarks can be adapted for primary schools and developing an early careers programme suitable for children in primary education.

The Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot is delivered by the North East LEP in partnership with EY Foundation.
Find out more about the Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot.

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Percy Main pupils take over North Tyneside museum

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Children from Percy Main Primary school took over Segedunum Roman Fort, Baths & Museum for a day as part of a new programme designed to help children to learn about career options from an early age.

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University information for primary students

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Here you can find loads of useful resources to use in school to help young people understand the facts about higher education.

You can find a sample of the resources available in the library here:

To request access to the full resource library please click here.

Please login below to see these resources. If you don't have a login please register now.

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Here you can find loads of useful resources to use in school to help young people understand the facts about higher education. You can find a sample of the resources available in the library here: Please login below to see these resources. If you don't have a login please register now.

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Why it's important to start early with CRL

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Teach First and the Education and Employers charity today (23 Jan) publish new research highlighting the importance of getting children to think much earlier than at present about their future careers and ambitions through career-related learning in primary schools.

The two charities are calling on policy makers and schools to recognise the importance of these findings to help tackle the kind of career stereotypes and narrow aspirations that tend to form in the primary years before lasting into adulthood.

The findings are included in a new report entitled " Career-related learning in primary: The role of primary teachers and schools in preparing children for the future ".

The report was commissioned by Teach First with support from the AKO Foundation and undertaken by the Education and Employer charity with DMH Associates.

It comes as part of new efforts by Teach First to drive better career-related learning in primary schools across England, to help children see the relevance of their education and opportunities ahead without holding biased assumptions and having narrow aspirations.

It is being published to coincide with a new report by the OECD and Education and Employers entitled ' Envisioning the Future of Education and Jobs: Trends, Data and Drawings ' which is also being launched today in Davos during the World Economic Forum.

The OECD are calling on governments, employers and educators to work far more closely together to help broaden young people's horizons, raise their aspirations, and provide them with the vital work-related knowledge and skills that will help them as they make the transition from school to work.

Teach First and the Employers and Education charity are today recommending careers-related learning, as it is termed in the report, to be utilised to seed and develop the knowledge and know-how that equip children for the next stage of their lives.

The need for improved career-related learning has become more urgent than ever, with concerns surrounding a potential post-Brexit skills gap, and much greater awareness of gender stereotyping from an early age.

.Esme, lots of our firefighters are girls and boys - some of them want to say hello to you! We would love to meet you and show you what we do. You can be a firefighter too! #firefightingsexism #thisgirlcan @NFCC_FireChiefs @StaffsFire @LondonFire Let's keep this going! pic.twitter.com/ZV1IdrGp3S
- West Midlands Fire (@WestMidsFire) January 18, 2019

Sarah Kaiser - Employee Experience, Diversity & Inclusion Lead for Fujitsu EMEIA - shared her thoughts on why this is an important milestone for showcasing more female role models to young girls:

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"Although we've come a long way in celebrating the women as well as the men who shape our world today, more still needs to be done to attract female talent into roles that have been traditionally perceived as male-dominated. A shortage of candidates in these industries - such as the fire brigade and tech sector - is partly due to a lack of awareness of the opportunities that exist, and the flawed perception that some groups, such as women, don't belong in these professions. But because you can't adequately serve the whole community if you don't have a diverse team, promoting diversity is crucial for ensuring the future competitiveness of the economy. And girls shouldn't be missing out on rewarding careers.

"It's important that all organisations - both public and private - join forces to encourage all talent - girls and boys - to take up these professions. One way we can pave the way for more girls to pursue these types of roles is by telling the stories of some of the great female trailblazers like these female firefighters and female tech heroes such as Ada Lovelace and Grace Hopper. After all, showcasing female role models will help to inspire young girls and women to follow in their footsteps."

In 2017, Teach First research revealed that pupils in low-income communities have less access to careers support than their wealthier peers, while demonstrating that good careers provision can be transformational in helping children to realise their ambitions.

Since then, interest in careers education has ramped up significantly, particularly in secondary schools where government-funded training bursaries are available for up to 1,300 careers leaders in schools and colleges across England.

But despite the best efforts of some primary schools, career-related learning for younger children has not improved. Now, building on the success of Teach First's Careers and Employability Leadership Programme - which trains middle leaders in secondary schools to take responsibility for careers provision - the charity will look to develop the first careers-related training programme for teachers and leaders in primary through pilots in schools serving disadvantaged communities.

These pilots will ensure career-related learning for all children, especially those who have less access to careers expertise outside of school, as is often the case for disadvantaged pupils.

The work will tackle issues like career stereotypes which can form early and negatively affect what young people can achieve - with constraints linked to perceptions of social class, intelligence, and opportunities with limiting ideas of 'men's work and women's work'.
The pilots will have three main aims:

1. Enhancing the understanding of jobs and careers.

2. Growing the skills required in a modern labour market, such as problem solving or teamwork.

3. Improving pupil outcomes by changing pupil attitudes and enhancing their understanding of what different subjects can lead to.

Today's report from Teach First and Education and Employers charity sets out examples of good career-related learning, despite challenges such as finding space and time in the curriculum to provide opportunities to learn about the world of work.

The report identifies that an essential ingredient for successful primary schools is buy-in from senior leadership. It recommends that primary schools should develop an approach to career-related learning that enables students to engage progressively in a wide range of experiences of transitions and the world of work. Children should have encounters with the world of work from the age of 5 to see the connection between what they learn and what they might want to do in the future.
Russell Hobby, Chief Executive, Teach First:
"We have seen improvements in careers and employability education - but for many reasons, career-related learning has been overlooked when it comes to primary settings, with the exception of the excellent Primary Futures programme.

"By speaking to our teachers and seeing the research, we know that quality careers provision from an early age is the best way of challenging the stereotypes and constraints that can take hold and limit the ambitions of young people as they grow up.

"It must be stressed, that none of this is about putting today's primary pupils straight into workspaces. Nor is it about setting children on a set path from an early age. Instead, we want young people to stay committed to their fantasy careers whatever there may be - but equally, gain in confidence and develop a much keener sense of a wide range of opportunities as they grow up."
Nick Chambers, CEO, Education and Employers:
"We are delighted to have undertaken this report for Teach First which builds on research we have done over the last 5 years in primary career related learning. And over this period some 4,000 primary schools have signed up to the Primary Futures programme together with 50,000 volunteers from the world of work - all of whom are willing to go into primary schools and help broaden children's horizons and raise their aspirations. It is hoped that this report will help focus more attention on the importance of career education in primary."
Dr Elnaz Kashefpakdel, Head of Research, Education and Employers:
"The report outlines a number of activities in primary schools that target important outcomes: educational outcomes, children's understanding of job opportunities and skills required by the modern labour market. Career-related learning supports motivation and concepts of self, aspiration and broader life and social skills. These outcomes are all essential building blocks that underpin our future workforce."
Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE, Director, DMH Associates
" This research is based on robust international and national academic research findings. The message is simple: This is a period largely of exploration and children's aspirations should, rightly, be tentative and imaginative. Yet, there are a range of attributes, skills and behaviours that can be learned in this stage of a child's life that will leave him/her in the best possible position with their transitions to secondary education and beyond."
Callum Thompson, primary participant, Teach First:
"I know so many of the children in my class who want to be doctors, engineers, teachers, and for a lucky few, they'll know friends or family members who have gone into those careers themselves and can offer a guiding hand.

"But for many others, there isn't always that understanding of how to get there - and in some cases: there isn't a sense of personal belief either. As their teacher, it's heart-breaking to see that interest and fire sometimes drop off."

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new research from teach first and the education and employers charity highlights importance of starting careers learning in primary schools

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New research highlights importance of starting careers learning in primary schools

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Teach First and the Education and Employers charity today (23 Jan) publish new research highlighting the importance of getting children to think much earlier than at present about their future careers and ambitions through career-related learning in primary schools. The two charities are calling on policy makers and schools to...

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Great activity on looking forward

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Let's get reviewing.....

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Get your film club going...

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Make something memorable

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Y6 transition support

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Welcome to our Year 6 transition week!

View your free online course by clicking on the 3 videos below.

Meet Maya and Daniel and other characters who will talk you through everything that Year 6 pupils need to know to be confident about the step up to secondary school.

Please Log in or Register to access our free
Be ready to be remarkable Year 6 transition learning resource.

If access isn't immediate, please wait 30 seconds and then refresh the page 😊

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Welcome to our Year 6 transition week! View your free online course by clicking on the 3 videos below. Meet Maya and Daniel and other characters who will talk you through everything that Year 6 pupils need to know to be confident about the step up to secondary school.

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Employment game - Sheffield based

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Our games help children find their purpose as they explore the mysterious world of work!

The fun way to explore the world of work!

Panjango equips young people with the knowledge, skills and experience to find their purpose and fulfil their potential.

Games that do good

We are a social purpose business so we place just as much importance on our social objectives, as we do our financial ones. We will only develop games that create real, tangible positive outcomes for young people.

We are also committed to reinvesting 10% of our profits into a Panjango education foundation to deliver activities with disadvantaged young people to reduce educational inequality.

"Panjango is a really dynamic organisation pushing the boundaries

of career learning within and beyond the classroom."

Dr. Deirdre Hughes OBE - Chair, National Careers Council England (2012-14)

"Panjango is a powerful, immersive experience which helps young people understand why their learning is important and how it is used in practical settings in the world of work."

Dr Richard Gerver - School Head Teacher of the Year and best-selling education author

"It's my 7th year at Speilwarenmesse (the world's largest toy fayre)

and Panjango is the best idea I've ever seen."

Anna Orleanska - Editor, Branża Dziecięca

"Panjango's games are a fun way for young people to explore

the world of work and their own future prospects."

Jonathan Lightfoot - Manager, Prospects Education Resources

Our Supporters

We are delighted to have been funded or supported by...

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Our games help children find their purpose as they explore the mysterious world of work! Panjango equips young people with the knowledge, skills and experience to find their purpose and fulfil their potential. We are a social purpose business so we place just as much importance on our social objectives, as we do our financial ones.

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Background information

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Abstract

It is frequently argued that work relating to key areas of pupils' personal and social education starts too late, that it takes place after crucial attitudes, perceptions and understandings have already been developed by pupils. Generally the problem is that work does not start until the secondary stage. This paper describes an evaluation of careers work undertaken with Year 4 pupils in a primary school. In this school, a yearly careers week was held when structured activities were organized around talks about their work given by parents. The researcher found that 5 months after the careers work, the Year 4 pupils remembered much of significance. These findings are then related to a number of theories of career development which support such work early in pupils' careers. The paper concludes by outlining the benefits that careers work in the primary school offers.

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It is frequently argued that work relating to key areas of pupils' personal and social education starts too late, that it takes place after crucial attitudes, perceptions and understandings have already been developed by pupils. Generally the problem is that work does not start until the secondary stage.

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Practical activities for children

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Spark career conversations with your primary class using our fun tools and classroom activities.

Your pupils can explore what they're good at, where their interests lie and start building their skills for the world of work.

Why use it?

The tools and resources:

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Spark career conversations with your primary class using our fun tools and classroom activities. Your pupils can explore what they're good at, where their interests lie and start building their skills for the world of work. The tools and resources:

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Large amount of practical support

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Practical support for schools

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Research projects on different ways to

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Hundreds of primary schools will benefit from £2m investment to support careers education. Today we've announced the 15 providers that will benefit from the fund and deliver projects to primary school age children.
We have allocated £1.65m to help increase the scale and impact of nine existing programmes, and £350,000 to support the launch of six new, innovative programmes working with primary schools.

The investment is designed to both support existing best practice and back new ideas to support innovation in a primary setting.

While there is much existing good career development practice in primary schools, we aim for the fund to support the development of a clear structure for career-related learning at primary level and consistent approaches across schools.
Claudia Harris, CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said:

"Careers aspirations and expectations form young. By supporting these brilliant organisations we can help spark a light in more young people just when it matters so much. We look forward to seeing the impact of these innovative programmes that will help children explore opportunities and challenge stereotypes as early as possible. "

Scaling-up good practice
Education and Employers, the National Literacy Trust and TeenTech are among the organisations who have been allocated funding to scale-up their current programmes.

TeenTech is launching an interactive programme 'City of Tomorrow', to enhance key employability skills such as leadership, teamwork and conflict resolution for Year 5 and 6 students in modern industries. The programme will reach 9,000 students through these interactive sessions and the sharing of resources at teacher and parent briefings.

Education and Employers is receiving the largest amount of funding to increase the scale of their Primary Futures programme, which aims to broaden the horizons of children through making connections between their learning and futures.
Nick Chambers, CEO of Education and Employers, said:
"It will help us bring to life the breadth of the world of work to more than 23,000 primary aged children in 330 primary schools over the forthcoming academic year and will create a step change in the provision of career-related learning."We know from our research that children at primary school can rule themselves out of future career paths even at this young age, so it is vital to bring the world of work to life through our fantastic volunteers. We look forward to challenging perceptions around job roles and inspiring the next generation through this funding."

Supporting innovation

Funding to develop new and innovative programmes has been awarded to organisations including the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), LOUD and the Eden Project. Through these programmes, the Primary Fund aims to build a Primary Toolkit for all UK schools to access. Each of the funded organisations will contribute to the Toolkit by sharing best practice and resources from their programmes.

LOUD is a series of digital films that deliver accessible career-related learning content for Key Stage 2, reaching 3,000 pupils in its first year. The series of 20 short films will feature young people aged 7-11 interviewing young working professionals across a diverse range of careers, focused on STEM subjects, the creative industries and PSHE.

Each film will be accompanied by supporting materials to bridge the gap between curriculum and career. LOUD's project will also be match funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA).
Gloria Abramoff, Executive Editor at LOUD, says:
"Given that there is a skills shortage in both the STEM and creative industries, LOUD's commitment is to address this through films where children discover for themselves the joys and challenges of work, and understand the link between the curriculum and career."

The Eden Project will be using the investment to launch 'Eden Takeover Days' for 500 children, by allowing pupils to engage with staff from a variety of backgrounds and job roles. This experience will help them identify their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as learn how to set achievable goals.

A full list of the recipients is below. Details of how the funds have been allocated is available below.
Scaling Existing Programmes

East Sussex County Council

Education and Employers

Enabling Enterprise

Gro Organic

15 Billion EBP

Learn by Design

National Literacy Trust

Regenda Ltd.

TeenTech CIC

Developing New and Innovative Programmes

Academy FM Folkestone

Black Country Consortium Ltd

Eden Project

LOUD

North East LEP

The White Room Consultancy Ltd

Scaling existing programmes
Education and Employers (£404,000)
The Primary Futures programme will engage 330 primary schools in England to provide effective career-related learning that benefits more than 23,000 primary aged children. It embeds this schools-led programme tailored to the needs of pupils and with impact assessed throughout.

Education and Employers has over 4,000 primary schools registered on the EE digital school-employee volunteer matchmaking platform. 30 schools (1,350 students) will receive targeted intervention e.g. Teacher CPD, CRL delivery, parental engagement.

Regenda Ltd. (£240,000)
The Raising Aspirations programme consists of four components: self-discovery, opening the world of work, resilience/character/goal setting, employability skills and confidence. It is offered across all Year 5 and 6 pupils in schools where delivered. Parent and pupil involvement are central to this offer. Regenda plans to scale the programme to reach 130 schools and it will be delivered by Positive Footprints.

National Literacy Trust (£164,000)
The 'Dream Big' programme will be delivered to Year 1 pupils and consists of three phases: visits to workplaces, classroom activities and a celebration event. The classroom activity will involve teachers expanding the pupils understanding of the world of work and build on their recent employer visit. NLT will offer resources and training sessions to the teachers involved. The funding will expand delivery from 20 schools to a further 50 primary schools.

Enabling Enterprise (£286,000)
The programme will support teachers to embed the teaching of the eight essential skills through a combination of training, support and access to teaching resources and tools developed by a team of outstanding teachers. Funding will go towards expanding the programme to a minimum of 20 primary schools in England, working with Senior Leadership to agree goals in support of school priorities with a focus on developing students eight essential skills and other Primary Fund priorities.

East Sussex County Council (£146,000)
The East Sussex Primary Careers Hub will raise aspirations for primary age pupils and create 'whole system change' in the county, creating a careers strategy for ages 5-19 (and 24 for SEND) by aligning with the secondary Careers Hub, established in September 2018. Through four strands of activity, the Primary Careers Hub will broaden horizons for all primary age children through exposing pupils to career-related learning and employability skills in the curriculum, high-quality employer encounters with local businesses, inspirational STEM activities and engagement with parents. The pilot programme will work with 24 schools and over 4,000 students from reception to Year 6 to support schools to review their curriculum and look to embed careers, STEM activities, aspirations and encounters with employers and the world of work within the primary curriculum.

Councillor Bob Standley, Lead Member for Education and Inclusion, Special Educational Needs and Disability (ISEND) at East Sussex County Council, said: "We're really delighted to be leading on this important initiative and look forward to embarking on this pilot project with our primary schools in September. We've seen a big improvement in careers support and links between our schools and local employers in the first year of our Careers Hub for secondary schools. We're confident that scaling up that support, to cover our primary age pupils, will provide a further boost for careers and skills in East Sussex."

TeenTech (£75,000)
TeenTech City of Tomorrow is an interactive programme for Year 5 and 6 students to deepen their understanding of key employability skills and career opportunities in modern industry. As well as directly running sessions for over 3,000 students, a further 6,000 students will be indirectly reached through sharing resources via a series of teacher and parent briefing sessions. Delivered by TeenTech in conjunction with local employers, the activity is set in the context of 'cities of the future' and asks students to explore how they will live, work and play in the future. Students think about local and global challenges and apply critical thinking skills to solve the problems they have identified through innovative building designs.

Maggie Philbin, CEO of TeenTech, said: "I am delighted that The Careers & Enterprise Company are supporting us to deliver the City of Tomorrow programme around the country. We know that the programme is very effective in helping young students see how they belong in contemporary industry and ensuring that they develop teamwork, collaboration, creativity, communication skills and confidence, and are rewarded for the development of these skills."

Learn by Design (£63,000)
The funding will broaden the reach of the programme to 22 schools as well as three additional deeper learning projects on the L.E.A.D. Academy Trust Curriculum Enrichment Programme. The programme will be delivered to schools in several regions including Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Activities will include mapping the L.E.A.D Academy Enrichment programme platform to the Skills Builder system essential skills and fully integrating the use of Employer Ambassadors into all event days to enhance career-related learning.

Louise Curd, Director of Programmes at Learn by Design, said: "We are excited to be developing the programme to deepen the learning and enhance the employability skills with the assistance of effective employer encounters within the classroom."
Gro Organic (£142,000)
A programme which focuses on a Learning Outside the Classroom (LOTC) activity-based approach to contextualise learning. The programme introduces children to different roles within Gro Organic (e.g. gardeners and wellbeing practitioners), as well as wider roles, through a range of employer engagements.

Based on their Roots, Shoots & Wellington Boots programmes, it involves inviting guest speakers and employers to work with children on outdoor activities, as well as some light touch parental engagement via an online platform.
15 Billion EBP (129,000)
15 Billion EBP will work with a number of new schools in the Borough of Newham which includes many areas of deprivation. The focus is on delivering a whole school timetabled 'World of Work' week involving combinations of employer visits, interactive work-related problem-solving sessions, use of business volunteers in the classroom, curriculum linked topics, all themed by year group. Parents are also engaged with a 'workshop' and resources to support their children with project work at home.
Developing New and Innovative Programmes
LOUD (£98,000 - including £35k matched funding from the GLA)
LOUD (Live Out Ur Dreams) is an authentic and imaginative 'grab and go' series of digital films, that deliver accessible career-related learning content for Key Stage 2, reaching over 3,000 children in the first year. The series of 20 short films will feature young people aged 7-11 interviewing young working professionals across a diverse range of careers, focused in the pilot academic year on STEM subjects, the creative industries and PSHE. Each film will be accompanied by supporting materials to bridge the gap between curriculum and career.

LOUD's project will includes matched funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA). In addition, LOUD will be working in partnership with the GLA to produce films for London based schools and are collaborating with the PSHE Association to create two films with a PSHE focus.

Gloria Abramoff, Executive Editor at LOUD, says: "The idea for LOUD was born through a passion for a fair and equal understanding of work opportunities. Given that there is a skills shortage in both the STEM and creative industries, LOUD's commitment is to address this through films where children discover for themselves the joys and challenges of work and understand the link between the curriculum and career. We wanted these films to be owned by children to also help develop their curiosity."

Black Country Consortium Ltd (Back Country LEP) (£87,000)
The Careers 2030 project will build on the already successful Secondary School programmes, the Black Country Careers Hub and the Enterprise Adviser Network. The programme will be delivered through a Primary mini Careers Hub of local primary schools, employers and careers professionals, inspiring pupils at a young age to investigate the jobs of the future and develop skills they might need.

Colin Parker, Skills Director at Black Country Consortium Ltd, said: "We are very excited to be working with The Careers & Enterprise Company, our local primary schools and employers on the Careers 2030 project. It is becoming increasingly important to ensure that, from a young age, pupils are given greater access to meaningful encounters with employers and experiences of the workplace, to help inspire, motivate and enthuse them."

North East LEP (£69,000)
In partnership with NUSTEM at Northumbria University, North East LEP will be working with 35 schools, testing ways of providing teachers with resources which will help children better understand the range of opportunities open to them, and counteract the stereotypes and lack of understanding that can limit children's aspirations at a young age.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "This funding will allow us to carry out an important pilot project with trainee primary teachers in the North East, looking at how we can build career-related learning for primary pupils into teacher training. This is a valuable addition to our existing Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot which is already underway, supporting schools in the North East to deliver high quality careers education to each and every young person, from primary age upwards."

The White Room Consultancy Ltd (£66,000)
Digital Blast works with primary students to develop their digital skills and support growth in confidence, communication, problem solving and teamwork. It makes a strong connection between their 'digital world' and the world of digital work. Schools will be working on a social action project that is important to them; i.e. the environment, health, international, fundraising or e-safety. By getting them to understand that they can apply their talents and passion for digital and apply this to help people, we hope to provide a completely new way for young people to discover the world of work.

Academy FM Folkestone (£35,000)
Academy FM Folkestone will be working with six local primary schools for a media-based careers programme. Each student from Year 4 to 6 will learn how to record interviews with local professionals that will be broadcast on the community radio station. Students will also visit workplaces around the area to get a wide experience of the variety of jobs on offer. The audio they create will be available on the Primary Careers Toolkit, where any teacher can use the project to run career-related learning in their class.

Jo Saxton, CEO of the Turner Schools, said: "We are delighted to have the support from The Careers & Enterprise Company for this project. As a Trust we have taken the research that careers engagement work needs to start early very seriously, and this project helps young people overcome barriers to a successful education."

Eden Project (£34,000)
Eden Takeover Days will increase 500 Cornish primary children's awareness of the array of job opportunities available in Cornwall and beyond through have-a-go days where they'll engage with Eden Project staff representing diverse backgrounds and job roles. Back in school pupils will use their new knowledge to think about their strengths, weaknesses and interests. Based on this they'll practise the skill of setting themselves an achievable goal and working towards it. Finally, they'll share their experience with peers and parents. The funding will enable all staff involved to be properly trained and resourced and provide supply cover and travel support for schools.

Sam Kendall, Education Manager at the Eden Project, said: "Eden is proud to be part of the innovative work supported by the Primary Fund. This is an exciting new perspective to develop our educational work with school, and to explore our charitable mission of creating a better future for all, by connecting people with the living world and with each other."

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Boost for primary school careers education

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Hundreds of primary schools will benefit from £2m investment to support careers education. Today we've announced the 15 providers that will benefit from the fund and deliver projects to primary school age children. We have allocated £1.65m to help increase the scale and impact of nine existing programmes, and £350,000 to support the launch of six new, innovative programmes working with primary schools.

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Outcomes and new resources from research projects

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These free resources have been developed by a range of trusted providers, including those involved in the Primary Fund.

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Primary school - where are we at the moment?

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Thank you for taking the quiz

This will help to strengthen the career-related learning available to pupils in your school. In the resources section of this platform, you can find a selection of resources to support you in doing this.

You can download your answers in PDF form here.

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Review of CEC primary research projects

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During the lockdown period, Greenwood Academies Trust - a Multi-academy Trust - carried out an online careers week for all primary aged children across the trust. The week included 10 interactive talks from employers and employees and a challenge. The week was supported by Primary Futures and the trust's employer partners.
"The children both in school and at home have loved the sessions... Seeing how inspired the children were from them all and the buzz about school of children talking about what they wanted to be and how some had changed because of the talks" (Teacher)

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During the lockdown period, Greenwood Academies Trust - a Multi-academy Trust - carried out an online careers week for all primary aged children across the trust. The week included 10 interactive talks from employers and employees and a challenge. The week was supported by Primary Futures and the trust's employer partners.

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STEM activities for primary schools

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Talentino helps your special school, mainstream school, or FE College to deliver better careers guidance through our specialist SEND Careers programmes which:

Improve your Careers strategy and overall structure

Equip you with SEND specialist careers resources

Train your staff to be more confident delivering careers guidance to SEND students

Grow the number of employers working with you

Increase the number of Gatsby Benchmarks improving the range of destinations your students consider

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Talentino is a niche career development organisation working through Talentino Limited and our charity, the Talentino Foundation. Our mission is to enable young people to take advantage of our knowledge and experience.

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Primary careers lessons

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Thousands of FREE teaching resources to download

Pick your own FREE resource every week with our newsletter

Suggest a Resource! You want it? We'll make it

24/7 customer support (with real people!)

Sign Up Now to Download

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2,138 Top Careers Day Teaching Resources

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Thousands of FREE teaching resources to download Pick your own FREE resource every week with our newsletter Suggest a Resource! You want it? We'll make it 24/7 customer support (with real people!) Sign Up Now to Download

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Using skillsbuilder in the primary setting

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Large number of different lessons and support

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Key learning aims and objectives

The CITE training materials aim to support (trainee) teachers to include careers-related learning in their teaching. At the end of the training teachers will:

Understand the impact of unconscious bias in children's career choices

Know how to use the Primary Careers Tool to include career contexts in science and maths lessons

Understand, and use, personal attributes in careers-related learning

The CITE training materials consist of three training sessions and associated 'gap' tasks. Each training session lasts about 1.5 hours to allow for discussion. The time required for each gap task will vary. After each gap task, participants will complete a reflective evaluation writing exercise.

The CITE training materials are best used as part of an ongoing training or CPD programme. You can access some of the materials via this platform. As a result of building careers into CITE, participants demonstrated confidence in using the resources that support integration of careers-related learning in the curriculum. Participants' reflections demonstrated that they also felt more confident and prepared to challenge stereotypes in careers related learning, suggesting adaptations to the tools, and new ideas.

" We want as a school to raise aspirations and expose children to different careers and a barrier has been how to do this without a budget, but the resources shown today will help this."

Skills Builder principles

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Key learning aims and objectives The CITE training materials aim to support (trainee) teachers to include careers-related learning in their teaching. At the end of the training teachers will: Understand the impact of unconscious bias in children's career choices Know how to use the Primary Careers Tool to include career contexts in science and maths lessons Understand, and use, personal attributes in careers-related learning The CITE training materials consist of three training sessions and associated 'gap' tasks.

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Happy Harry Potter Book Day!

We would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has taken part in Harry Potter Book Day. We can't wait to see what you've all been doing to celebrate!
Remember, it's not too late to take part. Our free event kit means you can celebrate Harry Potter Book Day any time of the year, anywhere in the world! You can sign up for an event kit until the end of October 2023, while our free, 35-minute virtual lesson presented by Evanna Lynch is still available on Twinkl's website.

Harry Potter Book Day is a chance for fans around the globe to celebrate J.K. Rowling's iconic series with events, parties and other festivities. The theme for this year is MAGICAL PLACES. From platform nine and three-quarters to Hogsmeade, The Burrow to the Ministry of Magic, there's a whole wizarding world to explore!

You can get involved in Harry Potter Book Day 2023 in three ways!

* Use our event kit to plan your own magical party, wherever you are.
* Look for events on our event map!
* Teachers and parents: watch our virtual lesson with Evanna Lynch!

Download our event kit - everything you need to plan a magical party!

Exciting news! Our 2023 event kit, perfect for helping you to prepare for your Harry Potter Book Day event, is out now and will be available until 31st October. Just sign up using the form below and a download link will appear on-screen.

Whether you are a bookshop, school, library or want to celebrate at home with family and friends, the event kit is packed to the brim with ideas and activities. From invitations, ideas for decorating, fancy dress and food and drink, to quizzes, word searches, colouring and games suitable for all ages. So don't delay, there's still plenty of time to plan your very own magical event.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] .

⚡ Sign up for an event kit and to be notified when the lesson is ready ⚡

Virtual lesson now available for schools and educators - perfect for children aged 7+!

Bloomsbury have created a virtual headline event hosted by Harry Potter film star Evanna Lynch (who played Luna Lovegood - as if you needed telling), in partnership with Twinkl and Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter.

This 35-minute event includes a:

Magical Places creative writing session from the Great Hall

How To Draw Hogwarts session with Evanna and Harry Potter illustrator Jonny Duddl

Spellcasting class from platform nine and three-quarters

It is free for teachers to show during the school day and for parents, carers, or guardians to enjoy with their children after school!

The online event, and supporting resources provided by Twinkl, is now available to give plenty of time to plan.
Watch the trailer above, and access the lesson in full now on Twinkl's website.

**Registration for a downloadable event kit will close on the 31st October 2023.

If you want to make sure you're one of the first to hear all the latest Harry Potter Book Day news, please sign up to our newsletter. If you've already registered, you will carry on receiving our exclusive news bulletins. By signing up, you are confirming you are over the age of 13.

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We would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has taken part in Harry Potter Book Day. We can't wait to see what you've all been doing to celebrate! Remember, it's not too late to take part.

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| Jobs for Everyone Programme – Primary Schools  Open to all primary schools in South Yorkshire for Reception (FS2) and KS1. Key aims of the programme are:  To help schools meet their curriculum requirements for the EYFS Framework and KS1 To raise awareness of the range of job roles in the NHS and Social Care To promote equality and diversity To dispel stereotypes in relation to different jobs

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Jobs for Everyone Registration Form for 2023/24

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Jobs for Everyone Registration Form for 2023/24

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Future Flyers is a research project where Y5/Y6 students investigate future careers or higher education whilst developing key transferable skills.

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What is Future Flyers?
Future Flyers is a research project where Y5/Y6 students investigate future careers or higher education whilst developing key transferable skills.

The programme is delivered through a series of teacher-led workshops - we will provide you with full planning and resources.

Schools can also run an optional celebration event where students can showcase their research to parents/carers and teachers.

Future Flyers has been developed in partnership with primary schools, aligns with the curriculum and Skillsbuilder framework and is FREE.
Programme Aims

Increase awareness and understanding of careers and higher education.

Develop research skills and understand the link between those and their application in the real world.

Show the steps students need to take in order to achieve their aspirations.

What schools get from Hepp
All schools participating in our Future Flyers programme will receive the following from us, at no cost:

PowerPoint presentations, activity resources and planning materials for all seven Future Flyers workshops - downloadable from our HeppHUB.

CPD materials to ensure staff have the knowledge and confidence to deliver the programme.

Future Flyers skills passports and skills stickers - we will post these out to you when you register (one per student).

Ongoing support from the Hepp team.

What do we need from participating schools?

To read through the Teacher's Pack which includes all the information needed to run the programme. The pack includes an introduction to Future Flyers, lesson plans for each of the seven workshops and suggested research topics for students.

To speak to the Hepp team if you have any questions.

Print workshop activity resources.

Deliver workshops.

Provide us with the required data and evaluation.

Data collection
For all Hepp activity we are required to collect learner data. Analysis of this data provides a robust impact assessment of the difference we are making to the lives of young people in our region.

This social mobility goal is the only reason we need individual learner data, we do not hold or use the data for anything else.

We require you to send the data for each student that participates in the programme and will be in touch with you about how to do this safely and securely at the appropriate time.

We work under the public task category of GDPR which means that we do not need to request parental/carer permission for this data (although they can request for this data to be removed).

We ask that you inform parents/carers out of courtesy, using the template letter that we provide.
How to access our Future Flyers resources
If you would like to deliver Future Flyers in your school please email us at hepp@shu.ac.uk to request access and we will send you a link to all of our resources.

If you would like more information on how the project is run, click here to view our CPD video.

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What is Future Flyers? Future Flyers is a research project where Y5/Y6 students investigate future careers or higher education whilst developing key transferable skills. The programme is delivered through a series of teacher-led workshops - we will provide you with full planning and resources. Schools can also run an optional celebration event where students can ...