Gatsby Benchmark 1
A Stable Careers Programme
Every school should have an embedded programme of careers education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents and carers, staff, governors, employers and other agencies.
What Benchmark 1 means in practice
Schools need a written careers programme that is published on their website, communicated to all stakeholders, and regularly evaluated. The updated benchmark asks for more than existence: the programme must be tailored to pupils' needs, sequenced appropriately, underpinned by learning outcomes, and linked to the whole-school development plan - with the explicit backing of governors, the headteacher and the senior leadership team.
What evidence is required
- Published careers programme on school website
- Named, appropriately trained Careers Leader with dedicated time allocation
- Explicit backing from governors, the headteacher and the senior leadership team
- Programme sequenced and underpinned by learning outcomes, linked to the school development plan
- Regular evaluation using feedback from pupils, parents and carers, staff, careers advisers and employers
Activities that satisfy Benchmark 1
- Careers programme policy document
- Annual careers calendar shared with students and parents
- Careers notice boards and assemblies
- Stakeholder surveys to measure awareness
How Chapter tracks it
Benchmark 1 evidence, without the data entry
Build your programme in Chapter's curriculum planner and publish it as a shareable public page - your Benchmark 1 evidence. A whole-school coverage and publish checklist plus stakeholder attestation prove it's embedded, understood and reviewed annually.
In Chapter Schools
Careers Programme builderEvidences it
Holds the named Careers Leader, protected time, budget, governor link and stakeholder attestations - two of the three BM1 pillars score straight off this form.
Public programme pageEvidences it
Publishes the careers programme and Provider Access statement to a public page - that page is the 'published and communicated' criterion.
Careers strategy & annual review
The multi-year strategy and annual review record behind 'sequenced, underpinned by learning outcomes, linked to the school development plan'.
CPD register
Records the Careers Leader's training - the 'appropriately trained' half of the named-leader criterion.
Governance pack
Gives the link governor a tokenised report to read and sign off, evidencing explicit governor oversight.
Chapter Family
Reaches parents and carers, who are named in BM1's 'known and understood by' list alongside pupils, staff and governors.
In the Chapter game
Benchmark 1 is scored from your programme records, so nothing in the game feeds it. Pupils' awareness of the programme is the one place it touches.
Frequently asked questions
What does Gatsby Benchmark 1 require?
How do you evidence Gatsby Benchmark 1?
How often should the Gatsby Benchmark 1 programme be reviewed?
Related Gatsby Benchmarks
Stop reconstructing Benchmark 1 after the fact
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