Ofsted & Careers Education
How Ofsted Inspects Careers Education
Since 10 November 2025, Ofsted has inspected state-funded schools in England under its renewed education inspection framework, publishing each result as a report card rather than a single overall grade. Careers education is judged within the 'personal development and wellbeing' evaluation area, one of six areas graded on a five-point scale: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention and urgent improvement. At the expected standard, the school's careers education prepares pupils for future education, employment or training, and the school is making steady progress towards the Gatsby Benchmarks.
Key facts
- Report cards replaced single-word overall judgements for school inspections from 10 November 2025
- Six evaluation areas are graded on a five-point scale: inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; attendance and behaviour; personal development and wellbeing; and leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged met or not met
- Careers sits in 'personal development and wellbeing', where the expected standard includes 'steady progress towards the Gatsby benchmarks'
- Also at the expected standard, the personal development programme is an entitlement for every pupil and leaders track participation
- Schools with a sixth form are also graded on post-16 provision, which covers careers guidance for students aged 16 to 19
Frequently asked questions
How does Ofsted inspect careers education?
Under the renewed framework, inspectors consider careers education within the personal development and wellbeing evaluation area. They look at whether pupils are well prepared and supported to progress into education, employment or training; whether there is an appropriate careers programme that meets the Gatsby Benchmarks, with impartial advice and guidance from a qualified careers adviser, workplace experiences and engagement with employers, colleges, training providers and universities; and whether pupils understand relevant trends in local and national employment. The area is graded from urgent improvement to exceptional, and the grade appears on the school's report card.
What does the expected standard look like for careers?
The expected standard says the school's careers education prepares pupils for future education, employment or training, and that the school is making steady progress towards the Gatsby Benchmarks. The same standard asks for the personal development programme to be an entitlement for every pupil: leaders track participation and take steps so that disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND, those known to children's social care and those facing other barriers can participate, with reasonable adjustments made. The strong standard goes further, with a wide range of opportunities to learn about options after school, good engagement with local employers, and clear evidence of impact for those groups.
What evidence do inspectors look at for careers?
Ofsted says it does not want schools to do additional work or produce documents specifically for an inspection. Inspectors gather first-hand evidence through professional conversations and the records a school already keeps: typically the published careers programme, how progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks is tracked (for example in Compass+ from The Careers & Enterprise Company), personal guidance records, employer and provider encounters, and pupils' destinations. Chapter Schools is built to be that day-to-day record, so the evidence already exists when an inspector asks.
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