Evidence submitted to the Education Committee’s “Solving the SEND crisis” inquiry

About the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and its submission 

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is the national body for careers education in England. We work with schools, colleges, and employers to improve careers education against the Gatsby Benchmarks  – the international standards of careers best practice (including 2025 updates) - and secure better outcomes for young people.

Our support includes training for school and college-based Careers Leaders (nearly 4,000 since 2019) connecting employers to schools and colleges (via 44 Careers Hubs – co-funded partnerships with Combined and Local Authorities – covering 94% of institutions) and providing practical tools and resources. In all cases, we seek to work in partnership to bring about sustainable improvements to help every young person to find their best next step.

To understand impact and stimulate improvement, we gather a large national data set (900+ employers, 233,000 students, 92% of schools and colleges). Progress in the system is measured by the quality and quantity of employer outreach, the self-reported career readiness of students (including key cohorts) and improvements in school and college careers provision.

We welcome the Committee’s interest into the wider SEND system. Careers education is one element of the educational journey for children and young people with SEND. This submission sets out where we see progress and gaps in the developing careers system.

Overall, our evidence shows that:

• Careers provision is improving (including the elements that relate to inclusion) both in mainstream and specialist settings. This is correlated with increases in career readiness, including for SEND learners (1).
• There is much more to do, particularly for students who face barriers. Although SEND students within mainstream education report increases in career readiness between years 7-11, this cohort scores lower than the national average overall. 

Some measures to close the gap include: 

• The revision to the Gatsby Benchmarks – and its focus on personalised support - offers impetus to redouble effort on SEND careers education.  
• Building on progress with employers (who show appetite to work with underrepresented groups when working with a Careers Hub (2)) to improve quality, scale and targeting.
• Using data to close gaps and target provision.
• Ensuring the needs of SEND young people are at the heart of Government’s ambition for a work experience guarantee for all young people – building on emerging examples of effective work experience models for this cohort.

The remainder of the document sets out:

1. The overall provision of careers education for SEND young people
2. Additional support packages in place
3. Some thoughts on closing gaps
4. Best practice examples

1. Provision of careers education for SEND young people

Mainstream settings, which are attended by the majority of SEND learners (81%) (3), are making progress with the elements of the Gatsby Benchmarks that relate to inclusion. Gatsby Benchmark 3, which focuses on addressing the needs of each pupil through targeted and tailored provision, has seen a 13% point increase since 2021/22, with 56% of mainstream institutions fully achieving the measure. This matters because evidence over time has shown that improvements in provision against the Gatsby Benchmarks lead to better outcomes for disadvantaged learners, including SEND young people, as well as increasing apprenticeship uptake (4). Our research shows that the highest quality careers provision reduces the likelihood of the most disadvantaged young people becoming NEET by 20% (5). 

SEND specific institutions are increasingly engaging in the Careers System. The vast majority (82%) of SEND institutions are members of Careers Hubs. This means they have access to specialist input, tools and resources. Being part of a Careers Hub, alongside stronger engagement with the careers system as a whole is associated with higher Gatsby Benchmark scores for all settings, including SEND settings.

SEND institutions do better compared to mainstream settings when it comes to workplace experiences (Gatsby Benchmark 6) (6). Hub members do better still (78% of SEND institutions who are part of a Careers Hub achieve Benchmark 6, compared to 47% for SEND institutions not in a Hub).  Alternative provision settings make more progress as they join Careers Hubs and access coordinated localised support (7).  

2. Additional support in the system

Place based support

Through Careers Hubs, CEC co-funds a network of Enterprise Coordinators (ECs) (with Local and Combined Authorities). ECs are trained professionals working with clusters of schools and colleges locally to build careers plans and make connections to local and national employers across relevant regional labour markets. Through our strategic partnership with Talentino - a SEND specialist career development organisation - all new ECs undertake SEND induction training which includes national support and guidance. There are also a number of dedicated SEND Enterprise Coordinators across the country.
Through Careers Hubs and communities of improvement, we work to fosters close collaboration between SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators) and Careers Leaders. Such join up is particularly important for young people with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP). Whilst Careers Leaders are charged with ensuring targeted and appropriate careers provision is available, SENCOs are responsible for making sure the offer meets a young person's individual needs. 

National support

- Training

CEC offers fully funded, flexible training courses for Careers Leaders at all levels, supporting them to deliver high quality careers education as defined by the Gatsby Benchmarks. Careers Leader training includes a dedicated SEND toolkit. Schools and colleges with trained Careers Leaders have been shown to improve careers provision over time (8). More than 3,940 Careers Leaders have now completed accredited training – including 680 in SEND and AP alternative provision settings. 

For careers education to be meaningful for all students it is essential that school leaders understand and reinforce its value. Funded by the Gatsby Foundation, CEC is working in partnership with the National Institution for Teaching to embed resources within National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for school leaders. This project is in its early stages but has achieved the inclusion of careers education content, resources and analysis featuring in NPQ self-study units for Headship, Executive Leadership, and SENCO.

CEC is also working with the Gatsby Foundation to develop bespoke training for SENCOs. The module is being designed in partnership with SEND experts, NASEN, and will encourage closer partnership with Careers Leader to engage parents and carers of SEND young people in careers conversations. It is due for launch in Summer 2025.

 - Resources

All Careers Hubs are part of CEC’s Inclusion Community of Improvement, where national best practice is shared SEND- provision resources are developed – for schools, colleges, providers and employers. For example, a number of local Careers Hubs identified a gap in support for autistic young people. As a result, CEC partnered with Ambitious about Autism to develop Ambitious about Autism Toolkits which support employers to develop their awareness and understanding of autism.

Additionally, as part of CEC’s support for the embedding of Provider Access Legislation (PAL) - which requires schools to provide at least six encounters with providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all students – we have worked with partners to create tailored resources for SEND settings and learners.

- Quality assurance

CEC’s Careers Impact System is designed to build in peer and expert review for careers provision to drive improvement. As part of the approach education leaders interrogate the impact of their provision for learners with SEND. Judgements are then shared and challenged with peers across school. The system has been independently verified and is now being rolled out nationally to drive quality and continuous improvement. By January 2025, 1,076 schools had engaged in the system.

3. Closing the career readiness gap- opportunities for the system

Despite the data showing that young people with SEND are showing increased career readiness as a cohort, there is still a persistent gap compared with mainstream students without a SEN diagnosis (9). There is also evidence from wider enquiries that this cohort requires more support, particularly as they transition out of the system (10). Some measures to address this:

New focus as part of the updated Gatsby Benchmarks

From September 2025, schools and colleges will be guided to adopt the updated Gatsby Benchmarks framework. The new framework aims to set out more targeted and rigorous support for SEND learners, including through more effective personal guidance. CEC is working with the Gatsby Foundation to drive adoption through its partnerships and infrastructure and is in the process of reviewing all tools and resources. Careers Hubs are working to ensure support is in place for mainstream and specialist institutions to reflect the revised benchmarks ahead of September 2025 implementation. 

Using data to close gaps and target provision

Compass is CEC’s digital tool used by schools and colleges in England to track careers provision against the Gatsby Benchmarks. Compass enables comparison between SEND-specific settings at the institution level, and the national average against the Gatsby Benchmarks (5.9/8 Gatsby Benchmarks vs 5.8/8 national average).

Applied locally, Careers Hubs can work with schools in their areas to use this data to improve practice. For example, with localised data showing a lower achievement rate against Gatsby Benchmark 6 for SEND schools, the Black Country Careers Hub (now part of West Midlands Combined Authority Careers Hub) galvanised its Cornerstone Employer Group (including leading local employers such as Mitie, Ground Control, and the NHS) to ensure local SEND institutions were receiving high quality, tailored, employer engagement. This included the activation on local employers such as DPD to work in partnership with schools to design programmes of tailored workplace experiences for young people with additional needs.

Compass+ is an upgraded version of Compass, which allows Careers Leaders to track individual interventions and cohorts. Within the enhanced Compass+ tool there is scope to go further and to better identify those at risk of becoming disengaged and put preventative measures in place. The 2025 roll out of CEC’s Risk of NEET Indicator (RONI), a digital tool integrated into Compass+, shows responsiveness to new government policy on NEET prevention, as set out in the recent DWP White Paper. The tool will support schools and colleges, in collaboration with Careers Hubs, to target proven interventions at young people with a range of NEET indicators, including SEND status. 

CEC’s Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) is a tool designed to measure individual learners' career readiness by assessing key aspects of knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for successful transitions. 2023/24 academic year data from nearly 30,000 SEND students within mainstream education shows an overall gradual increase in career readiness between Years 7 and 11, but crucially, that this cohort scores lower than the national average. 

CEC uses a SEND-specific FSQ to better suit the needs of SEND learners. Inside and outside mainstream setting. Data from two academic years shows that learners in SEND settings reported higher career readiness in comparison to SEND learners in mainstream and Alternative Provision settings. Further adaptations the tool will follow consultation from the sector so as to best support learners in all institutions.

Overall, insights from the FSQ are helping Careers Leaders to evaluate and improve their careers programmes, including where to target effort and tailor provision for learner need. The next step is to increase scale to enable more young people to offer insight on their career readiness, particularly those that face the biggest barriers. 

Scaling up inclusive employer outreach 

Coordinated engagement through Careers Hubs, reinforced by CEC’s quality framework - Employer Standards, is supporting employers to increase their focus on inclusive practice. First piloted in 2023, Employer Standards provides a framework for employers to identify and plan their work with schools, special schools, and colleges, thus opening new pathways and opportunities to engage with young people and to align this with their business objectives.

Insight from over 900 employers adopting Employer Standards, shows that inclusive outreach is a vital return on investment for employers, leading to increased industry interest from young people.

• 77% of employers who target their work to under-represented groups say that their outreach helps improve their workforce diversity.
• Employers who provide meaningful opportunities (such as work experience) see an increased interest in their sector. 80% report their work is encouraging young people to apply for roles in their businesses and 75% agree that it is helping to bring in new apprentices.
• Employers that invest over the long-term in well-structured, quality outreach gain a significant advantage by supporting the development of a skilled and diverse workforce and saving on recruitment costs.
• Employers that used the Employer Standards self-assessment tool in 2024 saw an average 8% improvement in one year in their scores for Standard 2 “Be Inclusive”. Standard 2 helps businesses to identify young people that need the most support, and to break down barriers through engagement with under-represented groups.
• Employers who work with Careers Hubs score, on average, 16% higher on Standard 2 “Be Inclusive” than those who don't and are also 15% more likely to be proactively engaging SEND students as part of their outreach. 

CEC offers training and support nationally for employers to ensure their outreach programmes are as inclusive as possible. Interventions range from partnership with the British Association of Supported Employers (BASE) to provide dedicated training on inclusivity to Careers Hubs, to resource development, such as the business-facing Careermag for Inclusion - designed to increase employers’ confidence in providing inclusive experiences and encounters of work.

The next stage involves scaling up good practice and further incentivising employers to support SEND young people with careers inspiration and opportunities.

A new model of work experience boosting work readiness

CEC is piloting a new approach to work experience which will support every young person to access high quality, multiple workplace experiences, totalling ten days' worth throughout their secondary education. This modernised work experience will facilitate a variety of experiences early on, connecting education and young people with industry and unlocking the skills and opportunities of the future workforce. 

Delivering against the government’s commitment to two weeks' worth of high-quality work experience for every young person, the framework can be implemented in a flexible way to support the preparation for adulthood curriculum in SEND schools, alongside offering a flexible model for those young people with SEND in mainstream or other alternative provision.

The model enables young people with SEND to meet learning outcomes in a way relevant to their needs and future pathways whilst developing knowledge, skills and behaviours that will support them in their next steps.  For example, short form experiences that support skills development within a supported environment for young people with moderate learning difficulties.

A clear set of learning objectives underpins our approach (the equalex model). CEC is working with a range of SEND specialist institutions to ensure support is available for learners to meet these learning goals. 
We are currently piloting this new model of work experience with four Mayoral Combined Authorities, and in five multi-academy trusts.

4. Examples of SEND work experience

See below additional examples of innovative programmes focused on increasing the number of high-quality workplace experiences for SEND young people.

• Virtual reality work exposure in Liverpool City Region Careers Hub: The Let’s Explore programme supported key local employers to deliver fully immersive experiences to SEND young people across the Liverpool City Region (LCR), with a focus on providing opportunities to those who faced heightened barriers to accessing workplace careers insights and traditional work experience. The aim was to improve awareness and confidence levels in pupils, encouraging thhttps://lcrcareershub.co.uk/resource/send-in-mainstream-toolkit/em to further explore career opportunities. The programme has reached approximately 5000 young people in LCR since the project launched in 2021. In addition, LCR Careers Hub has recently published a toolkit for career leaders, teachers and inclusion leaders to support students with SEND in mainstream settings.
• Showcasing sectors with Leicester and Leicestershire Business partnership Careers Hub: The Unbox Your Future programme supports SEND young people at key transition appoints to engage with a range of local employers. The aim was to facilitate improved experiences of the world of work for students, to broaden horizons, and help them develop their employability skills. Cornerstone Employers – who are Careers Hubs members - such as Leicester City Football Club had students working with their marketing team, supporting Sport England’s drive to get more women and girls into football, and showcasing the range of roles across the sector. Hybrid placements within the energy sector included simulated gas leaks with Cadent Gas to ensure young people could gain real world experience in a supported environment. The project changed perceptions of what work experience can be and scaled the range of opportunities and sector young people with SEND were able to experiences within education.
• Promoting SEND best practice in greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA): GMCA Careers Hub coordinates and convenes best practice models through a diverse cluster model, which includes several SEND-specific communities. The SEND cluster of institutions provide provision across Greater Manchester for students with moderate learning difficulties. They are currently supporting an employer-led curriculum-based project, held in Pioneer House School's community café that provides barista training to students. The project is developing a model to share resources across institutions to allow for increased scale in their joint work experience.

(1) OECD (2024). Teenage career development in England

(2) The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). 

(3) National Pupil Database. Department for Education

(4) The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). Our Impact 2023/2024

(5) The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). Our Impact 2023/2024

(6) The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). Insight briefing - Gatsby Benchmark results for 2023/24, SEND sub benchmark data 2023-2024

(7)The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). Insight briefing - Gatsby Benchmark results for 2023/24, SEND sub benchmark data 2023-2024

(8) The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). Careers Education 2022/23: Now & next

(9) The Careers & Enterprise Company (2024). p.14.Insight briefing: Student career readiness in 2023/24

(10) Education Select Committee (2023). pp 42-44. Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance report