Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that careers education, advice, information and guidance is compliant with section 42B of the Education Act 1997.

Section 42B of the Education Act 1997 requires schools to provide at least six opportunities for providers of technical education and apprenticeships to speak to all pupils, during school years 8 to 13.

During 2023/24, the first full academic year that the strengthened legislation has been in place, the department is supporting schools to comply and is monitoring impact. The department has introduced a ladder of support and intervention which is set out in its careers statutory guidance. This is to enforce the provider access legislation and to set out clear steps for tackling serious or persistent cases of non-compliance.

Ofsted’s school inspection handbook has been updated to make clear that if a school is not meeting the requirements of the provider access legislation, inspectors will state this in the inspection report, and take this into account when arriving at a judgement about personal development.

There is encouraging early evidence that young people’s awareness of the benefits of technical options is increasing. In the 2022/23 academic year, 92% of schools reported that most students had information about the full range of apprenticeships. 86% of schools reported that most students had meaningful encounters with further education colleges. Ofsted’s thematic review, published in September 2023, found that, in general, leaders understood their statutory responsibilities for careers, including those under the provider access legislation and they were making progress towards fully implementing the required changes.