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Teach First: Careers Leader Programme
Talent and Skills
Teach First’s ‘Careers Leader’ programme provides fully funded training to improve employability and careers provision in schools to ensure every child can reach their full potential. Targeted at schools serving a high proportion of disadvantaged young people, Teach First’s Career Leader programme has worked with over 400 Careers Leaders nationally since it began in 2015. Recognised as a provider of careers leader training through the Careers and Enterprise Company since 2018, Teach First continues to expand its impact.
The programme supports Careers Leaders in designing, implementing, and evaluating comprehensive careers strategies and detailed action plans that engage all staff and pupils. This approach facilitates schools’ progress towards achieving all eight Gatsby Career Benchmarks and attaining the Quality in Careers Standard (QiCS), delivering immediate and measurable impact.
Tailored to meet the unique needs of each school, the programme lays the foundation for long-term improvement through a blend of learning modules, including in-person training, online learning, and personalised support. To enhance flexibility, it offers a combination of in-person and virtual training days, virtual seminars during the school term, and virtual meetings with Teach First Careers Experts at key points throughout the year. The training is developed in collaboration with experts from various sectors to ensure content remains relevant and up-to-date.
Schools that have partnered with Teach First through the Careers Leader programme have reported positive outcomes. 99% of surveyed programme members have reported a change in their confidence in identifying key priorities in their careers’ strategies and data from 60 schools in the 2019 cohort showed an increase in the average number of Gatsby benchmarks achieved per school from 3.1/8 at the start of the programme to 4.2 at programme completion.
In 2024, the programme continued to evolve, incorporating feedback from participants and adapting to the changing educational landscape. Teach First remains committed to monitoring and enhancing the Careers Leader programme to ensure it delivers practical results for those leading careers education.
The ScaleUp Institute will continue to watch closely to see how improvements in the programme deliver practical results for those leading careers in education.
The Careers Leader programme is definitely worth it. It’s great for upskilling and it will help you to focus on exactly where you want to take your school. For the second year running, we’ve got all eight of the Gatsby Benchmarks.
