Quality in Careers

National Quality Standard for careers education and guidance

WELCOME TO THE “QUALITY IN CAREERS” WEBSITE

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The Quality in Careers Standard is the national quality award for overall careers education and guidance provision in secondary schools, colleges and Independent Training Providers. The Standard is owned and governed by the Quality in Careers Consortium.

This link takes you to the section “What is the Quality in Careers Standard?”

The Standard is accessible in England, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands and is fully aligned with the updated Gatsby Benchmarks for “Good Career Guidance”.

The Standard is “strongly recommended” by, and fully complies with, the Department for Education’s revised ”statutory guidance” published in May 2025.

The Consortium also offers a process of “national endorsement” for awarding bodies providing quality awards for careers education in primary schools:

This link takes you to the section on primary school careers education quality awards

Below are four more “quick links” to the “Guide to the Standard” , “Our Licensed Awarding Bodies”, “The Assessment Guide” and “Getting Started With The Standard”.

Guide to the Standard

The detailed guide to the Standard with its national accreditation criteria as aligned to the Gatsby Benchmarks

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Our Licensed Awarding Bodies

The geographic areas they cover and their contact details

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The Assessment Guide

The full details of what our Quality in Careers assessors will require schools and colleges to evidence in order to achieve the Standard

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Getting Started with the Standard

Advice for schools, colleges and other learning providers

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Quality in Careers AWARD HOLDERS achieve highest Gatsby Benchmark scores (December 2025 analysis)

Quality in Careers award holders and Compass. Analysis DECEMBER 2025 The Quality in Careers Consortium provided the Careers & Enterprise Company with details of 695 schools and colleges holding the national Quality in Careers Standard at the end of September 2025. This enabled the Careers & Enterprise Company to match (via Unique Reference Numbers) the […]

2nd February 2026: Updated Guide to the Standard & The Assessment Guide taking account of the revised DfE Statutory Guidance & latest CEC analysis of Award Holders’ benchmark performance

Guide to the Standard-Schools and SFC. February 2026 Guide to the Standard-FE and ITP. February 2026 Assessment Guide 14 May 2025 final ************************************************************************************************* Paul Chubb, Chair of the Quality in Careers Consortium Board, said today, 2nd February 2026, “Following the publication in May 2025 by the Department for Education of revised Statutory Guidance to schools […]

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