Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the role of schools in encouraging pupils to consider apprenticeships post-16.

Schools are legally required to secure independent careers guidance for 12- to 18-year-olds that includes information on the full range of education and training options, including apprenticeships.

In 2013, Ofsted’s study of the early implementation of this duty found that apprenticeships were rarely promoted effectively, especially in schools with sixth forms.

The Government has published new statutory guidance and departmental advice on careers guidance and inspiration, informed by the Ofsted study, which is effective from September 2014. This provides a clear framework and practical support for schools to help them inspire their pupils about the options open to them. The guidance is clear that schools should give employers and other providers delivering apprenticeships the opportunity to inform pupils directly about what they offer. It emphasises that apprenticeships and university offer two equally effective routes to a successful career.

Ofsted is now giving careers guidance a higher priority in school inspections and we will work with them to monitor carefully the impact of the statutory guidance and the wider improvements that the Government has put in place.