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Effective Record Keeping

In order to take an effective approach to delivering a careers programme it is essential that it has both strategic and operational elements.  By identifying why we want to deliver a robust careers plan and what outcomes we hope to see will identify what information and evidence we need to record in order to measure it effectively.

Keep Systematic Records

Each student’s careers learning and employability skills development should be recorded while they are at school or college, and students should have access to these.

Examples of effective record keeping can vary from school to school including individual reflective workbooks owned by the student right through to spreadsheets detailing the careers plan for the year and the attendance of each student at each activity.

Well-kept records enable us to track the consistency and impact of the careers programme.  Staff know what students CEIAG needs are and where they are in terms of their career planning.

Key points

Effective records should have input from students, their tutors, careers advisers and anyone who is participating in the student’s careers education.  This will allow Careers Leaders to:

  • Manage the student’s journey
  • Inform decision making and agree next steps
  • It is good practice to develop a scheme of learning to support students from year 7 throughout their time at school which defines the careers interventions they will experience.  This can then link directly to the records made of each and outline the journey each student takes it also helps to include other staff in the CEIAG delivery plan.
  • An effective record of activity will help inform the student of their next steps and becomes a key piece of information for careers guidance interviews.

It is essential to determine what method will work best for your school and students, remember it needs to be maintained effectively over a minimum of 5 years. By encouraging the students to have access and take ownership of their careers records will foster personal responsibility and self-advocacy skills.