The Gatsby Benchmarks

The Gatsby Benchmarks are part of a national strategy to deliver more effective (and cohesive) careers provision to young people in schools and colleges. The framework has 8 guidelines, which we've outlined below (and how Push helps you meet them):
​1. A stable careers programme
Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers
 Push is an award-winning outreach organisation of 26 years' experience, delivering high-quality informed (and crucially: fun) activities to pupils and parents in schools and colleges, which has common messages that all can understand. Also, everything we deliver is designed to meet the DfE's statutory guidance on impartial careers education, and our activities tick these boxes perfectly.
2. Learning from career and labour market:
Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information ​
Push run an interactive, fun and informed framework on choices, which explore all choices at 16 and 18 (from a completely impartial perspective), including apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, sponsored degrees, employment training and placements, school-leaver programmes and volunteering...as well as covering higher education routes and variations of study within it. A Push session which gets students excited about the future, making informed choices for themselves, and what they could choose to explore, is the perfect activity for a year group timed before a followup appointment with an informed one-to-one adviser.
3: Addressing the needs of each pupil
Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
​Push have developed a sustained and progressive framework, designed to drip-feed the right information and advice to students with specific interventions across their journey through year 9 to year 13. Push is best when delivered to entire year groups, and we have spent over 20 years tailoring what we do to be inspiring to every single student, and take into account the backgrounds and needs of all learners
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should higher the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths
5: Encounters with employers and employees
Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes
A Push activity counts as an intervention with employers (and employees) in a really fun and memorable way: we are a non-profit organisation with a great reputation in the world of education and careers...and our presenter team is made up of professional creatives: actors, comedians, producers, writers - so students are being exposed to energetic, young and relatable performers, who not only express their choice of employment, but also promote STEM and other routes in the most engaging impartial way (anecdotes and comedy).
6: Experiences of workplaces
Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks
A Push session, but the nature of our work, a work intervention when students experience one of our live sessions in their school: it is a great example for students to witness, of an employer delivering work: representing a company, the behavioural traits, the job-specific and transferable skills we implement when at work.
​7: Encounters with further and higher education
All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace
Push began life as the 'Polytechnic and University Student Handbook', in 1992, hence the acronym (or lack thereof now). We evolved from one of the UK's first published (and online) impartial university guides, to running interactive presentations on higher education choices (on the demand of 1,000s of teachers and careers advisers who read the book) to an evolution into a host of sessions (choices, employability, study skills, developing soft skills via comedy). We pride ourselves on continuing to deliver our first ever interactive presentation, with a Push session on higher education choices (and the benefits of degree-level study) still a brilliant introduction to HE activity for your students.
8: Personal Guidance
Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices and being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be timed to meet their individual needs.
A Push session which gets students excited about the future, making informed choices for themselves, and what they could choose to explore, is the perfect activity for a year group timed before a followup appointment with an informed one-to-one personal guidance adviser. Put in another way, when it comes to CEIAG, we deliver the CEIA...to make the G more effective.
Want to explore the Gatsby benchmarks in more detail? Here's the Gatsby site, and a great guide to the 8 guidelines from The Careers & Enterprise Company.
​
Interested in getting PUSH in to help you deliver them? All you need to do is ask.

The Gatsby Benchmarks

The Gatsby Benchmarks are part of a national strategy to deliver more effective (and cohesive) careers provision to young people in schools and colleges. The framework has 8 guidelines, which we've outlined below (and how Push helps you meet them):
​1. A stable careers programme
Every school and college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by pupils, parents, teachers and employers
 Push is an award-winning outreach organisation of 26 years' experience, delivering high-quality informed (and crucially: fun) activities to pupils and parents in schools and colleges, which has common messages that all can understand. Also, everything we deliver is designed to meet the DfE's statutory guidance on impartial careers education, and our activities tick these boxes perfectly.
2. Learning from career and labour market:
Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information ​
Push run an interactive, fun and informed framework on choices, which explore all choices at 16 and 18 (from a completely impartial perspective), including apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, sponsored degrees, employment training and placements, school-leaver programmes and volunteering...as well as covering higher education routes and variations of study within it. A Push session which gets students excited about the future, making informed choices for themselves, and what they could choose to explore, is the perfect activity for a year group timed before a followup appointment with an informed one-to-one adviser.
3: Addressing the needs of each pupil
Pupils have different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support need to be tailored to the needs of each pupil. A school’s careers programme should embed equality and diversity considerations throughout.
​Push have developed a sustained and progressive framework, designed to drip-feed the right information and advice to students with specific interventions across their journey through year 9 to year 13. Push is best when delivered to entire year groups, and we have spent over 20 years tailoring what we do to be inspiring to every single student, and take into account the backgrounds and needs of all learners
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
All teachers should link curriculum learning with careers. For example, STEM subject teachers should higher the relevance of STEM subjects for a wide range of future career paths
5: Encounters with employers and employees
Every pupil should have multiple opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills that are valued in the workplace. This can be through a range of enrichment activities including visiting speakers, mentoring and enterprise schemes
A Push activity counts as an intervention with employers (and employees) in a really fun and memorable way: we are a non-profit organisation with a great reputation in the world of education and careers...and our presenter team is made up of professional creatives: actors, comedians, producers, writers - so students are being exposed to energetic, young and relatable performers, who not only express their choice of employment, but also promote STEM and other routes in the most engaging impartial way (anecdotes and comedy).
6: Experiences of workplaces
Every pupil should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks
A Push session, but the nature of our work, a work intervention when students experience one of our live sessions in their school: it is a great example for students to witness, of an employer delivering work: representing a company, the behavioural traits, the job-specific and transferable skills we implement when at work.
​7: Encounters with further and higher education
All pupils should understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes and learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace
Push began life as the 'Polytechnic and University Student Handbook', in 1992, hence the acronym (or lack thereof now). We evolved from one of the UK's first published (and online) impartial university guides, to running interactive presentations on higher education choices (on the demand of 1,000s of teachers and careers advisers who read the book) to an evolution into a host of sessions (choices, employability, study skills, developing soft skills via comedy). We pride ourselves on continuing to deliver our first ever interactive presentation, with a Push session on higher education choices (and the benefits of degree-level study) still a brilliant introduction to HE activity for your students.
8: Personal Guidance
Every pupil should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser, who could be internal, provided they are trained to an appropriate level. These should be available whenever significant study or career choices and being made. They should be expected for all pupils but should be timed to meet their individual needs.
A Push session which gets students excited about the future, making informed choices for themselves, and what they could choose to explore, is the perfect activity for a year group timed before a followup appointment with an informed one-to-one personal guidance adviser. Put in another way, when it comes to CEIAG, we deliver the CEIA...to make the G more effective.
Want to explore the Gatsby benchmarks in more detail? Here's the Gatsby site, and a great guide to the 8 guidelines from The Careers & Enterprise Company.
​
Interested in getting PUSH in to help you deliver them? All you need to do is ask.