Presentation to Education Coordinator (EC) Training with 60 ECs from across the country. Focus on careers and enterprise activities, as well as employer engagement with education.

1. CAREERS
ENTERPRISE
THE
&
COMPANY
An evidence-based approach to
supporting schools and colleges
Louis Coiffait
Head of Research and Data
@LouisMMCoiffait

2. | 2
Agenda
1. What do we mean by ‘evidence’, ‘evidence quality’ and ‘evidence-based’?
2. What current evidence shows about careers and enterprise activities
3. What are we doing to help build the evidence base?
4. Five key questions for you to ask about evidence
If you remember one thing from my presentation…
Our job is to make sure evidence is increasingly valuable to you in your role
(remember it’s complexities, but never be paralysed by them)

3. | 3
What do we mean by ‘evidence’?
Anything presented in support of an assertion,
of varying strength,
from conjecture to proof.
Typically includes research and data,
both qualitative and quantitative,
with the latter increasingly given precedence
Independence, experience, the views of stakeholders and
professional judgement all play a role too…

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Gathering evidence, a (hypothetical) example
Make observations
Develop questions
Formulate hypotheses
Develop testable
predictions
Gather data to test
predictions
Develop general
theories
Refine, alter, reject or
expand hypotheses
Work experience seems
to help young people
Who does it help the
most?
It helps those unsure
about the next step
It best helps ‘the unsure’
make choices
Actually it seems to help
other young people too
Compare outcomes for
that group with others
Work experience helps
all but esp. ‘the unsure’

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What do we mean by evidence ‘quality’?
‘5 standards of evidence’
by Nesta

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What do we mean by ‘evidence-based’?
Where the best available evidence, is created, shared and used, for
better decision-making,
in policy and practice.
For teachers, careers advisers, leaders, employers, and by young people.
Your role and that of EAs is to advise school/college leaders and employers,
to be ‘evidence-based’ yourself,
and to encourage and guide them to be so too.
Our role is to make your job easier.

7. | 7
UK governments increasingly believe we can find out
‘what works’
7 centres
Inform
£200bn of
spending
UK a
global
pioneer
Relevant
Relevant

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EEF: ‘What works’ in teaching & learning?

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Evidence can be complex/contested
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics“
Mark Twain
The challenge of ‘cause and effect’, it’s hard to know how best to improve
different outcomes for each young person;
- Attainment
- Progress
- Destination (education, employment or training)
- Earnings
- Wellbeing?
- Active citizens?

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Evidence can be complex/contested

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- The evidence base is growing,
with some robust studies (especially in the US),
and some strong findings emerging.
- For instance we know multiple, varied interactions with employers and
workplaces really helps.
What evidence already shows about careers and
enterprise activities
- “…young adults surveyed who recalled four or more activities while
at school were five times less likely to be NEET and earned, on
average, 16% more than peers who recalled no such activities.”
Dr. Anthony Mann

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But in the UK the evidence (as with practice) is often still patchy,
- is often ad-hoc rather than systematic,
- and often not disseminated/taken up by busy schools and employers
(often for perfectly valid reasons)
-The result? They don’t know where best to invest scarce resources.
- We’re working on that, with the toolkit, Fund, portal and passport,
all underpinned by evidence.
- Here are a few examples of what we’re doing.
What evidence already shows about careers and
enterprise activities

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Updating the Gatsby Benchmarks
to help schools improve
Encounters with employers, with workplaces, with
further and higher education
Information about local jobs, how the curriculum
connects to work
A plan tailored to an individual’s needs and
supported by guidance
All underpinned by a stable programme

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Identify local variations (Cold Spots) to help focus resources
- Evolving data/analysis
- New datasets coming
- At school level

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Understanding the cold spots, local context and outcomes
Deprivation
Indicator
Employer Engagement
Indicators
i.e. "Cold Spots"
Outcome Indicators
Source
DfE GCSE and
equivalent
attainment by
pupil
characteristics
2013/14
UKCES EPS
2014
UKCES EPS
2014
DfE Revised
GCSE and equiv
results 2013/14
DfE Revised
A-level and
equiv results
2013/14
DfE Revised A-
level and equiv
results (Maths
and science)
2013/14
DfE
Destinations
of key stage 4
pupils: 2012/13
DfE
Participation
in education
and training:
local authority
figures June
2015
UKCES ESS
2013
UKCES ESS
2013
Indicator
% Pupils
claiming free
school meals
(Known to be
eligible for and
claiming)
%
Employer
establishm
ents who
had anyone
in on work
experience
% Employer
establishmen
ts who
offered any
work
inspiration
% Pupils
attaining 5+ A*-
C GCSEs
(including
English &
Maths)
% A-levels
entered that
are STEM
(Maths &
Science only)
% STEMA-
levels that are
entered by
girls (Maths &
Science only)
% In sustained
apprenticeship
destination
post KS4
% 16-17 year
olds recorded
NEET (not in
education,
employment
and training)
%
Employers
answering:
16 year old
school
leavers are
"poorly" or
"very poorly
prepared"
for work
% Employers
answering:
17-18 year
olds
recruited to
first time job
from school
are "poorly"
or "very
poorly
prepared"
for work

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Different languages/timetables/working patterns
We need local brokers (you, the Enterprise Adviser network).
Our two impact tracking projects will show how the network is growing (at a
granular level) and the impact it is having, to help LEPs share best practice:
- Pye Tait Consulting (bottom up research with you)
- Institute of Employment Studies (IES), Institute of Careers and
Guidance Studies (ICeGS) at the University of Derby, and IFF research
(top down research from public sources)
With much more to come, including:
- ‘What Works’ database
- Destinations Data / informed choice
- Working with partners such as the Behavioural Insights Team, PWC,
PolicyLab, the CBI, the Education and Employers Taskforce, the EEF,
Group GTI and others…

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Five key questions for you to ask about evidence
1) Who can the evidence help make better decisions?
e.g. a School leader
2) How ‘strong’ is the evidence?
e.g. is it independently verified by a qualified third party
3) How can evidence be as useful as possible to the target decision maker?
e.g. what would make it easier for them to use it
4) What are the limitations of the evidence?
e.g. if asked can you explain the extent to which it can be trusted
5) What action does the evidence suggest to the decision maker?
e.g. can you advise how it can be used

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Thank you,
any questions?
(if there’s time)