About this platform | Primary Schools Toolkit

This platform has been designed to provide information, resources and tools to help primary schools plan, deliver and measure career-related learning.

Free, high-quality resources

Our platform provides teachers and school leaders with high-quality resources that can be used to embed and deliver career-related learning. The resources are free for you to download and most are from organisations that have been funded to test what works at primary, as well as other trusted providers. Resources include:

Lesson activities
Guidance for involving governors in career-related learning
Guidance for engaging employers
An audit quiz, designed in collaboration with Skills Builder, that will help you to assess your approach to career-related learning
Case studies that illustrate how the resources have been used in different schools

You can access and download resources for free.

See the resources

Take the quiz

Read the case studies

Key principles for career-related learning

Primary schools can use these resources and tools to implement a whole-school approach to career-related learning that aligns with six key principles, as evidenced in the ‘What Works’ report:

Make careers whole school

Implement a whole school career-related learning strategy with buy-in from SLT. The relationship between career-related learning and the aims and ethos of your school should be clear, ensuring buy-in from curriculum staff, subject leaders and senior leadership team.

Start early

Start your strategy from EYFS to prevent stereotypes and aspirations fixing at 6. Pupils form perceptions about the relevance and suitability of different sectors and career paths from an early age, so start your strategy from EYFS to prevent stereotypes and aspirations fixing at 6.

Embed careers into the curriculum

Explicitly teach pupils how their learning is linked to careers and the world of work.

Personalise and differentiate

Ensure your strategy and career-related activities account for pupils’ ages and needs.

Open to all

Ensure career-related learning is offered universally to all pupils.

Involve employers and parents

Inspire pupils by collaborating with employers and equipping parents to have careers conversations at home.

Who is this platform for?

Primary educators

Primary teachers, school leaders and support staff can use these resources to plan, deliver and identify next steps in career-related learning. Teachers are busy and do not always have time to plan quality career-related learning. The resources and tools included on our platform will save you time and prompt new ideas for career-related learning.

School governors

Teachers can use these resources to help them involve their governing body in career-related learning. Governors and trustees can find out more about the importance and impact of career-related learning in primary schools.

Secondary schools and careers leaders

Secondary schools and Careers Leaders can use this platform to find out more about career-related learning in primary school. This will be particularly useful for secondary educators who work with pupils during the transition between primary and secondary school. Some resources may also provide ideas that help secondary teachers meet the Gatsby Benchmarks.

Employers

Employers can find out more about career-related learning in primary schools, including how they can help pupils learn about the world of work and make career-related learning effective. Teachers can also use the resources to learn more about working with employers to deliver career-related learning.

Providers

Organisations who provide career-related learning support, resources or programmes can use the information gathered on this platform to find out more about supporting primary schools and explore examples of good practice. Teachers may find it useful to find out about the range of programmes available for schools.

Parents, carers and families

Parents, carers and families can use this platform to understand more about career-related learning in primary schools and how it can help to broaden pupils’ aspirations. Parents, carers and families can also use the resources to get involved in career-related learning in school, or even complete some of the activities at home.

Teachers

As a teacher, you shape pupils' lives every day. You can use this platform to ensure that all pupils in your school benefit from quality careers education. While many primary teachers support career-related learning in their classrooms, some are unsure how to. These easy-to-use resources and tools will give you a helping hand in embedding the principles of effective careers education and enhance the quality and impact of career-related learning in your school.