Committee announces inquiry into career guidance for young people

Written submissions of evidence are invited considering the following points:

• the purpose, nature, quality and impartiality of careers guidance  provided by schools and colleges, including schools with sixth forms and academies, and how well-prepared schools are to fulfil their new duty;
• the extent of face-to-face guidance offered to young people;
• at what age careers guidance should be provided to young people;
• the role of local authorities in careers guidance for young people;
• the effectiveness of targeted guidance and support offered to specific groups, such as Looked After Children, children eligible for Free School Meals, teenage parents, young offenders, those with special educational needs or disabilities and those at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training);
• the link between careers guidance and the choices young people make on leaving school;
• the overall coherence of the careers guidance offered to young people.

The Committee asks for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines below by midday on 3 September 2012.

Please note
The submission should be sent by e-mail to educom@parliament.uk and marked “Careers Guidance”.  The Committee’s strong preference is for submissions in electronic form, although hard copy originals will be accepted. Hard copy submissions should be sent to Caroline McElwee, Committee Assistant, at:

Education Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London  SW1P 3JA

Each submission should:
• be no more than 3,000 words in length;
• have numbered paragraphs; and
• (if in electronic form) be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

For Data Protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website at:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/witnessguide.pdf

Please also note that:

• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, although not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives.  If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
• The Committee does not normally investigate individual cases.

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