About Gatsby Benchmarks

The Gatsby Benchmarks were developed by Sir John Holman and the Gatsby Foundation in 2014 in response to many reports that identified significant issues in how careers education, information, advice and guidance was being delivered across schools and colleges in England.

Eight Benchmarks of “Good Careers Guidance” were established and over the years that have followed they have been adopted by almost all organisations and agencies involved with careers support for under 18’s. They also form the basis for the Department of Education’s guidance for careers in schools and colleges and Ofsted will take an interest in how the Benchmarks are being delivered when they undertake inspections.

All schools and colleges in the Careers Hub undertake a self assessment of their performance against the Benchmarks using a tool called a Compass Audit which has been developed by the Careers and Enterprise Company. The audit provides a percentage score against each Benchmark, you may want to ask your Careers Leader for the scores for your institution.