Section 29 of the Education Act 2011 places schools under a duty to secure access to independent careers guidance for their pupils in school years 9-11.

I2A provide careers guidance under the new duty by:

• Ensuring staff hold current membership of the ICG and ACEG.
• Ensuring young people have access to individual CEIAG interviews; when they need them! Some young people may need more support so that they are able to make more informed choices, I2A ensure this will be provided as necessary.
• I2A bring together groups to discuss shared ideas and explore opportunities.
• I2A provide opportunities for young people to access ‘real live’ workers for students to talk to and be available to answer questions.
• I2A provide access to college open days and evenings. We have provided opportunities for pupils to attend taster sessions at colleges in other towns to support their right to make an informed choice.

Young people who have received an effective careers education program delivered through the curriculum, alongside impartial advice and guidance from an external guidance specialist, make the best transitions at age 16 and are less likely to drop out of courses in Year 12.

Information Advice and Guidance (IAG)

I2A have experience of delivering IAG for many years. This means we have established networks and relationships that directly benefit the young people with which we work. We help in the following ways:

• Directly providing Tier 2 support and facilitating access to Tier 3 support services (CAMHS, CSC etc.)
• Helping pupils apply SMART thinking when making decisions.
• Keeping abreast of the support structure landscape in Somerset to ensure all interventions are available to young people.
• Understanding the evolving and ever changing educational support structure.