Compass is a free online tool that helps schools understand how their careers education and guidance compares to best practice. Completing a Compass evaluation can help schools identify strengths and discover areas for improvement within their careers provision.
Compass enables schools to quickly and easily evaluate their careers activity against eight benchmarks of best practice – known as the Gatsby Benchmarks.
The Gatsby Benchmark framework is at the heart of statutory guidance for careers education in England. More support and information about the framework, including how the Gatsby Benchmarks can be applied in your setting, can be found in Careers guidance and access for education and training providers.
Resources to support the successful implementation of the Gatsby Benchmarks can be found in the Gatsby Benchmark toolkit for schools on the CEC Resource Directory.
Completing a Compass evaluation.
To evaluate your careers provision against the Gatsby Benchmarks, a school can complete a Compass evaluation. This takes around 30 minutes to complete. We recommend completing a Compass evaluation once a term to effectively track and monitor your institution's progress. Please note: you will need to know details of learner numbers in your year groups before starting a Compass evaluation.
Further guidance on creating a Compass account and completing a Compass evaluation can be found in the Help Centre articles listed below: