Gatsby Benchmarks: what they are and why they matter in early years
Gatsby Benchmarks might sound like secondary-school territory, but they hold real value for early years settings too, offering a clear framework for broadening children's horizons and supporting staff development.
When we think of careers guidance, we often imagine older students choosing GCSEs, A-levels or initial workplaces. But the principles behind the Gatsby Benchmarks, developed to shape high-quality careers provision, are relevant to all phases of education, including early years.
While young children are not making vocational choices, introducing children to a wide and diverse world of careers, and helping your staff reflect on their own professional development, can both benefit from the clarity that the Gatsby Benchmarks offer.
What are the Gatsby Benchmarks?
The Gatsby Benchmarks were created by the Gatsby Foundation, based on a major international study led by Sir John Holman, former headteacher and founder of the National STEM Learning Centre. The goal was to identify what actually works in career guidance systems worldwide.
First published in 2014, they were later adopted into UK government statutory guidance for schools and colleges from 2018 onward and have recently been updated in 2024. At their heart, the Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework to ensure that careers education and careers-related opportunities are purposeful, inclusive and progressive.
Are they relevant to early years?
Although originally developed for secondary schools, they provide a useful lens through which to review how children are exposed to a diverse range of people, experiences and work roles in early years settings. They can also be used to promote open-minded attitudes about work, skills and learning.
The Gatsby Benchmarks describe eight key elements of excellent careers provision:
- A stable careers programme
- Learning from labour market information
- Addressing needs of each learner
- Linking curriculum learning to careers
- Encounters with employers and employees
- Experiences of workplaces
- Encounters with further and higher education
- Personal guidance
In early years, we can adapt the spirit of these principles rather than expecting children to plan careers or navigate labour market data. On this level, the intention is to broaden horizons, challenge stereotypes and embed curiosity about different roles.
Introducing careers early: children’s experiences
Young children are naturally curious about who people are and what they do. Early years practitioners can use this curiosity constructively to build attitudes that will benefit children throughout their lives.
Being exposed to unusual careers, role models and diverse working situations will help broaden the minds and ideas of our youngest generation.
Here are practical ways to address early versions of the Gatsby Benchmarks in your setting:
- Encounters with employers and employees: Invite visitors from a range of professions to share what they do and why they enjoy it, whether that is a vet, firefighter, architect or software games designer. Even brief encounters broaden children’s knowledge
- Challenging stereotypes: Be intentional in the roles you highlight. Show children images and stories of men and women in a wide variety of jobs, for example a male early years educator, a female mechanic or a non-binary scientist. This early exposure helps counter rigid stereotypes and builds inclusivity
- Linking learning to real life: Use role play, stories and play scenarios that reflect different jobs. A ‘builder’s site’ in the construction area today might link to problem-solving and measure concepts; a role play in a post office or shop can help children practice communication skills; and a recycling area can link to work around protecting our environment
- Learning from adults’ roles: Explain what people do in simple, accessible ways that help children see their value. This might include explaining how planning learning helps children grow or how cleaning up helps everyone stay safe and why we need both
While children are not developing explicit career plans, these experiences show that all people can contribute to society in different ways.
Here are some quick actions you could take to embed some of these ideas:
- Create a board of “People Who Help Us” that includes local and global professions with inclusive images and child-friendly job descriptions
- Share short profiles of your own team’s roles and routes into early years with parents and children
- Plan a reflective staff session on staff aspirations and professional pathways using a simplified Gatsby review tool
- Organise one visit or interaction per term where children meet someone from a profession they haven’t met before
- Link nursery themes such as ‘houses and homes’, ‘transport’ or ‘staying safe’ to people who work in your community
Using the Benchmarks to support staff development
The Gatsby Benchmarks are incredibly valuable when applied in a structured way to the professional journeys of your staff.
Here are some ways to use the benchmarks as a reflective tool:
- Benchmark 1 - Stable careers programme: Think about how your setting supports your practitioners’ development over time. Do you have plans for inductions, mentoring and progression conversations?
- Benchmark 2 & 3 - Labour market information and individual needs: Encourage staff to engage with emerging research, sector pay scales and role developments so that they can make informed decisions about their own progression. Consider one-to-one reviews where staff can discuss their goals and how tailored CPD pathways can benefit the practitioner and the setting
- Benchmark 4 - Linking learning to careers: Reflect on how everyday practice links to potential next career steps. For example, a Level 3 practitioner might support a Level 2 colleague to deepen their understanding of planning. A leader may encourage CPD routes to support a practitioner’s career goals
- Benchmark 5 & 6 - Encounters with employers and workplaces: Arrange opportunities for practitioners to observe or partner with other settings, share practice and learn from peers. Professional networks and collaborative learning promote fresh ideas and career confidence. You can also offer work experience placements to local schools and colleges
- Benchmark 7 - Further and higher education: Make time for staff to explore progression routes such as child development degrees, specialisms or leadership qualifications. Ensure your setting actively supports study leave or funded development where possible and be open to work placements from degree-level students
- Benchmark 8 - Personal guidance: Provide access to high-quality mentoring, coaching or supervisory conversations where staff can discuss their own aspirations and reflect on how they can develop within your organisation
Using the benchmarks in this way doesn’t require you to replicate a secondary careers provision; it simply promotes a better understanding of how your setting supports lifelong learning and aspirations among its own team.
As the sector continues to professionalise, aligning with frameworks like the Gatsby Benchmarks helps the early years align with wider educational and career narratives. It shows that every learner and every practitioner is entitled to thoughtful support, exploration and progression.
Bringing the Gatsby Benchmarks to Life in Your Setting
Embedding the Gatsby Benchmarks doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does benefit from a team that feels confident talking about careers, roles and professional pathways.
Our childcare training programmes support practitioners at every level, from apprentices to room leaders, with structured development that mirrors the spirit of the Benchmarks. If you would like to explore how we can support your team’s progression, get in touch today. We would love to help.
Join the conversation: which Gatsby Benchmark do you think your setting could embed more easily this term? Tell us in the comments below - we would love to hear your ideas.
You can find more articles like this on the Parenta blog.
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