CEIAG Provider Access Legislation

Policy details

• Date created - December 2025
• Date approved - December 2025
• Next review date - July 2026
• Policy owner - Sean Jones

Co-op Academy Rathbone Provider Access Legislation  (PAL) 2025-26

Access for colleges, training providers, university technical colleges, and all other post 16 providers offering technical votation and academic routes and apprenticeships

Approved by: Sean Jones   Date : December 2025

This policy statement sets out our academy’s arrangements for managing the access of education and training providers to students for the purpose of giving them information about the various post 16 routes.

It sets out:

• Procedures in relation to requests for access
• The grounds for granting and refusing requests for access
• Details of premises or facilities to be provided to a person who is given access

1.Statutory requirements

All academies  adhere to the  updated  DfE Statutory guidance (May '25) and are working towards embedding the updated Gatsby benchmarks and preparing for the future introduction of a guarantee of 2 weeks worth of work experience for every young person.

All schools / academies are required to ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access students in years 8 to 13 for the purposes of informing them about approved technical education, qualifications or apprenticeships. This complies with the school’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997.

In addition to the Baker Clause, an amendment to the above stipulates that schools must allow colleges and training providers access to every student in years 8 - 13 to discuss non-academic routes that are available to them. It is expected that by doing so this will help address the UK’s productivity challenges and address skills shortages experienced across several sectors of the economy. In line with the updated Provider Access Legislation, from January 2023, all students should have at least six encounters with providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.

2.Pupil entitlement (intended learning outcomes)

At Co-op Academy Rathbone will use Gatsby Benchmarks as a framework of best practice to develop and improve our careers provision to ensure that we take our responsibility of providing opportunities for a range of education and training providers to access all pupils, but to also have CEIAG programs that meet the needs of an ever changing cohort. All of our students are entitled:

1. To find out about technical education qualifications and apprenticeships opportunities, as part of a careers programme which provides information on the full range of education and training options available at each transition point;
2. To hear from a range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships

These provider encounters will be scheduled during the main academy hours and there will a minimum  expectation that our providers will provide :-

• Information about the provider and the approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships they offer

• Information about the careers to which those technical education qualifications or  apprenticeships might lead i.e career routes

• Description of what learning or training with the provider is like,  including the opportunity to meet staff and students where possible

          • Opportunities for students  to ask questions , including our most vulnerable and those

            with additional learning needs.

Further detail of our  CEIAG programme is available on our website

3. Management of provider access requests

3.1 Procedure

A provider wishing to request access should contact  and complete the form below

CEIAG Leader : Sean Jones [Rathbone]

Telephone:    0151 330 5121

Email: sean.jones@coopacademies.co.uk

The following information is needed:-

1.Name of provider requesting access and details of provision:

____________________________________________________________________________

2.Contact name of provider and contact details:

____________________________________________________________________________

3.Number of staff who propose to visit

____________________________

4.Aims and objectives of session including suggested year group(s)

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

5.Proposed format, timings and duration of session including facilities and equipment required:

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

3.2 Opportunities for access

Our academy will try to offer encounters, integrated into our emerging careers program. We will offer providers an opportunity to come into our academies to speak to students and/or their parents or carers.

Additional support for vulnerable students

Where required, we will provide adjustments to enable all pupils to benefit from any visitors.

3.3 Safeguarding

Our  policy on safeguarding, which can be found on our website, sets out our approach to allowing providers into our academy as visitors to talk to our students

Education and training providers will be expected to adhere to this policy.

3.4 Premises and facilities

Our academy will make the main hall, classrooms or private meeting rooms available for discussions between the provider and students, as appropriate to the activity.

The academy will also make available AV and other specialist equipment to support provider presentations. This will all be discussed and agreed in advance of the visit with the Careers Leader or a member of their team.

Providers are welcome to leave a copy of their prospectus or other relevant course literature at reception, from here they will be delivered to  the schools library in our careers section. This facility is available to all students at lunch and break times.

4. Monitoring arrangements

Co-op Academy Rathbone arrangements for managing the access of education and training providers to our students is monitored by Sean Jones.

This policy will be reviewed by Sean Jones. At every review, the policy will be approved by the governing board and the headteacher.