How to meet Provider Access Legislation: a guide for teachers

In this guide we’ll explain what Provider Access Legislation is, why it’s important, and how Unifrog can help you meet its requirements.

What is Provider Access Legislation (PAL)?

PAL, the latest evolution of the Baker Clause, is a requirement for state schools in England. It stipulates that schools must give access to colleges and training providers to advise their students in Years 8-13 about non-traditional academic routes, like T levels and apprenticeships.

This means your school must do two key things:

• Provide access – for this, you’ll need to create a ‘provider access policy statement’ setting out how training providers can visit the school and request access, and this should be published on your website. 
   
• Facilitate six encounters with training providers, which should happen at specific times:
  
  1. Between 1st September in Year 8 and 28 February in Year 9 (mandatory for all students to attend)
  
  2. Between 1st September in Year 10 and and 28th February in Year 11 (mandatory for all students to attend)
  
  3. Between 1st September in Year 12 and 28th February in Year 13 (not mandatory for all students to attend)
   

Why is it important?

Ofsted have tightened up their focus on careers provision and inspectors are now obliged to report any school falling short of the PAL requirements. 

By complying with it, depending on the range of options you provide, you’ll also be going some way towards meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks. In particular, it will help you meet:

• Benchmark 5: Encounters with employees and employers
   
• Benchmark 6: Experiences with workplaces
   
• Benchmark 7: Encounters with further and higher education
   

How can Unifrog help?

Unifrog has the widest array of post-16 and post-18 opportunities available on its platform. It can help you meet the PAL by informing students of their options, keeping track of what they're doing, and making connections.
 

1. Inform students

Using Unifrog’s Know-how library and other Exploring Pathways tools, students can find out information on non-academic pathways like careers and apprenticeships. There’s also information on work placements and gap years.

In addition, Unifrog hosts webinars to advise students on things like applying for college and apprenticeships, and perfecting skills like CV writing and interviewing.

We spoke to David Rudd, careers lead at Claremont High School, to see how he's finding using Unifrog to meet the PAL.

David said: “When our careers adviser first meets with a student, he uses Unifrog’s Personality profile to get them to start thinking about the things they enjoy. Their results then provide recommended Careers library profiles, which they look at together. These give students live suggestions for apprenticeship, training, and further education opportunities on Unifrog which they might want to explore further.” 
 

2. Keep track

“For me, the Interactions tool on Unifrog is the biggest help when it comes to tracking how our school meets the PAL,” said David. 

Using Unifrog’s Interactions tool, you can keep track of any interactions students have had relating to non-academic pathways, including the events and opportunities they’ll see in their ‘What’s coming up’ feeds.

To log an interaction, you’ll need to enter the type of task, as well as the benchmark(s) it meets so you can refer back to this as evidence of how you are meeting the Clause.
 

3. Make connections

In order to meet the requirements of the PAL, you’ll need to set up meaningful interactions between employers offering apprenticeships and training providers with your students. 

If you log in as a student, you can use Unifrog’s Apprenticeships tool and College / Sixth Form tool to get in touch with potential speakers. You might be surprised by the range of providers that are local to you, and the breadth of their apprenticeships and vocational qualifications on offer. 

You’ll then be able to organise events at your school or in person to facilitate meaningful encounters, in line with the PAL requirements. If they cannot be conducted in-person, virtual interactions are an option. 

Unifrog also helps your students prepare for the encounters you put on. Our Know-how library guides simplify topics like apprenticeship levels and college qualifications, and our Resources library has tools like careers fair worksheets so students can make the most of these opportunities.
 

Pro tip: A quick and easy way to meet Gatsby Benchmarks relating to the PAL 

A standout Unifrog feature you can use to do all of the above is shortlisting. You’ll find Unifrog’s shortlisting tools under ‘Searching for opportunities’ on your student homepage.

Shortlisting tools allow students to search for degrees, apprenticeships, and college / FE courses around the world, all in one place. The more Shortlists a student saves, the more relevant the events and opportunities will be that appear in the ‘What’s coming up’ feed on their homepage. Unifrog’s Apprenticeships tool and College / Sixth Form tool in particular helps students make connections with workplaces and FE providers in their local area.

For more information on how Unifrog can help you comply with the PAL, or for more ideas to improve your CEIAG provision, request a demo or contact your Area or Account Manager.