For colleges and sixth forms in England
Careers evidence that stays with the learner
Give students a free way to explore real next steps. Give your careers team a paid workspace to see Gatsby evidence, follow up gaps and report on destinations without rebuilding the story from separate spreadsheets.
From encounter to evidence
Students take part
Students explore routes and live opportunities on Shine, then log talks, visits and work experience with a reflection.
Staff verify
Review learner-submitted activities, record guidance meetings and see the missing evidence beside each learner.
Leaders report
Use benchmark coverage, destination check-ins and governor/inspection PDF and learner CSV exports for informed conversations.
What the guidance asks for, and what still needs people
England's statutory careers guidance asks relevant schools and colleges to have regard to the Gatsby Benchmarks. The provider access duty is a distinct legal requirement under the Education Act 1997, strengthened by section 14 of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. The six encounters concern school pupils in Years 8–13; they are not a blanket six-encounter rule for every FE student.
- Gatsby 1–8
- Shine shows recorded activity and learner-level gaps. Your team owns the careers programme, quality of encounters and qualified adviser guidance for Benchmark 8.
- Provider access
- Use the activity log to retain evidence of encounters; arranging the access, meeting the policy and checking who was offered it remain with the school.
- Inspection
- Export dated evidence to help explain provision. Ofsted assesses the setting independently; software cannot promise an inspection outcome.
Shine alongside Compass+ and your records
If your school uses Compass+ or your college uses a management information system, keep it. Shine adds a learner-facing route into careers exploration and a place for student-submitted activities, verification, early-warning follow-ups and destination check-ins. Compare what you need to transfer before changing any reporting process: Shine does not automatically submit statutory returns or synchronise with Compass+.
Start with the evidence you already collect
Download the Ofsted and Gatsby careers audit and the provider-access encounter matrix (PDF and Excel) from our Education Partners page. These are planning aids, not legal advice.
Questions from careers teams
- Can Shine show which Gatsby Benchmarks each student has evidence for?
- Yes. The partner dashboard links recorded careers activities to benchmarks and shows evidence and gaps per learner. A school's published programme and qualified personal guidance remain the responsibility of its staff.
- Does Shine replace Compass+ or our student records system?
- No. Shine focuses on learner-linked activity, reflections, staff verification, follow-ups and destination records. Keep any required returns and records in the systems your institution uses; check export fields against your own processes.
- Can Shine record provider encounters?
- Staff can record careers activities and learners can log their own encounters for staff verification. Your institution must still arrange, offer and check the required provider access encounters.
- Is Shine free for our college?
- Shine is free for young people. The institutional dashboard is a paid subscription; see Education Partner plans for pricing and access.
Official sources and further reading
See the dashboard with your own cohort
Free for learners. The partner dashboard is a paid annual subscription with unlimited learner sign-ups.