Frequently Asked Questions

QiCS stands for Quality in Careers Standard. It is a national standard for careers education and guidance. Schools are encouraged to meet the standards and be assessed against them to obtain their awards which they can then display on their notice board and website. 

No. there are currently 10 certified assessing bodies, for example Investors in Careers (CSW group) and Career Mark. Some only operate in certain parts of the country while others are available nation-wide including Channel Islands. 

Not very. Unless you are an SEN school or PRU, you are expected to meet all the essential criteria on the list. You may need to be re-assessed if these are not complete by the day you are assessed. 

It is not currently essential. However, it is good practice, it is encouraged by the DfE and is evidence that you are meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks and are providing excellent careers services for your students. It is also good practice in terms of OFSTED. 

There are 3 pass grades; 

• fully meets the standard (pass)
• making good progress (pass)
• does not meet the standard (fail)

If you already have the award from a previous year and you are re-assessed 3 years or so later, the assessing body can remove your QiCS status if you don't pass.

You may be given time to produce more evidence towards the standard without an extra cost, however this is at the discretion of the awarding body, how much time they give you and if you need to pay again to be re-assessed. It would depend on how far behind you are and how committed you are in relation to meeting the standard. 

Most of the awarding bodies give you 3 years between each assessment. If you were assessed 3 years ago you will be up for renewal soon, so please contact your QiCS body (or a different one if you were not happy with the previous one you used). 

You will find the full list of current licence holders here:

QiCS Licence holders

For the criteria in the national standard, click here: 

QiCS expectations 

No. You will need to pay for the assessment. However, some councils or trusts may either fully pay for your award or contribute to the costs. You will need to contact them to find out if this is the case. Usually, most schools, academies and colleges need to pay out of their careers budgets. 

Not really. it is still part of the updated OFSTED inspection, and the Gatsby Benchmarks should still be adhered to after you have passed your QiCS and have received your award. 

Please get in touch, we'd love to help. 

Please get in touch to find out more about a consultation to help you meet your QiCS award or meet the Gatsby Benchmarks.