Provider access policy: what to publish on your school website
If your school has pupils in years 8 to 13, your website needs a statement on how colleges, training providers and apprenticeship providers can come in to talk to them.
Check this on my websiteWho it applies to
- Published on
- The school's own website
- School type
- Academies and maintained schools
- School stage
- Secondary, all-through and middle
- Only applies to
- Schools with pupils in years 8 to 13
- Does not apply to
- No school types are excluded
When it's due
Keep it up to date
There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
What's needed
Publish your provider access policy statement on the careers page on your website, setting out how providers ask for access, when it is given and how requests are decided.
What it must contain
6 parts- Sets out when education and training providers get access to pupilsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Explains the procedure for requesting accessMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Gives its grounds for granting or refusing access requestsMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Gives details of the premises or facilities available to a person given accessMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says when access can be givenMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
- Says how it will meet the requirement to hold six provider encountersMust: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.
What the official sources say
Set out in 4 official sources:
What maintained schools must publish online
Secondary schools must publish a policy statement to comply with section 42B of the Education Act 1997 , known as the ‘provider access legislation’. This statement must set out the circumstances in which they will give providers of technical education and apprenticeships access to year 8 to 13 pupils, as applicable.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Careers programme information > What secondary schools must publish
What academies must publish online
Secondary academies and 16 to 19 academies must publish a policy statement to comply with section 42B of the Education Act 1997 , known as the ‘provider access legislation’. This statement must set out the circumstances in which they will give providers of technical education and apprenticeships access to year 8 to 13 pupils, as applicable.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ Careers programme information > What secondary academies and 16 to 19 academies must publish
Careers guidance and access for education and training providers (statutory guidance)
Schools should also incorporate the policy statement on provider access that they are required to publish under section 42B of the Education Act 1997.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ 'Publishing information about the careers programme' section
Schools must prepare and publish a policy statement setting out the circumstances in which education and training providers will be given access to pupils. The policy statement must include: – any procedural requirements about requests for access – grounds for granting or refusing requests – details of premises or facilities available to a person who is given access – the times access can be given – how they will meet the legal requirement to put on 6 provider encounters
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ 'Provider access policy statement' section
Show 1 more from this source
The careers leader should review the policy statement annually and agree it with the governing body.
Should: Recommended in official guidance, such as the DfE's. Not a legal requirement in itself.§ 'Provider access policy statement' section
Education Act 1997 s42B (access to schools for education and training providers)
7 The proprietor must publish the policy statement and any revised statement.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ s42B(7)
3 The proprietor of a school in England within subsection (2) must prepare a policy statement setting out the circumstances in which education and training providers will be given access to registered pupils for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.
Must: Required by law, statutory guidance or the academy's funding agreement.§ s42B(3)
Questions schools ask
Do schools have to publish a provider access policy?
Academies and maintained schools must. It only applies to schools with pupils in years 8 to 13.
What does a provider access policy need to include?
Sets out when education and training providers get access to pupils; Explains the procedure for requesting access; its grounds for granting or refusing access requests; details of the premises or facilities available to a person given access; Says when access can be given; Says how it will meet the requirement to hold six provider encounters.
When do we need to update our provider access policy?
Keep it up to date. There's no fixed date. Update it whenever something changes.
Where does the requirement for the provider access policy statement come from?
It is set out in What maintained schools must publish online, What academies must publish online, Careers guidance and access for education and training providers (statutory guidance) and Education Act 1997 s42B (access to schools for education and training providers).
Recent changes to the official guidance
Updates to the official sources that affect this requirement, newest first.
23 June 2026 · Careers guidance and access for education and training providers (statutory guidance)
Updated 'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' to reflect recent education and skills policy developments. These include the government’s approach to work experience, qualifications reform and Ofsted inspection changes. We have also included updated evidence and new tools and resources for schools, colleges and independent training providers.
8 May 2025 · Careers guidance and access for education and training providers (statutory guidance)
'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' has been updated to reflect changes in legislation. The format has also changed.
5 January 2023 · Careers guidance and access for education and training providers (statutory guidance)
'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' has been updated to reflect changes to the provider access legislation. Updates have also been made following a consultation on proposed changes to the ‘access for education and training providers’ section.
31 August 2022 · Careers guidance and access for education and training providers (statutory guidance)
'Careers guidance and access for education and training providers' has been updated to reflect the changes to the careers legal duty that come into force on 1 September 2022.
We last checked these sources on 21 September 2026.
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Official sources last checked 21 September 2026 · register version 1.0.4