A survey of 900 English secondary schools by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has found that only a quarter have a well co-ordinated and coherent programme of work related learning.

Careers education and guidance is said to be poor in a fifth of schools, leaving pupils ill informed to make career choices.

Work placements are generally done well, matching the work experience to pupils' interests, Ofsted says.

Two thirds of schools provide teenagers with an appropriate level of challenge, developing their understanding of the sort of things employers expect and the sort of responsibilities they will have as workers.

"Although work experience can improve pupils' attitudes to school work and help to re-engage some who are disaffected," Ofsted says, "schools do not always capitalise sufficiently on this enhanced motivation to raise the pupils' attainment."

Teachers out of touch

Its report suggests that extended work experience placements can help some strongly disaffected pupils.

Only one in 10 schools makes an effort to improve its teachers' understanding of business and industry, even though placement schemes for teachers generally have a positive impact on those involved.

Nearly all schools have well established school-business links, most schools do not use these to make a significant impact on the curriculum outside work experience and careers education.

The head of the Skills Group at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Margaret Murray, said the report was very welcome.

CBI members said too many people they recruited had not received adequate guidance on the range of options open to them.

"They have too low expectations of themselves," she said, "which stems from a low expectation that the education system has of them.

"It's one of the hallmarks of a very good school - high expectations both of the staff and of the pupils."

The Ofsted report says that to make sure all pupils make a successful transition to adult and working life, schools need to:

• provide regular and appropriate opportunities for teachers to become better informed about what business requires of employees
  

• establish clear aims for work-related aspects of their curriculum and develop a coherent and co-ordinated approach that ensures the needs of all pupils can be met
  

• ensure all pupils have the chance to develop basic economic awareness, an understanding of the workplace, and a knowledge of the range of job opportunities along with the relevant qualifications.