Schools should be doing more to prepare young people for the world of work according to a recent report from Ofsted.

The education watchdog says that England’s economic prosperity is at risk because the majority of schools fail to prioritise enterprise education and work-related learning.

In the course of Ofsted’s visits to 40 secondary schools, inspectors looked at how well schools and businesses were engaging with each other and how schools were promoting alternatives to university.

Key findings include:

• The extent to which schools prepared young people for the world of work was largely dependent on whether school leaders considered it a priority
• Opportunities for meaningful work-related learning or work experience at key stage 4 were limited
• Business involvement in some schools relied too heavily on personal networks with a lack of local coordination and strategy
• Schools appeared to be more likely to promote apprenticeships than in previous years, but parents and pupils are concerned about the quality and reputation of apprenticeships.