The Skills For Careers Young People webpage has ideas of what careers are available, and a section for getting help and advice with applying for jobs or training. It also gives information on the training options available to young people for post-16 study, including details about the different qualifications you could study, typical entry requirements, and what they could lead you onto. You can use the search tools within each qualification description to find post-16 settings which may be offering those you’re interested in, or use it to research your next steps and then look for Bexley post-16 settings planning to offer those qualifications by using Bexley’s Post-16 Directory web app.
Choosing the right pathway
Choosing the right pathway for post-16 study initially comes to down what you hope to do after your post-16 study. If you want to go to university, you’ll need to choose a pathway that provides the subjects and UCAS points needed. If you want to go into work, you’ll need to choose a pathway that will give you the skills and qualifications asked for by employers.
If university, or other higher education such as a degree apprenticeship, is your planned next step after post-16 education, do some research on the UCAS website as to what higher education course you would be interested in and what its entry requirements are. Use this research to inform your next steps.
If work is your planned next step after post-16 education, use the National Careers Service Careers Explorer to find the job you’re aiming for and check out the “How to become” section for information on the qualifications usually asked for by employers. Use this research to inform your next steps. Even if you’re planning on going to university before going into work, you may find this a useful exercise to inform your choices for both post-16 and university education.
Once you know what qualifications and/or subjects you need to study to achieve your goals after post-16, it’s time to find post-16 education settings who offer those qualifications, or a pathway to those qualifications in case you don’t get the grades required while at school.
Check Bexley’s Post-16 Directory web app for information on post-16 settings in the borough and use the “Course Search” to see who is planning to offer the qualifications / and or subjects you’re looking for. If you find a suitable post-16 setting, attend any open events they have so you can have a look around, and get your application in before their application deadline. Don’t wait until you get your GCSE results, as it could well be too late to secure a place at the setting, or for the subjects you want. Most settings accept applications with predicted grades, so don’t wait for your actual ones.
For apprenticeships, use the Find Apprenticeship Service to search and apply for opportunities. Apprenticeships are jobs, not courses, and so you wouldn’t apply to a college or independent training provider for an apprenticeship, although you may attend a setting of these types for your off the job training. Remember that you can’t start an apprenticeship until you’re no longer of compulsory school age - this is after the last Friday in June of your school year 11. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use the Find Apprenticeship Service to register to opportunity alerts before then or apply for apprenticeship opportunities with a start date after that last Friday in June.
You should also look for information on Bexley’s Apprenticeship & Participation Event which typically takes place during National Apprenticeship Week. Your Bexley secondary school will be given posters and leaflets to promote when the event is taking place.
If you have Special Educational Needs
When applying for post-16 education you will usually be asked if you have any Special Educational Needs that you receive support for at school. It’s important that you answer this question honestly. As young people go to a very wide range of post-16 education settings, it’s very likely that your post-16 education setting won’t receive information from your school about the support you received there. As funding to support young people with Special Educational Needs is different for post-16 settings than it is for schools, it could be difficult for your post-16 setting to arrange or provide the support you need if they don’t know about it before you start with them.
Many post-16 settings will have a student support service who will meet with you to discuss your needs, how they could be met at the setting, and offer advice and guidance if the course you are interested in may not be suitable. It’s far better to have this conversation and start a suitable course with the support ready to go, rather than start a course you may struggle with.
If you have an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP)
If you have an EHCP, it’s likely that you and your parents started thinking about post-16 education in year 9 so that your remaining time at school started you on the right pathway and had this outlined in your Plan. During your year 11 Annual Review there should be a check-in to see how things are progressing, whether your longer-term education or job goals have changed, and your Plan updated to reflect your move to post-16 education and the outcomes you aim to achieve there.
If the pathway to your longer-term education or job goals means your next step is a mainstream setting other than one you currently attend, it’s important that your Bexley SEND Case Officer is aware so they can consult with the setting to confirm they can meet your needs and agree to being named on your EHCP. You or your parent can pass on this information, or ensure it’s passed to the Case Officer with the Annual Review document. This needs to happen before the end of March in year 11 to allow enough time for this to take place, but the sooner the better in case an alternative setting needs to be identified.
Some post-16 settings only offer education to students with an EHCP or have a part of their building specifically for young people with a Plan. If your longer-term education or job goals mean your next step is to a setting of this kind, it’s important that your Bexley SEND Case Officer is aware so they can confirm that the place will be funded (if not state-funded) and consult with the setting to confirm they can meet your needs and agree to being named on your EHCP. You or your parent can pass on this information or ensure it’s passed to the Case Officer with the Annual Review document. This needs to happen before the end of March in year 11 to allow enough time for this to take place, but the sooner the better in case an alternative setting needs to be identified.