EXPLORING POST-18 OPTIONS
As the year progresses, your child will need to think about what to do when they finish their course. Would they like to continue their education or training? Or will they be ready to start their career? Encourage them to make the most of opportunities during the year to investigate the options.
FROM THE SECOND TERM ONWARDS
From February / March, your child will have access to opportunities such as:
• UCAS exhibitions. Held around the country, these events bring together experts from UCAS( the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), university representatives, employers and gap year specialists. Schools or colleges often arrange visits to these exhibitions but your child can also visit independently, in which case you might choose to take them. There may be special sessions for parents or carers. For more details visit www. ucas. com / ucas / events-exhibitions
• University taster courses and residentials. These are short subject-specific courses, lasting anywhere from half a day to one week. They are designed to give students a flavour of campus life, and the chance to experience university teaching methods, see the academic, social and leisure facilities for themselves and meet academic staff and current university students. They are generally free of charge, although students may have to cover travel and food costs. Residential courses involve staying overnight at the university.
• School / college careers fairs. These are a good opportunity to talk to careers advisers, universities and employers to find out more about higher education, training, apprenticeships and employment options.
• Career-focused PSHE sessions or talks at their school / college given by representatives from universities and apprenticeship providers.
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SUPPORTING YOUR CHILD GETTING THE MOST OUT OF UCAS EXHIBITIONS
UCAS exhibitions are large, busy events, often with hundreds of organisations represented, so it’ s a good idea for your child to do a bit of advance preparation.
Before they go, look through the exhibition information together and talk about:
• What they want to get out of the day.
• Whether there are particular university stands they would like to visit.
• The questions they would like to ask university / training provider representatives.
• Whether there are any specific talks or sessions they are interested in.
On the day, encourage them to take a spare bag for all the prospectuses and information they will pick up.
Afterwards, have a chat with them about how it went and the sorts of courses and careers they are thinking about.
• Offer to help them sift through the prospectuses and go through the details of courses that interest them.
• Look at an online map together so that your child can see where different universities are and start to think about whether they’ d like to study close to home or further afield.