Careers expert Julie Poppleton offers advice on how to support your child if they are becoming anxious about the prospect of jobs, work and next steps.
You can get involved in your child’s careers education in school. It’s OK to show interest.
We live in uncertain times, and it is only natural that your child might be feeling anxious about their next steps in terms of careers.
All Schools will be different, but now your child will be having some Careers Education from Primary School onwards.
Ask your child questions about their Careers Education in the same way as you would about other subjects in school. We all know that it can sometimes be hard to get your child to tell you about their day, so aim to create an atmosphere of supportive sharing with no raised expectations.
They can also lose letters or information which could be coming home about careers education.
Enquire about School Careers Advisers, interviews and work experience
Find out if your School has work experience. Who is the Careers Adviser and would you be able to attend one of their careers interviews with your child?
In your child’s careers interview, a careers plan of action with next steps will be agreed.
What does a careers action plan look like?
If you are unable to attend any careers meetings, see if you can have a look at a copy of the careers action plan that has been proposed for your child.
You can get eyes on what next steps were agreed and see if you and your child could do some of those together .
Agreed next steps for your child could include:
- Further research
- Attending careers fairs and open events
- Watching webinars
If your child prefers to do some of this independently, just show an interest in what they found out as part of their research.
About Julie Poppleton
Julie Poppleton is a Director of Careers. She is a Level 7 Careers Leader and a Level 6 qualified Careers Practitioner. Her leadership responsibilities and expertise include Employer, Stakeholder and Community Partnership Engagement including parents and families. She sits on a Senior Leadership Team for a Secondary School in Staffordshire and her additional commitments include:- Vice Chair – Southern Skills Employers and Educators Board
- Chair Staffordshire Careers Professionals Forum
- Executive Board Member Tamworth & Lichfield District Chamber of Commerce
- Member of the Staffordshire Education and Skills Strategic Group
- Lead school for the Careers and Enterprise/Stoke and Staffs LEP Careers Hub and member of the Steering Group Committee
- Moderator for Inspired Teenager Plus
- Careers peer awards reviewer for Careers and Enterprise Company
