Information for Parents

Investing in your Son/ Daughter’s Future

Research has consistently shown that parents and carers are the most influential factor in students’ decisions about the future. Your support and encouragement influences their choices, and the guidance you provide will be invaluable to their eventual achievements and career pathways. This might feel a little daunting…the jobs of the future may be very different from your own experiences and choices. In fact, they may not even been invented yet!

There are some very simple and practical steps you can take to support your child.

Talk to them about their current educational attainment and estimated grades and encourage them to aim high (the skills shortages of the future will be in higher level jobs)

• Discuss where they want to be and research how to get there (lots of great resources at Oakwood High School and on the internet)
• Use the links on the school website https://www.oakwood.ac/Careers
• Encourage them to seek out the advice and experiences they need to help them achieve their goals
• Help them with the steps they need to take

Together with a range of career professionals, businesses and training providers we will support your son’s/daughter’s career development in a number of ways including:

• Information and discussion in lessons and assemblies to help them make decisions about your future
• Activities and events
• Access to careers advisers in a variety of ways including individual meetings, drop-in sessions, enrichment activities, parents and option evenings and on results days
• Careers information and computer-based careers programmes
• Information and updates on notice boards, plasma screens and websites

Useful Links

https://successatschool.org/advicedetails/1205/different-options-for-school-leavers – In this guide, we break down the choices available to your child and provide some handy tips and links to more in-depth articles, so you can make sure their options are open.

https://successatschool.org/advicedetails/1277/future-of-work-job-opportunities-for-young-people : “We live in confusing times, and that can make it harder to plan for the future. But there are some things we are certain about. We live in a post-Covid facing drastic environmental changes and rapid technological change.

In this article, we bring together the research to explore what this means for the future of work for Gen Z-ers between 2020 and 2030.”

https://successatschool.org/advice/parents : A collection of articles, including:

• A parent’s guide to post-16 qualifications
• How to help your child with applications
• Should my child go to university?

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/apprentices/help-shape-their-career# : The link contains information for parents about apprenticeships.

https://successatschool.org/advicedetails/1005/video-work-experience-a-parents-guide : Parents: for a quick guide to work experience and how it can benefit your child, take a look at this video!

You are welcome to attend your child’s careers meeting and we encourage you to contact Oakwood High School if you need any more help or information.