Your Teenager's Options

Making a choice about the future isn’t easy as there are a wide range of courses and qualifications to choose from. As a parent or carer, we know you play an important role in helping your teenager decide which is the best option for them.

How does my teenager decide which option to choose from?

• Look into what options are available; and
• think about what they might like to do after year 11.

What does my teenager do if they have some ideas about careers they might want to do?

If your son or daughter has some career ideas, you can use these to figure out which courses would be suitable by following these two steps.

Step 1

Use Job Profiles on Next Step to research careers they are interested in. It will tell you what the entry routes are and what qualifications they will need as well as other information about the job.

Step 2

Now that you know what they need to get into different careers, search on Xplore Progress  to see what learning opportunities are available for your son or daughter.

What does my teenager do if they are not sure what career they would like to go into?

You could discuss the following:

• The subjects they are interested in or enjoy - Get your teenager to think about the subjects they enjoy or new subjects that may interest them. It's important they enjoy the course.
• How they like to learn - Some subjects are more classroom based and others may be more hands-on or work related. Try to match your teenager up with a course that uses their preferred style of learning.
• Keeping their options open - If your teenager doesn't have a definite career in my mind, it's a good idea to do general qualifications that don’t focus on a particular industry. GCSEs are a good way of learning about subjects.

Further Information

Local Publications

The following publications have been produced by Connexions Northamptonshire:

• "Options at 16"
  A booklet to support parents and carers in helping their teenagers with choices after age 16:
  Options at 16 (303.72 kB)
• "The Diploma"
  A guide for parents and carers about the availability of 14-19 Diplomas in Northamptonshire:
  The Diploma (Parents guide) (747.62 kB)
• "Is Your Teenager Employable?"
  A guide for parents about helping their teenager into employment:
  Is Your Teenager Employable? (Parents leaflet) (197.67 kB)

National Publications

There are also two publications aimed at young people, which you might find useful:

• Which Way Now? Helps your teenager to make decisions about key stage 4 options.
• It's Your Choice Helps your teenager to make decisions about their post-16 choices.

These may have been purchased by your child's school, or can be bought directly from Babcock Lifeskills on 02392 316240 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it at a cost of £1.50 each.

You may also like to look at what other resources are available to purchase from this flyer 
 Options & Choices parents flyer (Prospects) (1.51 MB)

You can also have a look at the "Learning and Choices" section of our website for young people.