Buckinghamshire and Yalova seek to ultimately develop the knowledge and skills of young people who are preparing to leave school up to age 19 and including further education establishments so that they can make sound career choices for the future. In order to do this, there is a need in both regions to develop the skills of teachers to deliver the support required by students when considering their next steps on their career or further education pathway. Sound and informed careers guidance that prepare young people for working not only in their home country but across Europe is vital. The project will seek to develop a working relationship between teachers who are working in technical vocational settings. Using the expertise of Connexions Bucks and Research Guidance Center in Yalova, lessons will be improved to engage disaffected young people and enhance their ability to make informed decisions will be developed in collaboration with teaching staff in both countries. At the same time, the project will have 2 technical vocational insitutions; one in Yalova which is very established and has national recognition for the work they do. Therefore, it is a great opportunity to bring colleagues together in different contexts but each with a similar challenge of supporting young people moving forward in their future education and work choice. Both educational settings have different areas of expertise and it is the intention of the project for teaching staff to support development of areas that require strengthening in each institution. Students in both countries will be included in the discussions about what they believe in career guidance should focus on from their perspective and feed their views into planned interventions. It is anticipated that once we get feedback from the survey and the professionals in the project,we have had an opportunity to discuss and debate practices in the field of career, guidance and counselling.The professionals involved in the project will develop a suite of lesson plans for use in the classroom and a guidance document for the teachers to go alongside the lessons which will be able to support young people look at their future life choices. We acknowledge that there are some good practices in both regions and to this end we intend to develop case studies of good practices which will be shared with colleagues locally, nationally and at a European level. A virtual learning environment will be set up to support deeper discussions and the sharing of materials and resources between teachers/ educators in both institutions and a website for the purpose of dissemination of the project and resources developed . What we aim to achieve by this project is a consistent method for teaching good career and guidance counselling through the development of a module of work that can be used anywhere in both Bucks and Yalova and ultimately across Europe. It is very important that the decisions a student makes regarding his future are deliberate and purposeful, that the young person would understand that adaptation to the world of business and their emotional well being depends on the right choice. There is a need in both regions to develop good resources for teachers to use to support the choices that young people have to make when they are considering their future. Both regions are seeing a piecemeal approach to careers advise and guidance and in the UK recent reports have highlighted the lack of knowledge in schools on such matters, therefore young people are leaving school with inconsistent advice and support. The latest government guidance does not address how or what teachers should deliver in the classroom to effect making the right choice in order that students move into the right course of action whether it is pursuing technical qualifications or moving into the world of business via apprenticeships or otherwise.Development of a training event the content of which will be common in both Bucks and Yalova.
Buckinghamshire and Yalova sought to work together to develop the knowledge and skills of young people, so that they could make sound career choices for the future, that prepare young people for working not only in their home country but across Europe. This would address the issue of young people leaving school with inconsistent advice and support. Throughout the project we aimed to develop the skills and confidence of teachers to deliver the support required by students when considering their next steps on their career or further education pathway. This guidance provides a consistent method for teaching good career and guidance counselling through the development of a module of work that can be used anywhere. The Career case studies are a selection of trades which will enable students to look at different career opportunities, and their educational paths in order to help make informed choices. It is very important that the decisions a student makes regarding his future are deliberate and purposeful, that the young person would understand that adaptation to the world of business and their emotional well-being depends on the right choice. By learning about the education systems in each country, and by sharing the good practices in both regions, we were able to create a package of lesson plans, which not only covered different career paths but also took into account the skills and personalities of young people, their likes and dislikes. Students in both countries were included in the discussions about what they believe in career guidance should focus on from their perspective and feed their views into planned interventions. All of the guidance and resources are available to be shared with colleagues locally, nationally and at a European level via the BCC website: https://schoolsweb.buckscc.gov.uk/equalities/erasmusplus-projects/right-choice-right-move-vocational-guidance/ There were 8 participating organisations for this project. Buckinghamshire County Council work acros 234 educational establishments across Buckinghamshire to ensure a high standard of education. one of the key priorities for children and young people who are vulnerable to disengagement is to support and prepare then to make the right choice in education or career. YALOVA IL MILLI EGITIM MUDURLUGU is responsible for the provision of education throughout Yalova and its' aim is to improve student achievement through teachers professional and personal development, particularly in the field of career guidance. 2 Local Authority Secondary Schools in Yalova participated, where the project would have a direct impact on the teachers and students within them. Yalova Rehberlik Arastirma Merkezi is dedicated to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for all children by identifying and developing effective school practices Amersham and Wycombe College and Aylesbury College are both vocational colleges, one with links to media and film, the other with construction, so their participation not only gave us students retrospective feelings about their career guidance in previous schools, but also gave us access to employers for their feedback of requirements. Wycombe Youth Action support young people in Bucks who are not in education or employment, so accessing these young people was key to knowing that the lesson plans created were relevant and engaging for these hard to reach groups. Description of undertaken main activities; From the initial survey it was clear that there was not a consistent message going out to students in different organisation, about their options or the career path appropriate for them. After trialling the lessons, both Countries had positive results from the repeated survey. Overall with the students and staff that had taken part in the project there was a positive increase of knowledge and skills around choosing the right career path, however it was clear that for those schools that did not embrace the lesson plans there was no change in the views of their students, staff or parents.With staff there had been an improvement of knowledge and confidence from teachers that had taken part in the project. For the parents there was an increase in the positive results for now having enough information around future vocational options, with 100% of parents wanting more information In each country the schools and colleges organised a range of career events for their students along with teacher training events, to increase teachers confidence in careers guidance and how to bring it into the classroom. These were received very positively by both students and schools. There will be a number of long term benefits from this project. Yalova have already decided to include these lesson plans in their school curriculum, they have also seen the benefit in developing good relations between schools and businesses, and have decided to continue to hold career fairs with businesses participating.