Outstanding Careers | Careers Education Consultant | Ofsted Inspection Careers

Supporting Darren to Success

Tuesday 14th January 2014

I'm sorry Tabula Rasa, your post Why doesn't Darren think he will ever leave the estate? made me, to use your terminology, die a little, in fact it made me cry inside.

Your attitude towards careers education is very common amongst teachers, I've encountered it often enough during my long history of teaching careers to be rather inured by it. However, I can't let pass without defending careers ed by explaining why I believe it is often misunderstood and denigrated by teachers.

What you, and Darren, experienced, wasn't career education in its true form. I must hasten to add I don't blame your careers coordinator for this at all. As careers coordinators, we daily fight a battle to get something into the already crowded curriculum. Working on the basis that something is better than nothing, we go along with these 'drop down' days. This leads to the attitude you display in your post.

True careers education is based around a cross curricular, everybody has a responsibility to take part ethos. Where all teachers have a rudimentary belief in careers education and incorporate it into their lessons on a regular, appropriate, basis. I take an example from a reply to my post about what careers education should consist of. My respondent's suggestions were:-

• Online presence/social media in IT
• Interview (communication) skills in English
• H+S in Science
• Work Ethics in PSHE

I won't go on but you get the idea. Thus, everyone throughout the school has a stake in ensuring careers education isn't an excuse for 'die a little inside' activities.

What you wrote about what Darren needs I can't help but agree with:

• He needs a no-excuses culture that will not accept failure.
• He needs to be forced to catch up on work missed and never allowed to fall behind. (Not sure I agree with forced, support to maybe)
• He needs to get the support he needs to help him with the struggles he has.
• He needs clarity and efficiency in lessons so that the times he is in school are not wasted.

However, my main thrust focusses around point one. What is failure? Schools march, by necessity, to the beat of the target driven Ofsted drum. Even if we don't have a 6th form to fill and an incessant call from SLT/SMT to ensure everyone stays on to do A levels, we promote success as the academic route. A levels, university, well paid job. It is that illusion that makes Darren feel he's a failure.

Darren is right, he probably can't leave home and go to university via the academic route, even if he suceeds in doing well at his exams. He probably won't get the help he needs to do that, even if he did, he'd not be able to deal with the worry about student debt. However, that doesn't mean that Darren can't be a success. So here is my reply to Darren

Dear Darren

It made me so sad to read your letter. You've not had an easy life so far and I won't pretend I can wave a magic wand and make all your problems disappear. However, I might be able to show you another route to success, bear with me and I'll explain.

You could, providing you work hard and do as well as you can in your GCSE's, apply for an apprenticeship at 16 or a job with training. Either are allowed and you'd be earning at 16. It might not be much but it's more than you'd get at school and that could lead you to achieving L3 qualifications, they are equivalent to A Levels. Depending on the GCSE results you get this may take a few years but remember you'd be earning and able to help support your family. Mind you, you'd probably have to be brave and seek help with/for your mum.

At the end of your apprenticeship you'd be qualified and hopefully will have a better chance of getting a job. Doing an apprenticeship means working in a company and receiving training at the same time. now, I know that's not easy, especially with all the responsibilities you have at home but think of this. You'd not be stuck at that point, you'd be able to make a choice. You could carry on after your apprenticeship, if you chose, and do a foundation or an ordinary degree in the area you did your apprenticeship in. By that time, your little sister would be more self sufficient and you'd be more able to devote time to your studies. That's if you wanted to that is, if not, well you'd still be qualified and be more able to get a job. Have a look at the graphic I've put below, it makes it a bit easier to understand.

So Darren, I know it's tough but your teachers want to support you to do the best you can in your life. You're not a failure if you don't do A levels and go to uni. Success looks different to everyone. You owe it to your little sister to show her this.

Best wishes

Careers Defender

So from my point of view, we have a win/win opportunity here for both Darren and the school.

• A more focussed Darren, encouraged by the opportunity to pursue a route that can be seen as a success.
• Better results which have a knock on effect on your key headline data
• Darren is more likely to stick with his apprenticeship route and improve your destinations data, rather than drift off and become a burden for the EWO in the 6th form.

I finish with your words, which I entirely agree with, Darren is one those kids, like all of the kids we teach, who needs the school- and the entire education system- to be better. I hope I've prompted you to think about what better means.