Management Information Sheet

Background

Help You Choose is Norfolk's highly regarded young peoples’ careers information, advice and opportunities website for use with 14-19 year olds. It is the only place where young people, their parents/carers and teachers/advisers can find information about all 16-19 courses, Apprenticeships and Traineeships and apply online. Schools’ use of Help You Choose makes an important contribution towards meeting their statutory duty to secure impartial and independent careers guidance for young people in Years 8-13.

However, you will be aware that during 2014/15, the functions for young people to be able to use Help You Choose to apply online for courses and for staff to use the system to track students' applications have been unavailable.

Restoring functionality

I am pleased to report that development work is now on schedule to ensure that Help You Choose will be fully functional from the start of the 2015/16 academic year for your students and staff to use.

This will mean that students in schools will be able to:

• Search for courses and Apprenticeships
• Apply for courses online
• Set job alerts for new Apprenticeship vacancies

Careers/IAG staff in schools will once again be able to use Help You Choose to monitor Year 11/12 applications and destination reports using the Student Tracker and to identify and target support to those pupils who have not made applications during the year.

It will also means that sixth forms and colleges will be able to use Help You Choose to:

• Receive online applications from young people
• Advertise and market courses and other provision to young people and their parents/carers
• Make offers of places

We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused to staff and students at your school arising from some Help You Choose services not being available during the 2014/15 academic year and I would like to assure you that the issues with the system will be fully resolved following the development work.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your school’s continuing use of Help You Choose with your pupils. By using Help You Choose, your school provides crucial information and support to young people in Years 10 and 11 to make important choices and to support them to progress into positive destinations.

A member of my Team will shortly contact your school to confirm arrangements for reinstating the use of the HYC applications system and to offer any training or support that might be required.

If you have any question, please contact Melvyn Ruff, IAG Support Manager at Melvyn.ruff@norfolk.gov.uk.

Gordon Boyd, Assistant Director Education, Norfolk Children’s Services