UCC Careers Education - Year 9 Pre-options Work

PREPARING TO MAKE YOUR OPTIONS Year 9 Tutor Activities

Name:

Form:

Introduction You are about to start thinking about your options for Key Stage 4 and having high aspirations for your future is important. It helps you think about what the future might hold, what you could become and ensures you aim for the very best for yourself.

The activities in this workbook will get you thinking about a range of different subjects that you might want to study at GCSE and the careers that you might want to think about in the future.

Why is this important? You are about to make some big decisions – which subject you would like to study at GCSE. This is first step towards achieving the qualifications that you will need to enter the world of work. Although this is not about you deciding what you want to do in 3 or 5 years’ time when you leave school, it is about making informed choices that will help you keep as many doors open for you in the future as possible.

One of the ways that you can explore the world of work is through Kudos. This is tool for career exploration, which we hope will inspire you to explore your future options.

You will receive a username and password for Kudos which you will need to keep safe and remember. You will return to using Kudos in Years 10, 11 and beyond.

Make a note of your Kudos log in details below:

USERNAME

PASSWORD

In future sessions, when you need to access Kudos, the web address is:

https://kudos.cascaid.co.uk 2

SESSION ONE BACK TO TH E FUTURE You may, or may not, have seen the classic film trilogy “Back to the Future”. In the second film, Marty McFly and inventor Doc Brown use a DeLorean car, which has been modified to be a time machine, to travel into the future. Marty gets to see what his life has become 30 years in the future… he gets a few surprises!

TASK Imaging you had access to a time machine that could transport you 30 years into the future. In the space below, draw a series of images to show what you hope your life will be like.

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TASK It’d be great that if in the future, you didn’t need to work. Reality, however, is that you are more than likely going to have a job and hopefully one you like, Think of two dream jobs that you might like to be in in the future. In the spaces below, draw an image in the circle of what that job might look like and how you think you might get to have such an amazing job!

DREAM JOB 1

How I could get this job

DREAM JOB 2

How I could get this job

Once you have finished, go round the class and try and find someone who has one of the same dream jobs as you. When you find someone find out how they think they might get that dream job.

CLASS DISCUSSION With the people around you, talk about the following question for 5 minutes. Then feedback to the class.

IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE A DREAM JOB? 4

TASK Write a note to your future self, stating what your aspirations are for your future.

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SESSION TWO YOU’VE GOT THE SKILLS TO PAY THE BILLS In the future, when you enter the world of work, your value (or how much you get paid) is often determined by skills you possess. Employers will assess these skills based on a range of information such as the qualifications you have, what level these are at and what you are able to tell them in interviews.

TASK Below are two image that represent different jobs: a police officer and builder.

Around each picture brainstorm some of the skills that these people might need to be successful in their job. Look at some of the examples of skills in the box at the bottom of the page if you are stuck.

Teamwork

EXAMPLES OF SKILLS Communication Creativity Mathematical

Physical

CLASS DISCUSSION For these two types of job, what skills would be similar? What would be different?

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TASK Complete the word search below to find a range of different skills and abilities.

Can you think of any more words to describe your skills and abilities?

Ask a friend to help if necessary. ………………………………

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Pick three of the skills above which you think best reflect you. Explain why you have chosen each.

Skill

Reason

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TASK Thinking about the skills and abilities that make you special, turn yourself into a superhero!

Draw a picture of yourself as a superhero and annotate it with your special skills and abilities. Explain why these will make you a superhero for any potential future employer.

Think about the skills that, at the moment, you don’t think you have. Make a note of three skills that you would like to develop and give suggestions of how and where you could improve them. Think about the subjects in school that might help you.

Skills I need to develop

How I could develop them

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IT IS TIME TO START EXPLORING YOUR

FUTURE 9

SESSION THREE MAKING DECISIONS We all make decisions everyday – some are small decisions, such as what colour socks shall I wear? And some are very important decisions.

TASK For each of the decisions below, rank them in order of importance. 1 should be the most important and 7 the least important.

RANK 1= most important 7 = least important

Shall I wear a coat today, or go without?

Shall I cross the road here, or wait until I get to the pedestrian crossing?

Shall I tie my hair back this morning, or wear it loose?

Shall I stay on at school and do A levels, or leave and get a job with training?

Shall I buy my lunch now, or wait until later?

Would I like to work in construction, or maybe I could be an Accountant?

Shall I buy a road bike or maybe a BMX? With the person next to you, discuss the following questions and make notes of your answers.

1. How easy was it to rank these decisions? Were some hard to choose between? What made them difficult to choose between? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2. Which two were the most important decisions? Why did you think these were the most important? i.

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ii.

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CAREER DECISIONS TASK Deciding which career destination to follow can be very difficult and many different things can influence our decisions. For each of the decisions below, rank them in order of importance. 1 should be the most important and 7 the least important.

Will I be able to work close to home?

How much money will I earn?

My Uncle told me that it is a good area to work in Will I have the right level of qualification to enter this kind of work My friend told me that this is a bad area to go into I have carried out some research and I really think this kind of work will suit me I’ll be able to do an apprenticeship Are there lots of opportunities in this area?

CLASS DISCUSSION Which of these decisions are the most important and why? Which of these decisions are the least important and why?

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RANK 1= most important 7 = least important

SESSION FOUR GETTING STARTED WITH KUDOS : MYFUTURE QUIZ 1. Go to https://kudos.cascaid.co.uk and you should arrive at a page that looks like this.

2. Enter your username which should be “your school username”@ucc. For example, joanne.bloggs@ucc 3. If this is the first time you have logged in, your password will be Password1 4. Click LOGIN 5. You will then be asked to complete your registration. Add your SCHOOL EMAIL ADDRESS. For example joe.bloggs@ullswatercc.co.uk

6. You will then be asked to change your password. This should be a new password that you don’t use anywhere else; a Kudos password. Record this in the box on the inside cover of your booklet.

DON’T MAKE IT THE SAME AS YOUR SCHOOL PASSWORD!

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7. The first thing that Kudos will ask you to do is to complete a little bit of information about yourself.  Select your gender  Select the qualification level you are hoping to achieve – be aspirant for yourself here.  Enter the school postcode which is CA11 8NG  Ensure Kudos group is your year group  Select your year groups  Enter your age IMPORTANT – If you have any of the health issues that are listed, please tick them, as this will ensure that Kudos suggests things appropriate to you.

8. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ‘next’

Click on the “MYFUTURE” button. You will be asked a series of questions which will help to identify careers which are matched to your interests and strengths.

Answer all the questions honestly and carefully. It is important that you do this so that Kudos can match you skills to potential careers.

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Once you have finished the MYFUTURE quiz, you will be presented with this screen. Click the “MY CAREER IDEAS” button.

Look through the list of potential careers that Kudos suggests to you. Explore the ones which might be of interest to you by clicking on the button. When you have explored a career and if it is still something you think you might be interested in, click the

button.

REFLECTION ON MYFUTURE ACTIVITY Think about the careers that Kudos suggested during this activity and answer the following questions.

1. What were the top three careers that Kudos suggested for you?

1…………………………..…

2……………………..……..

3…………………………….

2. Why do you think these careers were suggested? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. State one career that you have explored in more detail. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

What have you found out about this career? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. Were there any careers that were suggested that surprised you? Why do you think they were included? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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SESSION FIVE THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF WORK Go to https://kudos.cascaid.co.uk and log in with your details that are recorded on the inside over of this booklet.

In this session you are going to explore a range of different careers and build up a fact file on each one. You should aim for at least 4. There are 5 fact sheet templates in this booklet.

To search for careers that you might be interested in, simply type a job or type of employment in the top search bar. This will then find you a range of careers that are related to the search term. Select the one you are interested in by clicking on the picture and complete a fact file. You will have to navigate through the chosen career to find information.

1

Career:

What does this career involve?

What qualifications do you need to pursue this career?

What subjects are relevant to this career?

What skills do you need for this career?

What are the job prospects for this career?

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2

Career:

What does this career involve?

What qualifications do you need to pursue this career?

What subjects are relevant to this career?

What skills do you need for this career?

What are the job prospects for this career?

3

Career:

What does this career involve?

What qualifications do you need to pursue this career?

What subjects are relevant to this career?

What skills do you need for this career?

What are the job prospects for this career?

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4

Career:

What does this career involve?

What qualifications do you need to pursue this career?

What subjects are relevant to this career?

What skills do you need for this career?

What are the job prospects for this career?

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Career:

What does this career involve?

What qualifications do you need to pursue this career?

What subjects are relevant to this career?

What skills do you need for this career?

What are the job prospects for this career?

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TASK Now you have explored different careers, go round the room and speak to three other people. What are the similarities and differences between the information people collected on the different careers. Make notes on the conversations you have below. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

CLASS DISCUSSION As a class, discuss the range of careers that you have explored. Are there any common themes in terms of the qualifications and skills you need for these roles?

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SESSION SIX THINKING ABOUT SUBJECTS YOU MIGHT STUDY As we said at the start of this booklet, the purpose of this is to get you thinking about the future. Next year, you will take your first big step in this direction by making your GCSE options. In this session we are going to think about the subjects that you could study at GCSE and where these might take you.

Kudos has information about every qualification that is available in the UK. We are going to use Kudos to find out about the subjects we offer at UCC. Go to https://kudos.cascaid.co.uk and log in with your details that are recorded on the inside over of this booklet.

When you have logged into Kudos, click on the “Subjects� button as shown below.

On the new screen, we need to select qualifications that will be appropriate to your GCSE options.

Under the qualification drop down, all of the qualification that we off in Years 10 and 11 are found in either GCSE(9-1), Vocational Level 1 or Vocational Level 2.

The table on the next page shows all of the qualification you can chose currently choose from at UCC. English, Maths and Science are not included as you have to do these.

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GCSE (9-1) Options Geography French Art Business Dance PE Food Media Resistant materials

Vocational Level 2 Options

History Italian Art textiles Computer Science Drama RE Graphic products Music Textiles

Sport (BTEC) Construction (BTEC) ICT (BTEC) Health and Social care (BTEC) Agriculture Child Development

Vocational Level 1 Options Hair and Beauty Motor Vehicle

TASK Select six subjects that you might be interested in. You will need to find out what you will study in the subject and the careers that it could lead to. Add what you find out to the table below.

Click on the picture of the subject you are interested in to find out the information. If you like what you read, click the

Subject

button and this will save it in Kudos for you later.

What will you learn?

Where could this lead?

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REFLECTION Answer the following questions which will help you reflected on what you have just discovered about different subjects and where they might take you. It is important to think about them in the context of your aspirations for the future.

1. Of the different qualifications you have explored, which two you think you are most likely to want to study at GCSE? i)

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ii)

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2. For each of the subject you have named above, explain why you think you might want to pursue them. How do these help you work towards you aspirations for the future? i)

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ii)

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3. Of the subjects you have explored, which do you no longer think you will pursue?

Explain your reasons. ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................

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SESSION SEVEN PREPARING FOR YOUR ONE TO ONE Over the next few weeks, you will meet with either your form tutor or another senior member of staff to discuss your options. It is really important that you understand that these conversations are not a one off. Your one to one is the starting point for a longer period of information, advice and guidance from the teacher you meet, where you will discuss your future.

To help you prepare for your one to one, you should use all of the activities you have completed in this booklet to answer the following questions. When you have your one to one, you must take this booklet with you.

To the right, you will see the draft curriculum model for your GCSE options. You should start thinking about which subjects you would like to do in each block and why you want to do them.

You will also have your Key Stage 4 Options booklet with all the course information you need. It would be worth sitting down with people at home to discuss the subjects you are thinking about before your one to one.

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PRE ONE TO ONE QUESTIONNAIRE Having thought about your aspirations for the future, what do you hope to do after your GCSEs? This could be sixth form, college or an apprenticeship for example.

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Thinking further into the future, what type(s) of career(s) do you have aspirations of going into post-18?

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Based on your current learning, in which subjects do you feel like you have the most success? Why do you think you do well in these subjects?

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Based on your current learning, in which subjects do you feel like you have the least success? Why do you think you do less well in these subjects?

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In the table below, select four subjects from the curriculum model that you might be interested in studying in Years 10 and 11. State why you want to do the subject and how it fits in with your ambitions for the future.

Subject

Reason for choosing it

1 2 3 4

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How does this option fit with your ambitions?

YEAR 9 INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE TIMELINE Start of Year 11 1 to 1 Options Interviews start

Year 9 Exams

Year 9 School report Christmas Holidays Options Evening

Options Returned

Easter Holidays Year 9 Parents Evening

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