My Steps is Northumberland's online Area Wide Prospectus, or course guide. It contains information on all courses available for 14-19 year olds within Northumberland and also has links to neighbouring Prospectuses. My Steps is there to help you find out what learning opportunities are available to you locally and guide you towards making the right decisions about what you want to learn. All areas in England have their own online Prospectus.

My Steps contains information about thousands of courses which are on offer in Northumberland, from GCSEs and A Levels to Diplomas and Apprenticeships. You can search these courses in different ways such as by course title or by provider (a learning provider could be a school, college or work-based offering training opportunities such as Apprenticeships). In addition to course details there is also information on things to consider when making your decisions such as money, travel and future job opportunities.

We have tried to make My Steps a straight forward and simple site to use. It is divided into 3 sections depending on your age (14+, 16+ and 18+) and within each you will see the same broad categories. Click into those sections that interest you and much of the site will become clear. If you need to know more, see the Help section.

You do not need to register to use My Steps. The 'Apply' or 'Login' functions at present exist only for a certain number of Year 11 students within Northumberland. These students have access to the same information as everyone else, the only difference is that they can use My Steps to make applications for learning. This process may soon involve all students in Northumberland and the rest of the North East.

Although My Steps and Connexions websites have a lot in common one key difference is that My Steps is mainly about learning opportunities and making decisions about courses. Connexions is much wider than this and can help you with a whole range of matters for example health, money, housing, drugs and alcohol and sex. For information about national services visit Connexions Direct and for local services visit Connexions Northumberland.

Many of the courses on My Steps are available at school but certainly not all. There are courses for young people in Northumberland run by colleges, work-based learning providers and other private companies who have all been approved to offer learning opportunities to 14-19 year olds. As a group these are all called 'learning providers' because they provide courses for young people.

My Steps is for all young people aged 14-19, whether in school or not. Although most young people attend school some may may be learning in different ways and in different places. My Steps is an online guide to courses therefore it can be used anywhere with an internet connection - at home, in the library or at your local youth centre.

There are plenty of ways you can receive support to use My Steps. Many young people will talk to parents/carers or adults who support them (such as teachers, youth workers, learning mentors and so on) but some of you will want to help yourselves first. Check out the Help pages on My Steps and if in doubt complete the 'Email a PA' form which you can find on different pages throughout the site.

My Steps can provide information about all the learning opportunities in Northumberland up to the age of 19. In fact, most FE courses at college can be taken by adults too and so extends beyond 19. My Steps also provides information on Higher Education so if you are thinking about going to university you can find links to the main HE sites (eg, ucas.com) and details about student finance. HE courses are not organised locally like the courses in the 14+ and 16+ sections, rather they are all held on the UCAS database which is used by everybody who applies to Higher Education. My Steps can also help you if you're looking for work, with tips about job seeking and information about the labour market.

If you are at school or college there will be the same people to help you who have been there since you started - your teachers, tutors, lecturers and support staff. Connexions is also there to help. If you are no longer in education you could register with your local Jobcentre Plus. Here you will be able to see what jobs are available locally and nationally and you may be able to claim benefits if you qualify for them. Jobcentre Plus can also provide information on other options such as volunteering and work shadowing. There are a number of schemes that can help people back into work if you are unemployed so why not check out what is available on the Jobcentre Plus website.