My Steps is Northumberland's 14-19 online guide to your child's local learning choices. This means young people can find out through one website all the different courses on offer in their local area from high schools to colleges to other learning providers offering training such as Apprenticeships and Foundation Learning. For more information on what My Steps is all about please read the 'About My Steps' section at the foot of the homepage.

My Steps has been designed to help parents and carers understand today's changing world of qualifications and some of the implications of those choices for example, money and transport. You could help your son or daughter understand the 4 learning routes, examine their strengths and weaknesses, think about what type of learning would suit them best and encourage them to research as much as they can about the route they want to follow. Try Connexions Direct for parents and carers to give you more help with this.

During Year 9 young people usually need help choosing their subject options for Years 10 and 11. These are normally GCSEs but increasingly they include a wide range of other qualifications such as 14-19 Diplomas, BTEC awards, NVQs, ASDAN awards and Young Apprenticeships. After Year 11 ('post-16') young people have the choice of 4 learning routes which they can follow either at their school or elsewhere. At 17 and 18 there are further decisions to be made such as whether to go into Higher Education.

If you have a look at the Learning Routes in the 16+ section of My Steps you will see the main routes your son or daughter can follow after Year 11. There are four main learning routes highlighted - Foundation Learning (the green route), GCSEs/A Levels (the red route), 14-19 Diploma (the yellow route) and Apprenticeships (the blue route). There are also a number of qualifications that do not yet fit into these routes and these are grouped Other Courses (in purple). The questions and answers in the Learning Routes section will give you the basic information about these courses but for more details you are advised to check out the websites in the links tab. Options for young people are far more complex than ever before partly because learning is more personalised so if you need to speak to someone you can always contact your local Connexions service.

In local authorities young people have the choice of studying at their own 6th form, a neighbouring 6th form, a Further Education college (perhaps a college in a neighbouring county) or entering training such as a Foundation Learning programme or an Apprenticeship. Each type of provider will offer different courses and different specialisms so it is important to work with your son or daughter about what is right for them. In some areas many schools do not have 6th forms so young people will need to research the other local learning providers thoroughly before applying elsewhere.

There are a number of people parents and carers can talk to about the learning route that suits their son or daughter. Teachers, tutors and learning mentors can all give advice on your child's progress and what might suit them at their next stage in education. For an objective and impartial conversation about different learning routes and where they can lead a one to one meeting with a Connexions Personal Adviser could be a good start. Connexions PAs work with young people both in and out of education and can advise parents and carers too.

As My Steps is mainly about learning and careers you might find there are other things you need help with concerning your teenager. These could range from bullying or behaviour issues to teenage pregnancy, contraception and drug and alcohol abuse. In [AREA] you can contact the county council's children's services department who would be able to direct you to the right services that may be able to help you. Find contact details in the links tab.

Please use the feedback form on the homepage if you would like to make a comment or suggestion about My Steps. As the site is still developing it is always useful to hear from users of the site what they feel is missing, should be added or should be changed.

This is a legal document issued by the local authority. It sets out the young person's educational needs and identifies how these needs can be met. Sometimes this support is first received under 'School Action' or 'School Action Plus'. If your son or daughter does not have a Statement but still requires additional support you can discuss this further with the school SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). The questions and answers in this section are focused on those young people who 'do' have a Statement.