Preparing to leave
Planning on the next stage after secondary school may depend on what your child aims to do - to go into the workplace, to further or higher education.
You can decide to do this in steps if you don't think he or she is ready to be fully independent.
Many courses are now staged so your child can see success and then move on.
Including A levels and Baccalaureate there are also options to do BTEC/HND/Open College Network/NVQs. Talk to your local college or university to find out what is on offer
Open University offers short courses as well as full degrees so you can study and work at the same time.
Recently there has been renewed interest in apprenticeship schemes- please see:
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/
Other bodies to contact include the Learning and Skills Council: