A referral was made from a mum for whom English is the second language for her 15-year-old. She was seeking some support for her son to help him move forwards after completing his GCSE studies. Her limited English meant she found it difficult to understand information so she was unable to support her son as she would have liked. After speaking to her son’s school, they suggested he could access some support from the careers advisor. Whilst her son had recently finished his GCSEs, neither he nor his mum were sure of his results or what his options were going forwards.

Cornwall Education Business Partnership Youth Employment Officer (YEO) arranged an initial meeting with the young person and his mum to discuss the support she could offer through COMPASS.

The YEO and young person discussed and agreed an action plan, looking at goals including:

• Finding out his GCSE results from school
• Explore suitable options available for September
• Transport options including Compulsory Basic Training for moped/motorcycle

The young person accessed his GCSE results and found he had not achieved any pass grades which meant he did not have the grades needed to attend sixth form. However, the college were offering a ‘Personal and Professional Development’ course which he was eligible for. The YEO spoke with the young person about this course, which appealed to him as it would allow him to focus on GCSE Maths and English, as well as trying out a wide range of topics.

He completed the college application form with support from the YEO who also arranged to drive the young person to the college for his interview, accompanied by his mum. As a result, the young person enrolled onto the course and continues to attend regularly.

His mum was very grateful of the support through COMPASS. As she was keen to learn/improve her English, the EBP YEO also provided her with information on Adult Education for her own development.