If you need help to explore your post-16 education options, it’s available from different places depending on your age and current education or employment status.

Your school or college

Schools and colleges have a legal responsibility to provide careers and education information, advice, and guidance to their students. If you’re in a school or college – this is the first place to go.

Schools are legally required to publish their Careers Programme on their website, along with the contact details of their Careers Lead. This should give you an idea of what careers activities you can expect to do each year, and who to contact if you have any questions.
Colleges and other post-16 settings offer careers and education information, advice, and guidance, but it’s less likely to be a formal part of your study programme. If you’re in post-16 education already, ask your tutor or student support services about their careers guidance support and book yourself in with one of their advisers.

National Careers Service

The National Careers Service offers telephone and web-chat advice and guidance to anyone looking for help on their next steps. As well as general information on what your post-16 study options are, their website contains a wide range of job profiles to explore careers, and hints and tips on how to search and apply for paid employment.

Bexley Youth Advice

Bexley Youth Advice (BYA) can support young people who live in Bexley with careers and education information, advice, and guidance to find and access post-16 education if they are of year:

• 11 age and not in a school setting, for example, because they are electively home educated
• 12 or 13 age and not in education, employment, or training
• 14 to 20 age, not in education, employment, or training, and have a Bexley maintained Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP)

Young people in year 11 who are eligible for support from BYA will have it offered through Bexley’s 14 to 19 Services.

If you’re in year 12 or 13 (or up to year 20 if you have a Bexley maintained EHCP), contact BYA directly on 020 3045 5555 to let them know you'd like help to find approved education or training, or drop in to their site between 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday at:

Bexley Youth Advice
233 Broadway
Bexleyheath
Kent, DA6 7EJ

The support from Bexley Youth Advice is provided by Shaw Trust on behalf of the London Borough of Bexley. You can find out more about Shaw Trust Youth on their Facebook/shawtrustyouthlondon, Twitter/shawtrustyouth and Instagram/shawtrustyouth accounts.

Financial support

Depending on your own and/or your parent’s circumstances, you may be eligible for a 16 to 19 bursary to help with the costs of your education. Check the Government website for eligibility and then contact your setting’s student support services for information on how to apply.

If you have a child of your own, you may be able to claim support for childcare costs through Care to Learn.

If you are continuing in full-time education or training, you can apply for a 16+ Zip Oyster Photocard to receive free bus and tram travel on London services, and discounts on other London transport. Your parents will need to complete the application for you, there is a £20.00 administration fee, and they will need a digital colour photo of you for the photocard.

Help to find work

The expectation is that young people continue in education or training until at least their 18th birthday, and the Government puts a legal requirement on local authorities to promote this pathway. As such, there are no programmes available from Bexley which provide only job search support to people under the age of 18.

If a young person under the age of 18 wants to find a job without training, they can make use of the National Careers Service website, telephone and web-chat advice and guidance services, to develop the tools and skills needed to find and apply for work.

Once they reach the age of 18, as well as being able to register for support from Jobcentre Plus, Bexley residents can register with Bexley Business and Employment (BBE) - Bexley’s adult job search support service.