Kat's story

Careers support helped Kat take the next step towards a future in music.

When Kat left school during Year 9, neither she nor her mum Liz knew what the future would look like.

Kat, who is autistic, had been experiencing anxiety and mental health difficulties. The school environment was having a serious impact on her wellbeing and attendance. This lead Liz to make the difficult decision to remove her from school and try home education instead.

While homeschooling, the family began to better understand how Kat's autism affected her learning and day-to-day life. One thing was clear, Kat had an exceptional talent and passion for music.

Liz said Kat had “basically taught herself to play guitar, bass, drums, use music software, and made five albums.”

Despite her talent, the route into further education seemed uncertain. Colleges explained that Kat would usually need GCSEs to progress onto the courses she wanted to study. But she felt that this was out of reach.

Discovering a different route

Things changed when the family's home education liaison officer suggested speaking to Careers Wales careers adviser Tom.

After listening to Kat's situation, Tom told them about another young person with similar circumstances who had secured a college place through a less traditional route.

Liz explained: “When we spoke to Tom, he recently had dealings with a young boy in year 11 in high school who was a very amazing musician and got into college via an audition. We started to look at whether the same option could work for Kat.

Kat completed a written piece, submitted her audition and successfully secured a place on a Level 2 music course, allowing her to bypass entry-level provision that may not have been suitable for her needs.

Liz said, “She's gone straight on to level 2, which she wouldn't have done if Tom hadn't explained to us that we could do that.”

Finding confidence and belonging

Kat started college recently and has already made a positive start.

Liz said, “She's only in three days a week, but she's managed to be in for all of those days. She’s been doing the work, she's been socialising. It's just been the best thing.”

For Kat, who described herself as having “been doing nothing for two years”, returning to education has opened up new possibilities.

Liz believes the support from Careers Wales played a crucial role in helping them reach this point: “It just gave us that other option and that other kind of limb that wasn't presented to us.

“What was really nice from my perspective was the personal touch that Tom had.”

Tom regularly checked in to see how Kat was progressing and stayed in touch throughout her application journey. Liz said this made a real difference during a time when they felt disconnected.

Looking ahead

Today, Kat is studying music at college and beginning to think about her longer-term future. Liz said, “Kat and her boyfriend are looking at the next few years. After they finish college, they plan to go to university. They're going to live together and have a future together.”

The change over the past two years has been significant.

“I think two years ago, we didn't even know whether Kat would do anything. But it's been a huge, huge turnaround.

“If it wasn't for Tom, I don't think Kat would be in college.”

She hopes Kat's story shows that there are different routes into education and training, and that the right support can make all the difference. As Liz put it,

It’s knowing that Careers Wales is there, basically to make sure that every young person has got the opportunity to go into a career and be skilled and trained for something.”

If you would like to find out more about how a careers adviser could help a young person in your care, please contact us today.

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