Ep 94 - For Parents: How to Help Your Child Succeed in VCE

You can also find Course and Career Chat on Spotify, Amazon Music and Audible.

What we’re talking about:

After working with parents first as a teacher and now as a career counsellor, and now being a parent myself, I know how hard it can be to navigate that line between allowing your child to have their independence and also wanting to support them as best you can. In this episode I share how you can best support your child through the decision making process around VCE subject selection, tertiary course exploration and applying through VTAC.

2:01 Where is the responsibility?

Knowing where your responsibility for your child’s studies ends and theirs begins is a bit of a grey area and really depends on the individual child. I give you some ideas of how you can support your child academically during VCE, but you know your child best, and you know what will help your child feel supported and what will just annoy them.

7:15 What do you need as a parent?

When I’ve worked with parents in the past both as a teacher and now as a career counsellor, I know that the reason parents are concerned about school for their children is because they want the best for their kids. One thing that can really help, is lowering your own stress levels around VCE by understanding as much as you need about the VCE systems and VTAC processes. In this way, you’re not as worried because you know what’s going on and have the information you need, and you don’t need to hassle your child about it. If your child then is on track and gets the results they want and is confident about applying for courses, then that’s great. However, if they do get stressed further down the track, you are empowered to support them with concrete information.

10:00 How I help the parents I work with

There are a few ways that I can support parents who have children in VCE. I have a free download called The Parents’ Guide to VCE (link below) where you can get a better understanding of the acronyms and jargon around VCE and the school system. When I’m working with a student, in most cases I’m originally contacted by the parent, and we have a conversation on the phone where I found out more about their perspective of where their child is at, and then answer all their questions to help them feel comfortable with the VCE system and the VTAC process. I also offer single sessions with parents where we can go a bit deeper into pathways for your child, and I’m currently working on a package for parents where you end up with a similar report to what families get when I work with the student, where I outline a range of courses that will suit your child, including pathways and other relevant information like early entry programs and campus accommodation. Please reach out via my website or Instagram if you’re interested.

Links mentioned:

Work with me: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/services

Do You Need a Tutor or a Career Counsellor?: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/podcast/76

The Parents’ Guide to VCE: https://www.roadmapeducation.com/parents-guide