How to prepare for your first guidance session

A first guidance session works best when it isn't the first time a learner has thought about any of this. You don't need a finished answer walking in — that's what the session is for — but a little preparation turns a vague conversation into a genuinely useful one.

Before the session

Have the learner jot down, honestly, the school subjects they enjoy most and least — not just the ones they're best at grades-wise, but the ones that actually hold their attention in class. Alongside that, a short list of activities they choose to do outside school (a hobby, a club, something they help with at home) often reveals more about genuine interest than a subject list does.

If a KJSEA result or recent report card is available, bring it. It's one input among several, not the whole picture, but it helps ground the conversation in something concrete rather than pure guesswork.

Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend, especially for the first session. It helps to come with an open question rather than a fixed idea of the "right" answer already decided — the session works better as an exploration than a confirmation.

What to expect in the room

A guidance officer will usually start by asking about school life broadly before narrowing in on specific subjects or pathways — this isn't small talk, it's how we get an honest read on a learner rather than a rehearsed one. Expect open questions like "what's a lesson you didn't want to end?" more than closed ones like "are you good at science?"

There's no test to pass and no wrong answer to give. The goal of the first session specifically is to understand the learner, not to hand down a pathway decision on the spot — that usually takes at least a second conversation, sometimes more, especially if a learner is genuinely torn between two directions.

After the session

Guidance is rarely a single event. Expect a follow-up conversation to be suggested, and treat the first session as the start of a process rather than the answer itself. If something a guidance officer said doesn't sit right, say so at the next session — a guidance relationship that only works one way isn't doing its job.

If you haven't booked a first session yet, get in touch through our Contact page and we'll find a time that works.