Skills and Interests

Overview

This 60-minute lesson is the second in a 5-lesson unit titled "Exploring Career Pathways." It is designed for Year 12+ students (16-18 years) at a specialist SEND school, supporting pupils with a range of needs including ASD and ADHD. The focus is on assessing personal skills and interests to begin aligning these with potential career options, in line with the Curriculum for Wales (Personal and Social Education, PSHE), specifically addressing the "Careers and Work-Related Experiences" area of learning and experience (AOLE).

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Curriculum for Wales Alignment

AOLE: Health and Well-being / Careers and Work-Related Experiences

• Learner Entitlement Reference:
  Develop self-awareness of personal skills, strengths, and interests to support career planning and transitions (Curriculum for Wales Personal and Social Education Framework, Careers and Work-Related Experiences strand).

• Cross-Curricular Skills:

  • Personal and Social Skills: Self-awareness, self-advocacy
  • Communication: Expressing ideas about personal strengths
  • Digital Competency: Using interactive inventories and tools

• Key Competencies:

  • Planning and Organisation – reflect on own capabilities and plan next steps towards careers
  • Problem-Solving – analyse skills and interests to match career options
  • Creativity and Innovation – explore new ways of self-assessment

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Learning Objectives (WALT)

• WALT: Assess personal skills and interests related to potential careers.

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Success Criteria

• Complete a personalised skills inventory (digitally or on paper).
• Match interests to at least two possible career options.
• Explain why those careers suit their skills and interests.
• Demonstrate use of digital or practical tools to support assessment.

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Resources

• Printed and digital Skills Inventory sheets (adapted for SEND needs).
• Interest Inventory software (accessible on tablets or laptops) with audio/visual support.
• Visual aids: career icons/pictures, skills cards.
• Whiteboard and markers.
• One-to-one checklists and guided prompt cards.

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Lesson Structure

1. Starter – Introduction & Setting the Scene (10 mins)

• Teacher input:
  Brief recap of Lesson 1 and introduce the importance of knowing one’s skills and interests for career planning. Use a visual mind map on the whiteboard showing “Skills,” “Interests,” and “Careers.”
• Engage pupils:
  Ask each student to name one skill or interest they enjoy. Use a round-robin to build group engagement.
• Differentiation:
  Provide sentence starters or picture prompts for students who need help verbalising ideas.

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2. Main Activity 1 – Skills Inventory Completion (20 mins)

• Task:
  Students complete a personalised skills inventory.
• Support:
  • Use an interactive digital tool on tablets for students with fine motor skill difficulties, allowing checkbox or tap responses rather than writing.
  • Provide printed, simplified checklists with visual symbols for students who prefer paper.
  • One-on-one support as needed for guidance in understanding skills language.
• Teacher focus:
  Circulate to support students, encourage honest reflection, and scaffold where vocabulary or concepts are challenging.
• Goal:
  Students identify top 5 personal skills.

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3. Main Activity 2 – Matching Interests to Careers (20 mins)

• Task:
  Use a career interest inventory matched to the skills identified. Pupils select at least two career options that relate to their skills and interests.
• Activity:
  • Use career cards and/or an interactive digital matching tool.
  • Discuss as a group or in pairs why these careers might suit them.
  • Encourage explanation using “because…” statements to develop reasoning.
• Differentiation:
  • Provide simplified career descriptions with images for those with reading or comprehension difficulties.
  • Offer extra time or paired working for students needing social or emotional support.
• Teacher role:
  Scaffold reasoning, ask probing questions, highlight transferable skills.

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4. Plenary – Sharing & Reflecting (10 mins)

• Class share:
  Each student shares their two career options and one key skill that made them choose these.
• Reflection prompt:
  "How do your skills and interests help you think about your future?"
• Teacher to note:
  Observations on engagement, understanding, and communication for next lessons.

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Differentiation Strategies

Learner Needs	Strategy
Fine motor difficulties	Use digital/check-box style inventories; voice-to-text support.
Reading difficulties	Provide symbol-supported, simplified texts and verbal explanations.
ASD – social communication	Use visual supports, clear structure, and social stories.
ADHD – attention support	Break tasks into short chunks, build in movement breaks.
Emotional support needs	Use one-to-one prompts, positive reinforcement, and safe space.

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Assessment

• Formative:
  Success criterion-based checklist (skills identified, career match, explanation).
  Observation notes on students’ ability to articulate thoughts about their skills and interests.
• Self-assessment:
  Students rate on a simple scale how confident they feel about matching skills to careers.
• Teacher feedback:
  Immediate verbal feedback during activities; written summary to inform next lessons.

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Additional Notes for Teaching Staff

• Be flexible with method – if a student prefers speaking over writing, adapt accordingly.
• Encourage peer support to build confidence in social interactions.
• Create a calm and sensory-friendly environment to support concentration.
• Use positive language focusing on strengths, not deficits.

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By embedding personalised and inclusive approaches with interactive digital resources, this lesson commits to the Curriculum for Wales’s vision of equitable, engaging, and forward-thinking career education.