Work Experience at Highcliffe School

Year 10 Work Experience in context

WORK EXPERIENCE “Work experience may be defined as a placement on an employer’s premises in which a student carries out a particular task or duty, or a range of tasks and duties, more or less as an employee, but with the emphasis on the learning aspects of the experience”  

DfES (Feb 2002)

Work Experience is not….

• cheap labour•a skive from school•a holiday for your teacher

•a path to a sure job

WORK EXPERIENCE – a chance…….

• To meet new people.• To find out more about

industry and commerce.• To experience travelling

to work.• To exercise more self-

discipline and responsibility.

• To improve your self-confidence.

• To improve your social skills.

• To learn the importance of punctuality.

Why go on work experience?

• To understand the pros and cons of working.

• To get more information about jobs.

• You might be offered a job.

• To see what working would be like.

• To learn new skills and work with people of different age groups.

• To do something different.

Why work experience?

• Effective work-based and work-related learning can help you to become:

• successful learners,• confident individuals,• responsible citizens,• effective contributors to society

and work.

• Work experience is often the first opportunity for you to operate in an adult working environment.

• A potentially powerful experience that can improve awareness of different surroundings, behaviours, practices, cultures and attitudes.

• A chance for employers to help young people understand employability and core skills.

• Work experience is a major part of most secondary schools’ enterprise in education programmes.

• It is a statutory entitlement for all young people at Key Stage 4.

• It offers students the opportunity to develop a range of skills and knowledge they might not otherwise have a chance to explore.

• It enhances your understanding of the world of work.

Effective work experience

• A partnership approach – involving the student, parent/guardian, school and employer.

• Placements are well planned and prepared.

• Clear objectives are defined for the student and supported by parents/guardians.

• There is an effective debrief and self-evaluation to reflect on the experience.

Effective career guidance

• A meaningful work experience can help influence career direction.

• You should be using the KUDOS careers software to help assess what type of career path would most suit you.

• Matching students to relevant work experience placements add value for entry to HE and FE courses.

The placement

• Ideally matched to individual career aspirations.

• YOU should be pro-active in your search for a work placement.

• YOU should be viewing work experience as a learning experience – not a holiday!

Work Experience Programme 12th – 23rd July

20101. Access Website www.learnaboutwork.net/dorset

Type in ‘Highcliffe student’ where it says ‘name’ and the school PIN is 1234.

2.Search and identify the job you want to do. 3.Complete the Initial Selection Form (lilac) with

2nd & 3rd choices also. 4.Return lilac form to Mrs White or Mrs Bower by

7th December.

5. Once you have been initially allocated a place, you will receive an official application form (via your tutor) and a covering letter. You will need to complete the application form and send this to the employer WITH A COVERING LETTER. Allow 2 weeks and if you haven’t heard from them please chase with a polite phone call. 6.When the employer has replied you MUST give the reply to Mrs White or Mrs Bower to enable your placement to be removed from the data- base making it unavailable to other students. Until this is done other students could apply for your job.

6.    7. If you receive a negative reply you will need to repeat the process with your second choice that is on your lilac form. You MUST inform Mrs White or Mrs Bower about the outcome of your application and of your next choice.   8.   Once you have informed us of a successful application, an employer agreement will be sent out. A parent/student agreement will given to you. This must be signed by both yourself and your parent/guardian and returned to Mrs White or Mrs Bower as soon as possible. The employers will also be sent an agreement form.

  YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE UP YOUR PLACEMENT UNTIL BOTH FORMS HAVE BEEN

COMPLETED AND RETURNED TO SCHOOL.

Placements not on the database

• If you wish to organise a placement that is NOT on the database you must fill in the bottom section of the lilac form.

• The school will notify DES who will complete Health and Safety Checks – which can take up to 12 weeks!

• You must ask employers who are not on the database if they have Employer Liability Insurance. They need this for you to be able to work there.

ALL PLACEMENTS SHOULD BE FINALISED BY 31st

MARCH 2010

If you need any help with you work experience please see either your tutor, Mrs White,

Mrs Bower, Mrs Finch.