Year 10 Work Insight Day

We are committed to ensuring that students receive inspiring opportunities to support their thinking about future employment aspirations. We believe that first-hand experience of work environments is an essential part of your child’s learning in Year 10: it is part of their curriculum. It is also recommended in the statutory guidance around careers learning laid out in the Gatsby Benchmarks. As such, we strongly encourage all students to undertake a Work Insight Day. 

The Work Insight Day for Year 10 is planned for Friday 27 June, 2025. This involves shadowing someone at a place of work on a typical working day. It is an opportunity for students to observe what goes on in the workplace, talk to employees, experience the environment and typical tasks, and experience what a workplace ‘feels’ like. The day can be virtual, if working from home, or in person. This will focus learning in PSHE during the summer term.

The experience does not need to be in the career your child may hope to pursue. The experience could be remote.

As part of the day, students should:

• Complete an appropriate short task linked to the job or organisation, and receive brief feedback on how they have completed it. The task could be related to a core skill involved in the role (e.g. summarising documents, writing a letter, planning a meeting or workshop, problem solving, analysing data,  etc). The feedback should be noted in the Work Insight Handbook.

• Speak to at least two colleagues about their career. Questions are suggested in the Handbook, which should also be used to take notes.

• Have an opportunity to ask questions

• Health & Safety briefing and/or tour if relevant

The Process

This year we will be using the Unifrog Placements tool to plan and track the day. Unifrog is used throughout the school, and forms the basis of the ‘futures’ process in Year 12/13.  This tool is used widely by schools, and contains necessary legal assurances and acknowledgement of responsibility by employers and parents/guardians. Please note the following process:

1. When you have arranged the placement with the employer, please ensure that your son/daughter has the name and email address of the contact at the placement, and the name of their company or employer. This may be you if you have decided to take your son/daughter to work yourself. Please ensure that you have entered the details of the placement into Unifrog by Friday 23 May, 2025.

2. Your son/daughter will then complete the initial section of the Unifrog Placement Tool, accessed via their account. The tool will then submit the request to the named contact at the placement. 

3. You will also receive a Parent/Guardian agreement form from Unifrog which will need to be completed. This acknowledges your parental responsibility for the placement.

4. The named contact, on behalf of the placement employer, will automatically receive an email requesting that they complete the employer form. This acknowledges their responsibility in ensuring appropriateness and safety of the placement.  Work placements undertaken at a place of work will require the named contact to also upload a copy of their public liability insurance document. 

We do understand that not all parents/carers will be in the position to be able to host a placement themselves, or use their own family and close friend networks. Please contact Mrs Wingrove, our Careers Lead via work-insight@swbgs.com if you would like any support. 

Work Insight Day FAQs

What is the Work Insight Day? 

This involves shadowing someone at a place of work on a typical working day. It is an opportunity for students to observe what goes on in the workplace, talk to employees, experience the environment and typical tasks, and experience what a workplace ‘feels’ like. The day can be virtual, if working from home, or in person. This will focus learning in PSHE during the summer term.

It is not intended specifically to be “Work Experience” and does not have to directly relate to any career aspirations the students may have. It is about the experience of work in general – learning about work, time management, speaking to different people and achieving the goals which the students set for themselves. We hope it will boost students’ practical and social skills as well as further develop their confidence and self-esteem. 

Where do students complete their Work Insight Day? 

The day will take place either live at the place of work, or remotely, depending on current working patterns. Both are useful and valid experiences for this project. If working from home, the student still needs to complete all elements of the required tasks.

What should the Work Insight Day include? 

As part of the day, students should:

• Complete an appropriate short task linked to the job or organisation, and receive brief feedback on how they have completed it. The task could be related to a core skill involved in the role (e.g. summarising documents, research, writing a letter, planning a meeting or workshop, problem solving, analysing data,  etc). 

• Get feedback on the task, which should be noted in the Work Insight Handbook.

• Speak to at least two colleagues about their career. Questions are suggested in the Handbook, which should also be used to take notes.

• Have an opportunity to ask questions

• Health & Safety briefing and/or tour if relevant

• Evaluate the day, by completing their Handbook. 

What hours should the students “work”? 

Ideally students should work what is a normal working day for the job they are doing. We suggest half a day minimum is acceptable.

What is required from parents/guardians?

1. Arrange the placement for  Friday 27 June, 2025 with the employer, and ensure an appropriate task is set, and an opportunity to discuss work with two colleagues. We anticipate that most students will go to work with a parent/guardian, or other family member or trusted adult. Employers are unlikely to accept a student unless their parent – or another trusted adult – works for their organisation. Please only ask employers that you know/trust. 

2. When you have arranged the placement with the employer, please ensure that your son/daughter has the name and email address of the contact at the placement, and the name of their company or employer. Your son/daughter will then complete the initial section of the Unifrog Placement Tool, which will be submitted to the named contact at the placement. This may be you if you have decided to take your son/daughter to work yourself. 

What is my responsibility on the day?

Since this is not a school day  (27 June is a school inset day), parents/carers will need to acknowledge parental responsibility for ensuring the safeguarding of their child. This will be done via a Googleform on completion of the employer details in the Unifrog Placements tool by the student. 

What us the Unifrog Placements tool?

The Unifrog Placements tool is used widely by schools, and also contains necessary legal assurances and acknowledgement of responsibility by employers and parents/guardians. Your child already has their own account and login details. Unifrog has been used since Year 8 for recording skills and interests, and is the system through which they complete their UCAS university applications in the Sixth Form.

Why does Borlase value this day? 

The Work Insight Day is intended to be a practical introduction to the world of work, and supplements learning in PSHE. Students are challenged to think about what it is like to work, what roles exist in organisations, and what a typical day is like. It might also encourage your child to start to consider the type of career they might be interested in. They will begin to refine “soft” skills such as communication and problem solving. It also gives them an appreciation of the relevance of what they learn in school to their ultimate career goals – and they may gain an understanding of how hard their family members work to support them. 

What if I can’t offer my child a work shadowing opportunity? 

We do hope that for one day, or even half a day, it will be possible for your child to undertake some work shadowing experience with you, a family member, or a trusted friend. Should this not be possible, please contact Mrs Wingrove, Careers Lead using the email address work-insight@swbgs.com.

What if my child/I cannot commit to undertaking the Work Insight Day on 27 June?

Please make every effort to arrange a Work Insight Day for this day. This is to enable your child to complete the project work in school, as part of their PSHE lessons. However, if this is not possible, please arrange a day during the school holidays or weekends. Your child should indicate this on the Unifrog placement tool. Please also contact Mrs Wingrove, Careers Lead via work-insight@swbgs.com.