Work Experience

Work experience is a vital part of exploring choices. As part of the careers programme, all students in Year 10 are expected to completed at least one work placement, usually organised as part of the Work Insight day in the summer term. All 6th Form students are expected to undertake a placement which is relevant to their future choices during Year 12, the summer holiday, or the first term of Year 13.

We have found that the most effective work experience tends to be

meaningful to either skills and interests of the students and/or future careers choices
consists of at least one full day either live or virtual
include an interaction with at least one member of staff within the firm
include an assigned a task and be given feedback on the task(s)

Contact Caroline Wingrove cwingrove@swbgs.com if you need advice

Benefits of Work Experience

Gain first hand experience within the workplace, hopefully within the field of your chosen career or future pathway
Help clarify your thinking and/or build your UCAS or Apprenticeship application

Important to remember

It is your responsibility as students to arrange your work experience.
Work experience should ideally be undertaken during school holidays, but we understand that some opportunities are date-specific, possibly during school time. In this case, parents should submit a leave-of-absence form in the usual way.
You should undertake work experience during Year 12, or the first term of Year 13
Students should use their network of family and friends to arrange work experience placements
Use the experience of Year 13 Buddy Network to get advice on work experience

Certain courses and pathways will expect to see evidence of work experience or voluntary work on your applications.

They may even ask for experience in more than one setting and across multiple weeks, so applicants understand the scope of the role.

Nursing
Physiotherapy
Occupational therapy
Healthcare Science
Medicine
Veterinary Medicine
Teaching

Year 10 Work Experience

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 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*

*all in red to be confirmed

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:

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 the placement is confirmed with the employer by Wednesday 19 June.
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.
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.
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 parents@swbgs.com if you would like any support.

Sixth Form Work Experience

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