Work experience policy
Plumstead Manor achieved the RoQA Award for Work Experience in December 1999.
It is intended that all year 10 students have access to a two week work placement in the summer term. Students informed from Year 9 that work experience is EARNED and not AUTOMATIC. Attendance, punctuality, course work and behaviour are all very important.
Aims:
- To enable pupils to apply skills, and to deepen knowledge and understanding of concepts learned in the classroom.
- To improve attainment by making learning more relevant.
- To promote pupils’ personal and social development.
- To develop their understanding of work, and economic and industrial understanding.
- To encourage pupils to consider a broader range of continuing education, training and employment.
- To introduce pupils to the knowledge and skills or a particular occupational area before committing themselves.
- To help pupils to make the transition from school to work.
Principles:
Students will have the opportunity to:
- Participate in a programme of preparation for work experience which includes Health & Safety, completing a Student Profile and Key Skills preparation.
- Complete ten working days in a work placement.
- Develop personal and social skills through active learning situations.
- Increase their confidence in relating to other adults other than family and school staff.
- Widen their awareness of opportunities available to them in the community in order to make mature and informed choices regarding education, training and employment.
- Identify the skills and knowledge associated with the pathway through a specific occupation.
- Participate in a programme of de-briefing and feedback.
- Record the Key Skills used in the Work Experience Notebook.
Practice:
1. Administration:
The Scheme is managed by the school Work Experience Co-ordinator. The role falls within the responsibility of the school’s HOD Pesonal Development Department.
Other staff involved within the process includes:
- KS3 & 4 Leaders
- Tutors Years 9 – 11
- London Borough of Greenwich Central Placement Service (CPS)
- Personal Advisors – Greenwich Connexions
- Learning Support Department
- Language Development Department
- SLT
- Parents
The administration of the Work Experience Scheme involves an annual cyclical process through which the following procedures can be completed.
Copies of the documentation used and a year plan of action can be found in the appendix
- Dates of work experience set and Central Placement Service notified.
- Placement enquiries sent out to employers and replies acknowledged.
- Work Experience Evening held for parents – request for placements.
- Students surveyed as to type of placement and area of placement preferred
- Students matched to placements.
- Parents given details of placements, consent forms issued to collect relevant medical information and permission.
- Pack produced for Year 10 Personal Development programme from January
pack includes:
- Student Profile + e.g. of a completed profile
- Work Experience Notebook
- Preparing for the interview – questions to practice
- Health & Safety at Work Booklet
- All employer details on Veryan Work Experience programme.
- Details of student placements sent to Central Placement Service for health and safety and insurance checks at least 12 weeks before commencement of placement.
- Organisation of PMS based work experience.
- Organisation of volunteers to visit students (approx 90 needed)
Briefing arranged to include information of the Placement Monitoring and Assessment forms required by Central Placement Service.
Visiting Tutor Packs
- List of Placements to be visited
- Briefing Sheet
- Placement Assessment sheets for Central Placement Service
- e.g., of Employer’s Report form
- Copy of Job Description for each placement visited
- Careers Advisor to see all tutor groups to give advice and answer questions on work experience.
- Briefing of students in groups by experienced staff e.g. placements in local schools – Deputy Headteacher to brief.
- Daily check on about 10 students by telephone.
- Student evaluation forms distributed and collated.
- Special Work Experience edition of “Plumline” to be organised.
- Whole school assembly on Work Experience.
- Thank you card left in all placements.
- Work Experience Report completed and forwarded to Central Placement Service.
- Establishing and maintaining a broad range of placements.
- Book the School mobile phone for the 2 weeks.
2. Student Preparation:
Preparation of Work Experience is delivered through Careers lessons and the Personal Development programme. The lessons are devised and structured by the Careers Co-ordinator/Work Experience Co-ordinator. The preparation takes place immediately prior to the placement and covers the following areas: choosing a placement, preparing for the interviews, application form filling, health and safety, behaviour, dress and expectations on work experience. Personal Advisor briefs students in tutor groups.
3. Work Experience Notebook:
During work experience, the students are asked to keep a Notebook, recording their experiences and Key Skills used. The Notebook was discussed and planned by the borough Work Experience Co-ordinators under the guidance and sponsorship of the Greenwich EBP.
All Notebooks are collected by visiting tutors and passed to the work experience co-ordinator.
4. De-briefing and follow-up:
- In order to allow opportunity for students to re-inforce and share their knowledge and experience of work related issues, the students have an extended tutor period on the first day back in school – continued in further Personal Development period. All students are expected to:
- add a comment on a Graffiti Strip
- complete the Evaluation Sheet (school and 1 for Greenwich EBP)
- write a short account of their placement to submit to the editors of Plumline
- complete all necessary sections in the Work Experience Notebook
- volunteers are sought to take part in the whole school assembly
- In English and Modern Foreign Language lessons students complete written and oral assignments based on their work experience for inclusion in their course work.
5. Health and Safety:
- Plumstead Manor School employs the services of the CPS to carry out health and safety checks on the placements being used. Any placement deemed unsuitable by the C.P.S. is obviously not used. No student is allowed to go on a placement which has not been checked.
- Health and Safety is an integral part of the student preparation programme. Students are briefed on how to ensure their own personal safety and that of others, and what action to take if they are placed in an unsafe situation or are asked to do work beyond their ability/physical capacity or is dangerous.
- The following materials recommended by the CPS are used with the students:
- “Be Safe” booklet published by the H.S.E.
- ”The Newcomers” a video and worksheet.
For personal safety we use the Suzie Lamplugh video and worksheets.
- In addition, students are briefed on what to do if sick or ill whilst on placement. Any special considerations relating to the type of work they will be carrying out i.e. special clothing, footwear.
- Students receive one visit during the course of their placement. Students are encouraged to ring the Work Experience Co-ordinator at school if there are any problems. Work Experience Co-ordinator rings some students at home to check on progress or to offer extra support. Co-ordinator has the school mobile for 2 weeks - students, parents and employers given the number to use between 7am – 10pm. Students also given Work Experience Co-ordinator’s e-mail address at school.
- Visiting tutors are matched to the type or location of placements. Inset is provided by the Work Experience Co-ordinator. Visiting staff are asked to complete a Placement Assessment Sheet concerned with health and safety – forwarded to Central Placement Service.
- Visiting tutors report back to Work Experience Co-ordinator if any placement was found to be unacceptable. If necessary students would be removed immediately or Work Experience Co-ordinator would go and visit.
- Every employer is sent a Student Profile which provides details of any medical condition and special needs. In the event of an emergency, this form will provide the employer with details of the students’ home address and emergency contact number.
- All students are given an ID Card stating they are on Work Experience, where and school contact numbers
6. Child Protection:
All the activities and programmes delivered as part of the Work Experience programme will adhere to the policies, procedures and requirements of Plumstead Manor School’s Child Protection Policy.
The schools responsibility for briefing employers on child protection issues has been passed to Greenwich EBP as part of their pre-placement vetting service.
7. Equal opportunities and special needs:
Work experience is designed to meet the needs of all students irrespective of race, class, gender or disability. Every effort is made to combat prejudiced attitudes on the part of employers.
Students are actively encouraged to enter non gender stereotypical roles and aspire to the highest levels of occupational roles.
8. Funding:
At present work experience is funded through Delegated Budget.
9. Monitoring and evaluation:
- Work experience documentation and methods of communication are regularly monitored and reviewed both within school and through the Central Placement Service. The current scheme is organised and documented according to the London Borough of Greenwich Work Experience Guidelines 1999.
- Placement Assessment visit forms will be forwarded once completed to the Central Placement Service. The borough Work Experience Co-ordinator will then amend the data base of placements as necessary and will produce an annual report on the experience within all the authorities institutions.
- De-briefing sessions with visiting tutors.
- Student Evaluation sheets collated and acted upon if necessary.
- Parent Evaluation – sheets collected and acted upon if necessary.
Updated:
October 2, 2008