Information for Parents / Carers

In Years 10 and 12 students undertake a week of work experience during Project Week.  Work experience is a vital introduction to the world of work for students, and has many benefits.  Whilst work experience can act as a future career taster, any experience that leads to an increase in employability skills for a student is worthwhile.
Finding a placement can seem daunting at first, but it is an important process that students do need to go through themselves – supported at home and in school.  Our Guide to Work Experience for Parents / Guardians should provide you with all the information you need to support your child with this process, and sets out the support that they can expect from us at school (see link below).  Students can also access additional support on the Careers Site on the Student Portal.

For a good source of generic information about Work Experience, see the relevant pages on the Success At School website.

Success At School

Key points to consider when choosing a placement

• Placements in popular settings (law, veterinary, I.T., music, theatre, museums etc.) fill very quickly.  Therefore we advise students to contact prospective employers sooner rather than later.
• Travel: students will have to make their own travel arrangements, so please ensure they can get to the placement.
• Insurance: students may only undertake work experience with employers who have the appropriate insurance cover (Public Liability Insurance & Employers’ Liability Insurance).

The Work Experience Forms

We are using a platform called “Unifrog” to manage work experience placements.  All students have been given access to Unifrog in their PSHE lessons.  Once they have agreed a placement with an Employer, they log the details onto Unifrog.  Unifrog then liaises with the Employer for additional information (including Insurances, Health and Safety, and Safeguarding information).  Once this is received from the Employer, it then contacts parents/guardians for their consent.  The final step is approval by the school. 

If an employer is unable to use Unifrog, then we will of course work around this.

Information for Employers

Firstly, thank you for considering or accepting one of our students for Work Experience.  We believe that Work Experience is invaluable for our students, and without the support of the Employers we would not be able to run this scheme. 

We are required to ensure that all placements have both Public and Employers Liability Insurance, in line with the advice on Work Experience Insurance provided by the Association of British Insurers.  If you do not possess one or other of these insurances, please contact the school to discuss this.

With regard to the Health and Safety of students on work experience: we use a tool called “Unifrog” to manage our placements.  Once you have agreed a placement with one of our students, the student will provide your contact details to Unifrog.  You will then receive an email from Unifrog, requesting you to complete additional information.  If you have any difficulties, please contact Fiona Hogan (Careers Coordinator) on 01404 812 982 ext 238. 

We hope that this process is straightforward and not onerous.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch.  We would be glad to speak to you about how the process works and how we can support you.

In addition, if you are an employer that would like to offer to host a placement but have not yet been approached by a student, please do contact the school.  Finding placements can be tricky for students, and offers of help are always very gratefully received.