GUIDELINES FOR PUPILS AND PARENTS

Transcription

1 GUIDELINES FOR PUPILS AND PARENTS At the end of Year 10 all students will undertake a Work Experience Placement for the week Monday 4 th to Friday 8 th July The aims of the scheme are: To give students the opportunity to gain firsthand experience of typical working conditions. To help students discover something about their own skills, preferences and talents. To give students responsibilities that will help them gain more confidence in themselves. The emphasis at this stage is to learn some of the essential key skills required at the workplace and learn employability skills, rather than focus on the actual job which they will be experiencing. There is a huge demand for placements at that time of the year and therefore it is important to begin the process early. Placements can be organised through the school from a small list of approved employers (advertised from October onwards). Despite our best efforts, it is impossible to get enough employers to offer the required number and range of placements, particularly considering the wide area covered by our school, therefore if a student wishes to obtain a place in a particular field, it is important that they organise their own placement early on and so we recommend that this is done over the summer break. The application procedure for both approaches is clearly set out in this booklet, but if at any time during the process you have any queries or concerns then please contact: Dr E Dando (Work Experience Co-ordinator) or Mrs C Clixby (Work Experience Administrator) Dr Dando regularly visits the form room to deliver important information to students, or she can be found in Science. Mrs Clixby resides in the Admin Office or Reprographics and you can see her any time Monday to Wednesday. Please note that in order for the process to run smoothly it is vital that all forms are completed by the dates stated and returned to Mrs Clixby promptly. There is a box in reprographics where forms can be posted. Do you get paid? No.but you will be treated as a junior employee in every other respect. 1

2 HOW DO I ARRANGE A PLACEMENT? You have 2 options. You can find your own placement and organise it yourself. You can start to do this straight away or over the summer and then hand in your form as soon as you are back at school in year 10 in September. Initial closing date 21 nd September 2015 You can still look for a placement after this date as long as the company does not appear on St Mary s own Jobshop, which is published in October. (If you want to do this, turn to pages 3 and 4 for more information. You will then need to complete the yellow form on page 5) OR You can apply for a placement with one of the companies that have offered places specifically to St. Mary s pupils. This will be displayed on a Jobshop in the library or on the computer. We will then organise it for you but please note that this option will not be available until the BEGINNING of October. Closing date for returning application forms is 19 th October 2015 (If you want to do this, turn to page 6 for more information. You will then need to complete the blue form on page 7) Could you go to your old Primary School? Yes but you d gain more by being in a different school to the one you already know. 2

3 ORGANISING YOUR OWN PLACEMENT. You must use this option if you want a placement in a particular area of work. The points that we insist that you consider when arranging your own placement are on page 4. You can research ideas for employers on the DCC website, which provides details of companies who have offered placements in the past User name stmarysstudent Password 5BlueBlazers or take a look in the Yellow Pages (yell.com) or Thomson Local (thomsonlocal.com). YOU MUST THEN contact companies you are interested in by letter or in the first instance, and then follow that up with a telephone call if you don t get a reply after about 2 weeks. You can contact any company of your choice. However, please note that if you choose a placement outside Derbyshire and surrounding counties there will be a charge for the extra work involved. Additionally, we have had problems obtaining some health and safety checks for some areas. Places to avoid: Scotland, Wales and Staffordshire. What about insurance and safety issues? All placements are checked and approved by Health and Safety Officers. If the company is not approved then you cannot attend the placement. CARE Do not choose Spire Vets in Chesterfield as they will not agree to have the necessary Health and Safety check completed. Once you have a DEFINITE confirmation of a placement then you need to complete the yellow form and return it to Mrs Clixby in reprographics AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. What if your Dad has his own business, could you go there? Yes but only if he already holds or is willing to obtain Employer Liability Insurance 3

4 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN ORGANISING A SUCCESSFUL PLACEMENT Will the company be able to accommodate me for the full period? (You will not normally be able to split your work experience between two companies if, however, you have no other option this will be allowed but there may be a charge of approx 35 for the second place) Is the company willing to provide a structured programme that is stimulating, varied and worthwhile? Are they able to provide adequate supervision? Will the placement help me to be more independent? (e.g. using public transport to get there, use my initiative, complete a task myself etc.) Will I be able to develop essential key skills? (e.g. develop communication skills by answering the telephone or working at the Reception desk) Will the placement help me to become more confident? (e.g. by working with people who are complete strangers) Will I be learning or improving knowledge and skills that are linked to my GCSE subjects or something which I am interested in? Is the placement address in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire or Sheffield? If not there will be a charge for the extra work involved in the health and safety check and these checks may take longer or may not even be possible. Will the placement be covered for all health and safety issues? You will need to check that the company holds Employer Liability Insurance. CARE - Do not choose Spire Vets in Chesterfield as they will not agree to have the necessary Health and Safety check completed. You need to be sure that the answer is YES to all of these questions. I help out at my riding centre. Can I go there? Yes...but you d gain a lot more from choosing to work with people you don t already know. 4

5 WORK EXPERIENCE 2016 Monday 4 th to Friday 8 th July To be completed ONLY if you have organised YOUR OWN placement. ALL SECTIONS of this form must be completed IN FULL and handed in to Mrs Clixby in reprographics (not your form teacher) AS SOON AS THE COMPANY HAS CONFIRMED THE PLACEMENT. The closing date for handing in these yellow forms is MONDAY 21 nd SEPTEMBER 2015 Pupil Name Pupil Form Company name Type of work carried out by company Company address Company post code Company telephone no. Contact name Contact status Contact Employer Liability Insurance Held Placement definitely confirmed (tick whichever applies) Type of work likely to be undertaken by pupil (MUST BE COMPLETED) YES In writing (a copy would be appreciated) NO if no you CANNOT go to this place verbally I am aware of the current situation regarding my son/daughter s Work Experience application Signed by parent / guardian... 5 Date

6 APPLYING FOR A PLACEMENT THROUGH SCHOOL. THIS OPTION IS NOT AVAILABLE TO VIEW UNTIL OCTOBER In October a JOB SHOP will be displayed on the notice board near the school library and will be available to view on the school network. You can apply for up to FIVE of these placement options but please think carefully about your choices. Will the placement help you to become more independent or more confident? Will you be learning or improving knowledge and skills linked to your GCSE subjects If not linked to your GCSEs, is it linked to activities that really interest you? Complete the blue form and attach a formal letter of application for your FIRST CHOICE ONLY and hand in to Mrs Clixby by the date indicated. NOTE: These placements have been offered to THE SCHOOL and you must apply THROUGH THE SCHOOL. ON NO ACCOUNT must you contact these companies directly. How to access the JOB SHOP on the school network;- Click on Start Computer Shared Documents Careers Year 10 Work Experience Job shop 2016 The list is sorted into type of category, in alphabetical order. You must choose 5 of these companies. Look carefully and check the addresses and the type of work you will be doing to make sure that all of the choices are suitable for you. Complete ALL sections of the form overleaf. You must complete a formal letter of application for your FIRST CHOICE of placement and attach it to your form. Forms and letters of application must be handed in to Mrs Clixby in reprographics by the date stated. Will you have to work later than 3.35pm? You will be ringing your placement to sort out hours of work..but yes, probably! 6

7 WORK EXPERIENCE 2016 Monday 4 th to Friday 8 th July To be completed ONLY if you want to apply for a placement that has been listed on the school Job Shop. You MUST NOT contact these companies yourself. This form must be completed IN FULL and handed in to Mrs Clixby in reprographics (not your form teacher). Remember to attach a letter of application for your FIRST CHOICE of placement. Remember to ask parents to sign it. The closing date for handing in these blue forms is MONDAY 19 th OCTOBER Please enter the FIVE places that you are interested in below - the places may not be exactly what you want to do, but it is not always possible to find something specific - in the work place you have to be fairly flexible. The most important thing is that you can get there quite easily and you have an interest in the type of placement. First Choice Placement Code Name of Company Address and Postcode of Company Second Choice Third Choice Fourth Choice Fifth Choice Name Form.. Home Address. Hobbies and Interests. GCSE Subjects Chosen REMEMBER TO CHECK THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO GET TO ANY OF THE COMPANIES THAT YOU CHOOSE BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR SELECTION THEN ASK A PARENT/GUARDIAN TO SIGN BELOW I am aware of the current situation regarding my son/daughter s Work Experience application and confirm that he/she is able to get to each of the companies chosen. Signed by parent / guardian. Date 7