I don't want ds to do work experience.

I think the search for a placement is as valuable in terms of experience and gaining skills as the actual placement itself.

Having to cold call, knock on doors, persuade a harried boss to give you an interview so you can sell yourself and the value of offering WEPs. It's all good in terms of future job searches that are not focused on solely the passive, obvious modes of letting companies know you are out there.

But if that is an experience you are going to provide for him independantly of the school as a parent in the hols, I guess it's fair enough if you'd rather he studies in the time frame the school has set aside for work experience.

Actually op-I agree with you. I hated my we at school. The school arranged it all and you had to put down the areas you were interested in. I put down journalism or teaching.

I got sent to work for scottish gas. I hated it. Stuck in a basement office doing filing with a bunch of women who clearly didnt have a clue what to do with me. I left after 2 days and never went back. Dont think they even noticed.

I then did we at uni-at a theatre. Supposed to be working for the pr department which would have perhaps been interesting. Except that again I got stuck with all the shit filing,spead sheets etc. The only good thing I got to do was attend a dress rehearsal for a play. Oh and meet a few snotty actresses.

Neither of these we placements did me any good whatsoever and I have never bothered to include them on a cv.

I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about having to do WE in year 10 and didn't get my arse in gear to organise anything, so I had to do a placement arranged for me by school. Two weeks in primary school. God I hated it. I learned two things 1) I didn't want to be a primary teacher 2) to sort my own shit out in future.

Therefore when we did WE in year 12 I was motivated to sort out something I was really interested in.

My DS will be doing it next summer.

I think its a brilliant thing to do and think that my son will get a lot out of it.

I would say that its way more hassle for the adults involved that the teens that do it! and the teens are lucky to get the opportunity.

My WE at 15 actually led to a holiday job and they were so impressed with my effort that they paid me for the 2 weeks WE [a token payment not loads but I was happy]

Mine was all set up via the school, now they have to approach companies directly inc sending a CV and covering letter which IMO is very useful for future job hunting/uni applications.

Can't believe your ds has only applied to two places.
Dd is year 10...they were told in July about work experience for next March, and it was up to them to get going on it.
Dd applied to 22 places.....and got offered 11 of them. So she could pick her 2 favourite places. Other girls did nothing, and are moaning now because the school has organised it for them.

The 2 companies she is going to have structured training for WE?..we have had a copy through already of what she will be doing.

You need to motivate him a bit more and actually support the school.

"Another issue I have is that we are quite rural and driving is a necessity so I can see large chunks of my day being taken up ferrying to train and bus stations if not the actual job."

It's his work experience, not yours. Let him sort out the logistics.
This is the sort of 'hidden' benefit of WE that people have been harping on about: it makes your DS realise that the location of a job is important, that transport is a serious consideration, that income v. cost/time to get there is a vital calculation, etc.
They don't learn that at school.

I did my work experience in a military band (parachute regiment). Was brilliant fun and an opportunity I wouldn't have missed for the world! My flute playing improved massively in 2 weeks, literally from grade 5 to 8 as I was getting free tuition for most of each day. Also had the chance to do PT with the para's and do a parachute jump although didn't in the end as the school wouldn't sign the waiver note. Whole experience was amazing though.

I didn't plan on joining the army or having a career in music but just enjoyed the chance to do something I'd never otherwise get to do.

If you use some imagination you can end up doing something that you will remember for the rest of your life. Definitely recommend that he does his work experience.

I think you have a really strange attitude. You seem to be more concerned that your son won't be paid.

It's terribly short-sighted. It's a big effort for the employer to find tasks that the child can do and benefit from.

My DH takes on work experience students and what they don't know when they start is that they will get a bonus of cash when they end their placement!

My DH was so impressed with the last young lad that he is considering employing him in the holidays. This lad turned up on time every day, nicely dressed in shirt and tie, was polite, well mannered, keen to learn. DH gave him a glowing report. The boys parents came to say thankyou. Everyone's a winner, surely?

You now realise that your OP was bonkers, right?

Even if your son ends up doing something that he doesn't really want to do, it will be useful to him. And if he can get himself to school, then he can get himself elsewhere I would think, even if it's just a shop near the school or something.

Or he will have to do something really close to home.

Wow, PFB much?!

FYI I work in for a small business, and if our WE person is any good they're invited to stay on to work Saturdays.

How on earth is your PFB going to learn skills like office banter, getting his arse into gear and self-sufficiency if you decide that, at the age of 15, you still need to wipe his arse for him?

Kick his arse for him instead and help him get his first job...

I third the idea of staying with a family member if possible: I stayed with my cousin who is a defence contractor and shadowed him for two weeks. It was really interesting, although it wasn't in the field I want to work in and it didn't lead to a job. It did teach me something about behaving in an office however.

MotherPanda - It was engineering, which I was very interested in (did physics degree in the end though not either physicist or engineer now).

ok - how far away from the nearest train station/ bus stop are you? is walking/ cycling an option? do you work? can you drop ds anywhere on your way?

do you have family in another area he could stay with and do experience there? I stayed with my grandparents in oxford for my week of WE, although i lived 25 miles north of there.

think outside the box...

Have you got a relative in a city who could set something up for your DS? DSS1 spent a fortnight in London staying with his godfather last summer while he did work experience. He had a great time (and that is what godparents are for in this day and age, IMO!).

My husband's work experience led to a holiday job, which led to the firm offering him a full time role when he finished school and paying for his ILEX and LPC courses to qualify as a solicitor completely debt free. Whereas I'm still paying for my professional training now.

I spoke to DSs work placement recently, because I live round the corner and bumped into the owner coming out of the shop, so thanked him(he is one of the top photographers in the country)
He did say they had stopped taking WE for a few years because too many of the candidates were not interested and had a bit of chip on their shoulder, but this year had decided to try again and had been very pleased with all the candidates.
DS spent the first day helping with the officework, which is what they normally do on a monday. Then he helped entertain babies while they had their photos taken. He was allowed to take his guitar in and they did a photoshoot of him and also he did his own photography, then spent a couple of days doing photoshopping etc. He came home with a lovely pack of professional photos of himself, and a dvd of the photos.

A friends daughter worked in a cattery and has been offered work from that, others worked at a leading drug makers, leading supermarket offices, vets, in shops. They all were posting on face book they didn't want to go back to school.

Great post cricketballs

DSS1 did one week's work experience in Y10 equivalent and two weeks' work experience in Y11 equivalent. It did him a lot of good and was absolutely NOT for the school's benefit.

I did my WE in a primary school and thank God I did! I pursued a different career path as a result....

as a KS4 teacher and HoY I will say that work experience is as valuable as all other posters have said.

There are large number of students who until their work experience were focused on one particular career aim, only to find they didn't like it! This helped them understand the work involved, the day to day reality of working in that area in time for them to think about their 6th form choices.

Others have confirmed that this is the area in which they want to have a career and it pushed them further in their studies as they were determined that they want to do the courses needed for entry to that area.

Some students have had the shock of their lives - in the real world people do not round around after them and they have to stand on their own 2 feet.

I have had students sent back to school by the placement due to their attitude/behaviour etc and this came as a shock (mainly to their parents ) that their little angel is as badly behaved as the school has been telling them for a few years!

Op - your ds will very soon be living in the real world and you will be doing him an injustice to not allow him to experience this in a controlled manner. All placements are checked before hand, have to have the relevant insurance and are visited by the school during the placement (in fact it costs the company money to accept WE students rather than it being free labour)

2 of my work experience youngsters have gone on to have part-time (holiday) jobs for me

In addition to earning a reasonable wage (for a 16-18yo) they got a great reference for uni.

One of them comes home from uni to work for me still

auntieestablishment - your work experience may have been a waste of time because you didn't pick something you were interested in - unless you didn't get a choice? Most schools let the students choose now.

my neice is now working in the job she did for work experience (dental nursing)
my nephew has been offered and apprenticeship from the company he did work experience with

my dd wanted to do medicine when she was 15/16 and did WE with a friend who is a hopsital consultant. Not strictly allowed but she did it and came away realising she didn't want to do medicine afterall...a very valuable lesson!!