To think sending (academic Yr 10 pupils out on a weeks work experience is a waste of time).

[smokepole]

I can understand the point of work experience, for some pupils but surely the more academic pupils would be better off having the week in the classroom. My DDs 2 grammar form teacher agreed with me, along with all the difficulty in finding work placements and insurance implications. It surely can be of limited benefit for students who will mostly go in to higher education. I believe schools should be able to decide which students, would benefit from work experience . The schools should also be able to decide to opt out of the scheme, if they think there 15 year old pupils would benefit more in a classroom environment.

On the other hand for non academic pupils, it can be a pleasant change.
This was the case for pupils from DDs 1 secondary school, who in many cases actually enjoyed their week in industry. It is also more relevant to those students as most will not go in to higher education and therefore, helps them gain relevant experience early.

[MidniteScribbler]

I think it has a lot of benefit if the student gets placed in a role where they can explore the future career they are planning. Even academic students would benefit from a chance to explore a future career. It may be that they discover the career is not for them, or they may refine their work choices. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher, but the school wouldn't organise me a placement in a school and wanted me to do a week in a nursing home instead. It would have been a complete waste of my time to do it.

There is also the benefit of students without any form of work experience being given exposure to a professional environment, and they can also get the opportunity to build a resume and reference. I would argue that many of the more academic students would benefit the most out of a week in the 'real world'.

[WanderingTrolley1]

Yabu.

[Floisme]

Are you kidding me? Academic kids don't need to know what working life is like

You do realise that a lot of higher education courses expect you to have work experience?

[claraschu]

It depends on the work experience. My son was in an architect"s office, which should be interesting for a kid who likes maths and art, right? It was a complete waste of time and really a stupid travesty. They had nothing for him to do, and would get him to do things like sketch their building (boring box in the middle of nowhere, and he sketches loads of interesting buildings), because they couldn't find any real work for him.

He would have got more from cleaning floors or something

[RiverTam]

to get into a lot of uni courses you need to have work experience, or have done some shadowing, otherwise you won't even be considered. So it's of great importance to academic pupils and I'm that one of your DD's teachers thinks that, she clearly has no idea about uni applications these days.

I did my work experience in a museum, as I wanted to do classics or ancient history at uni. It was very helpful as it made me realise how dull working in a museum was!

[Boleh]

YABU. I was extremely academic and went on to higher education, right through to PhD. Work experience was my first taste of a lab environment and also gave me a chance to see other jobs in the same company. It confirmed that I wanted to work in science and also showed me a little of what I was getting into. I still have very vivid memories of it now and am extremely grateful to those people who gave up their time to show me their jobs. I will always agree to spending a day or a couple of hours with a work experience student if at all possible. It can really shape someone's career choice.

[dawndonnaagain]

I have one at uni. He really enjoyed his work experience, he helped out in an old peoples home. He still volunteers in one five years on. I'm proud of that.
Dd worked in a primary school, again, she is still there on a voluntary basis and plans to work with children with special needs.
Her twin also worked in a primary school and thoroughly enjoyed it. TBH your post sounds rude and patronising.

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

It's about more than what they are actually doing though - learning about a working environment, the rules and regulations, getting used to a working day, mixing with different people. Then there's the initial applying for placement, interview in some places , all good experience.

I've one academically average child (supposed to be on day 1 of work Experience but unfortunately is unwell) and one who gets better results academically. I absolutely want them both to take part in work experience as think they will both get something from it.

[MrsDavidBowie]

How patronising.

[hellsbells99]

I think work experience should be planned for the end of Gcses when the majority of pupils are 16. DD1 struggled finding relevant work experience at 15.

[Floisme]

Sorry - I missed out a rather crucial question mark. Let me try again:
Are you kidding me? Academic kids don't need to know what working life is like?

I don't think it matters if the work is 'relevant' to their ambitions, the most useful thing is to experience going into work every day and mixing with adults.

[dingit]

My 15 year old dd was really looking forward to her work experience and would have been gutted if she had been told she couldn't go as she is too academic. As someone said up thread, it's helpful to try out something you want to do ( she want to teach), and I'm interested in finding out if it changes her mind!

[LemonSquares]

I got work experiences in local private labs - and then later in sixth form when we did it again onsite experience and report writing and more but different lab work. I went on to Uni but I was very motivated in getting my own work experience out in relevant fields. Both companies had a lot of experience offering it - It was a great experience and looked good on the UCAS form.

DH tried to do that in private labs near him but he hit health and safety problems in last minute - so ended up in the school for a week just really kicking his heels.

Friend of my got experience in nurseries and schools areas they were interested in and found it useful.

I think it was less good for my sibling who ended up working in shops but they weren't very active in sorting it out themselves and the school really didn't seem bothered about making it relevant or useful.


YABU - I think with a motivated DC and a bit of luck it can be very beneficial.

[weatherall]

My academic school didn't so work experience.

I feel like I really missed out.

It would have helped me know what the world of work was like.

My parents were self employed doing something I would hate so I had no clue about any other job. Neither of my parents had ever had an office job or a real 'career' so my knowledge was severely lacking.

When I did start work I went through a lot of jobs quickly as my expectations were unrealistic.

[BubblegumBrigade]

There are interesting questions here about what school is 'for', I think.

Is it purely a means to obtain the highest possible exam grades for each child? If so, is the way to do that through book learnin' in a classroom, or can the results be enhanced through trips, activities, projects etc? If so, does work experience come under this banner?

Or is school concerned with providing a wider education than simply grades? Teaching resilience and responsibility, for example? How can schools to this? Is the best way to achieve it in the classroom or in conjunction with other methods?

Does the 'cleverness' of the child affect any of these questions?

I think you're using rather a blunt approach to what is actually quite a complicated and interesting question, OP.

[smokepole]

My DD 1 did work experience in year 10/12 and enjoyed it in year 12. She has been able to get three days a week employment up to late September and her hopeful start at university. DD 1 managed to get the work due to her work experience from year 12, she benefited from being older and being able to do different tasks .
The year 10 work experience was a waste of a week as she was deemed to young to do anything. The placement sent her home at 2.30 pm everyday as they had no more filling to be done and could see how bored she was.

[lainiekazan]

Same here, weatherall. My father was retired and my mother a SAHM so no help there.

In fact my first job was when I was 22. Big mistake. I wish I'd mopped a few floors or, more importantly, encountered a few more unpleasant people before I entered the world of work.

[Unexpected]

So you have extrapolated from the poor experience of ONE of your dc that ALL work experience for Yr 10s is a waste of time?

[settingsitting]

YABU.
One of the most important weeks of their school life for a lot of them.

Even if only to decide what they dont want to do.

It is probably only irrelevant if you are the top of society where you can get a job any time you fancy, by asking a friend's dad or mum for a at least temporary job.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

Do "academic" children not have Saturday jobs or summer jobs or work during uni, then?

I don't really understand your point. Whether they are academic or not, academic I assume you mean whether they plan to go to uni? They are all going to, I presume, have some sort of job at some point.

So why would work experience not be relevant?

[CrispyFB]

I loved my work experience in the finance department doing admin work for the local council as a 15 year old. I knew I didn't want to work there, but it showed me what an office was like - brushing away all the misconceptions I'd had until that point.

I was very academic, went on to do my degree and work in software engineering but those two weeks spent in an office opened my eyes to the world of work in a way no time in school ever would. And I know for a fact I helped rather than hindered (sorted huge backlogs of filing for starters!!) Plus it gave me an insight into what admin work actually involves day to day, something that as an "academic" software engineer I'd most likely not have known much about otherwise, which helped me form better working relationships with admin staff.

That was nearly 25 years ago now though - I do wonder if it is much trickier these days with newer legislation and liabilities..

[RiverTam]

then it wasn't the right work experience - but you can't say all work exp is a waste of time for academic DC. And year 12 is too late for UCAS applications - they need to be able to say what their work exp is.

I'm surprised a grammar school can't sort this kind of thing out properly. They should know all this.

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

Work experience is about more than finding out about a certain job.
It's about being in the world of work for a week, the rules and regulations of that environment, the policies and politics, how to interact in a professional way with different people.

Personally I think that is a valuable experience.

My dd loved her work shadowing and took a lot from that experience.

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

YA/ANBU
Works experience ought to be useful to all DCs of all abilities, but it isn't.

Fewer and fewer, shops, companies and organisations are prepared to offer works experience to under 16s.

DD1 really wanted to work in a library, but those in two different counties gave her the run around as did the shop she tried to get as a fall back (they were such a pain I no longer shop in either of their branches).

Eventually she got a job in a gift shop with no customers, she did a bit of cleaning, stock taking and a bit of setting up shop displays. She'd have been much better pestering a local cafe, that might have lead to a holiday job.

We are a rural area, with awful transport links. The pool of possible employers isn't very good. As more and more worry about liability, HS etc it gets worse.

I know our school careers teacher, works experience has her tearing her hair out as her list of possibles gets ever shorter.