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Secondary education

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Original poster

I don't want ds to do work experience.

318 replies

Alouisee · 03/12/2011 09:13

He's in year ten and has been told that for two weeks in July he must find a placement. He has contacted two bike shops but they havn't even replied.

I'm not keen on pushing him to contact lots of potential placements just so he can become an unpaid slave for a fortnight.

I feel that the school like to clear the decks in the summer with the residentials taking place and work experience happening. I'm quite happy to arrange some tutoring for him for those two weeks but I'm feeling a bit of a chicken about telling the school that work experience is for their benefit and not for the benefit of my son.

Anyone a teacher and got an opinion or a parent and been in this situation.

OP posts:
MotherPanda · 03/12/2011 09:22

The work experience will be REALLY important when your ds looks for a part time job. what does he want to do in the future? why doesn't he look for something relevant (i wanted to be a librarian so worked for oxford uni sackler library - i put this on my cv, and got a job at another uni library, and have now got another job at a uni library).

You've got it all wrong, its not just find a job anywhere (apologies if bikes is what your ds wants to do), it is valuable and it's part of the curriculum as far as I'm aware he has to do it, if you refuse he will probably end up doing work experience at school instead - photocopying etc.

I had friends who volunteered for archaeology teams, in pharmacies, at garages, in schools, care homes

If you aren't happy about a company profiting from your ds's hard work - how about volunteering with a charity, either in a shop or in a head office/ pet hospital etc - working with the elderly, disabled etc

Eglu · 03/12/2011 09:23

I think you are wrong and work experience does benefit the child.

MotherPanda · 03/12/2011 09:25

Really - it's pointless just having the qualifications, nobody wants to look at you if you havn't got work experience. Even for university etc.

As everyone does it, your ds's cv will look very empty compared to his peers.

Original poster
Alouisee · 03/12/2011 09:26

The job he wants to do won't let him do work experience until he's 16. We'll be ale to get him a placement there easily but it will be in the holidays.

I ally don't see how it's so vitally important that he works for free while he could be working towards his GCSE's.

OP posts:
cory · 03/12/2011 09:28

Work experience doesn't benefit the school: the teachers already have plenty of it on their CVs. It is purely for your son's benefit. He is already learning something vital about life: that it takes perseverance to get a job.

Ragwort · 03/12/2011 09:29

Totally agree with MotherPanda - work experience is really, really valuable - it teaches young people about getting up in time, getting on with other people, inter-personal skills, work ethic, all sorts of things - yes of course he may end up doing the 'mundane' stuff but everyone has to start somewhere.

If you don't support his search for work experience you are more or less telling him he is 'too good' for that sort of thing.

Where I worked I was one of the few people who would support the work experience students and some of them were bloody awful, so arrogant and even after plenty of training wouldn't even pick up a phone or do a bit of filing - I never forget one useless one - when I asked her what her aspirations were she said brain surgeon or lawyer Xmas Grin - yet she had shown no initiative whatsoever doing her fortnight with us - having said all that I still think its a fantastic opportunity and your DS should be looking to make the most out of it.

Don't just write to shops/companies and expect a reply - show a bit of initiative and turn up and introduce yourself (your DS - not you OP !)

MotherPanda · 03/12/2011 09:30

How about transferable skills - if he cant actually do the experience he wants until 16, what's similar - what skills could he take from one job to prepare him for another? (Am i right in thinking police force etc?)

DownbytheRiverside · 03/12/2011 09:30

It is part of the curriculum, not an option. Help him find a place that matches his interests and plans for the future.
He's applied to two places? Only two?
Schools like their students to get a taste of responsibility and coping in the wider world with people other than teachers. But you go ahead and discuss your views with the school mummy, that your darling boy isn't free labour for anyone.
Do you have any idea of the effort involved in setting up a work placement by the business involved? They are going to want motivated and hard-working types who are open to new experiences. Do you think your son presents like that?

DownbytheRiverside · 03/12/2011 09:32

We've sent crap WE students back to school early BTW.
Huge shock to be told they were unsatisfactory. Grin

MintChocAddict · 03/12/2011 09:33

Agree with the above. It's extremely valuable and TBH I think you would be giving out the wrong message to your son by pursuing this. I work with young people and have lots of contact with employers. The message coming back is that that a young person can have all the qualifications in the world but without valuable experience or any idea of what is expected of them they are pretty much no use to an employer.
He's going to enter the workplace at some point and if you give him a false impression of the reality of it you're not preparing him appropriately. Yes, he'll probably have to do some menial stuff but that's the way of the world and IMO character building. I once had a parent say that alhtough their child wanted to become a hairdresser she wasn't happy with her sweeping the salon floor or making tea and coffee. Hmm. Do him a favour and let him experience life outside academia.

GypsyMoth · 03/12/2011 09:34

It's invaluable. My dd has always always wanted to be a teacher, after work exp she has totally changed her mind and is now pursuing something else.

Bunbaker · 03/12/2011 09:35

This is a very sore point round here. DD's school has no funding for work experience so none of the children will be doing it this year. The parents are absolutely livid. As other PP's have pointed out work experience does make a difference when applying for jobs, and the school does not benefit. It is purely for your son's benefit.

If you can guarantee a holiday placement then your son will be fine, but if you can't he needs to try and get a WE placement somewhere else. Unfortunately it is a harsh lesson for him to learn that we don't always get the job we really want. And at least a WE placement is only for two weeks.

bruffin · 03/12/2011 09:35

Ds had a wonderful time at his work experience in a photographers.
He was able to go to them for a reference for a job he recently applied for who wanted two references.
His friends did a variety of jobs and they all had positive experiences

jeee · 03/12/2011 09:35

Work experience does not provide firms with 'unpaid slaves'. The firm has to nanny a child who, no matter how keen and hard working, can't really do anything.

Could he not do his WE in the holidays if that gets him the experience he wants?

Northernlurker · 03/12/2011 09:41

Get a grip. You're quite simply totally wrong OP.

I still remember my work experience placement - I put down the National Trust and I ended up working on a local property - on the estate team which wasn't quite what I imagined. Spent the week with three blokes who all smoked like chimneys and didn't know what to make of me. I helped errect a fgate post - which is still there 20 years later - put up fencing - bloody hard work. Counted deer so they knew how may to cull. Shovelled about 500 barrow loads of sawdust. Helped pull up a tree stump using a tractor. It was fab. Really did me a lot of good to be pulled out of my pretty sheltered world and had to hold my own in an enironment I wasn't equipped for. I didcovered a lot about myself - that I could physically push myself a lot because I want pull my weight. I did nearly faint towards the end of the gate post work - freezing day and very physical work. Blokes shoved me in the Landrover with the heater on Grin I got a really good report from them - basically NL is not much good at the actual skills (which take time to learn) but she's very committed and enthusiastic. It's stood me in excellent stead when working - you get a long way by commiting to something even when you don't know what you're doing Grin

Help your son find an interesting placement and stop being so cats bum about it.

Auntiestablishment · 03/12/2011 09:45

Isn't work experience actually a total waste of time? The kid hangs around in an office for a bit with people who have to look after them and explain what they do. It's really boring listening to people talk about their job after the first hour or so when you know you're never going to work there anyway. And kid can't do anything unless they happen to be "lucky" and the office has some filing they want doing (great insight for a professional career...).

Mine was a long time ago, admittedly, but I ended up sat on a chair doing very, very, very long division just to stop myself from crying with boredom. And it made no difference whatsoever to my life.

BertieBotts · 03/12/2011 09:46

I loved work experience. I wanted to go to a graphics firm but couldn't find anywhere to take me. After writing to every single one in the locality with specially designed letterheaded paper, and following it up with phone calls and/or visits, I gave up, my mum's friend asked at her son's nursery and I went there.

Decided childcare wasn't for me, but I LOVED it. It's a fantastic opportunity.

If he doesn't find something it's likely he will be doing unpaid slave work jobs in school, not schoolwork. They aren't going to set work for one pupil. And I think WE outside of school is better because it's a whole different environment and feeling. It's useful for them to broaden their horizons. Doing jobs around the school won't be much different from running errands which sensible pupils get asked to do all the time.

If not a bike shop, how about a garage? A different kind of shop, halfords, homebase? It's best if he phones up or goes in as well, at least then you also get an immediate reply.

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere · 03/12/2011 09:52

We have work experience kids at my workplace.

I work in a Specialist Children's Centre. We are the hub for most of the services for children with disabilities in the borough 0-5.

The work experience-ers spend two weeks working for as many as the therapists/departments as they can fit in.

HOW on earth can that be a waste of time?

ggirl · 03/12/2011 09:56

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!!

MotherPanda · 03/12/2011 10:02

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.

KatyMac · 03/12/2011 10:06

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

cricketballs · 03/12/2011 10:10

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 Grin) 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)

toddlerama · 03/12/2011 10:12

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

Bonsoir · 03/12/2011 10:13

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.

MotherPanda · 03/12/2011 10:13

Great post cricketballs