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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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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:

Get0rf · 05/12/2011 15:21

I remember 3 of my mates who really wanted to be accountants at school - the all had WE at local accountancy firms.

After a week there they all changed their minds

SantasHat · 05/12/2011 16:03

Alouisee I sense your feelings about the WE scheme and sympathise.
How does your son feel about the whole thing?
There are very strong views on this thread so it is obviously a subject that strikes a chord with lots of MNers.

maypole1 · 05/12/2011 19:42

Often if your really good they ask you to come back when you have got your gcse

My mate went to mc Donald's she was really pissed off at the idea Any who they gave her a weekend job when at uni she worked up on coventry one she has now been with mc Donald's for 10 years she is the area manger and had her first home at 20 and it all started with work experience

Shame on you op its a valuable learning experience a lot of children often think shook is really hard and working is a doss and they can clearly see how the lessons they are being taught at school helps them at work

To be honest any collage or uni will ask for for your work experience reference

redglow · 05/12/2011 22:56

I could be useful but in a lot of cases pupils just stand around and do nothing there is so many things they cannot do due to health and safety.

None of my daughters friends got jobs out of it. She went to a hairdressers she did learn to sweep the floor but thats all.

maypole1 · 05/12/2011 23:56

I think thats more to do with the type of we your child's school set up for their students.

And what you describe it not unlike what it would be like if they were to work for the council lol

Lots of standing around and lots of things that can't be done due to health and safety

cory · 06/12/2011 07:47

The main argument against WE seems to be that several thousand kids will be seeking a placement at the same time so it will be difficult to get the placement you want.

But how is this different from leaving school/trying to support yourself at university: surely there will be thousands of young people competing for the same job then?

This is precisely what I want dd to learn from her work experience: that you don't just walk into your preferred job but that you have to be pro-active and prepared to try again and again. If the lesson was that you can sit back and relax because other people will help you to exactly what you want, then I'd be a lot more dubious about the whole thing...

4merlyknownasSHD · 06/12/2011 11:38

No.2 son did WE in Yr 10. Not what he wanted to do, particularly, but hadn't pulled his finger out to sort one earlier. Actually enjoyed it and was then given 3 weeks paid work afterwards. He learnt a lot about the day-to-day workings of a Sports Shop.

He does not want to go into Retail (he is now at Uni doing a Sports degree), but it was a great way to learn about dealing with people, both easy ones and tricky ones.

Also got some (non-compulsory) WE the following year at an advertising company with three of his mates (he was there to make up numbers) where they were given a project to do (shadowing/replicating one that had already been started by the company). They came up with some good ideas, and quite a lot of bad ones, but some of the good ideas were later incorporated into the main pitch. They came away with a great deal of pride and satisfaction, but he still does not want to go into advertising.

maypole1 · 06/12/2011 15:21

I think the op sums up wants wrong with a lot of people today

Their parents

What a world were one can complain about their teenage child doing things for themselves, getting experience of working world and people feel like chickens tp tell their child what to do.

I weep for this generation we have on another thread some children even have one book in tier home now we have people questioning why children need WE

I feel sorry for teachers if this is the stance by some

SauvignonBlanche · 08/12/2011 16:43

Whilst DS has already arranged WE he has been told that this sort of summer school will count instead.
Would this sort of thing appeal? It's residential so travel not an issue.

greatdanelady · 08/12/2011 22:09

God I hope your son isn't as negative as you!!!!! I congratulate you on your parenting skills.

redglow · 08/12/2011 22:56

Why do you feel sorry for teachers maypole? I think you are going over the top.

trixymalixy · 09/12/2011 10:16

Sauvignon, that looks amazing!! I want to do that!!

AmberLeaf · 09/12/2011 11:14

Sauvignon that looks great but rather pricey!

Fantastic opportunity if you can afford it though.

SauvignonBlanche · 09/12/2011 18:03

His school has said it won't be as much as it says on the website, don't know why, I'm not going to ask!

AmberLeaf · 09/12/2011 18:46

Did he apply directly or was it done through his school?

I live in London so would not need residential [well my DS not me!]

SauvignonBlanche · 10/12/2011 15:06

Through school Amber.

Ilovefluffysheep · 13/12/2011 11:48

I loved my work experience. My 2 weeks was split, as my first choice placement could only take me for a week. First week was spent in an air traffic control tower, got to go flying several times and had a fabulous time.

Second week was as a housekeeper in a hotel. Not something I particularly wanted to do, but I went with a positive attitude and still enjoyed it (although obviously not as much as the first week!).

Like others, I think you have quite a strange attitude towards work experience to be honest.

Crabapple99 · 19/12/2011 00:26

I haven't read the whole thread, but am bemused by the coment that haveing pupils out on residentials or WE "clears the decks"! No! it doubles the work load; we spend our lives running around the ocuntryside checking up on them!

WE is a compulsary part of the national curriculum. Your DS will be expected to be able to discuss it when applying for A levels, jobs, training or university. The only students that don't do it are the obes that get sacjked, or ones the school can't trust the behaviour of to send them out in the first place. Is that how you want furture employers to catagorise your son?

Pupils benefit hugely from work experiance. They develop more in those two weeks than at any other tiome in their secondary education. They become more reliable and confident. They return to school far better informed about career options they may be looking into, AND motivated be realising(often for the first time) that qualifications gained at school really will make a diffrence to the options availbale to them as adults.

Why on earth would you want your sone to miss all thet?

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