Work experience in Yr 10

[lostinteaching47]

Hello everyone,
DD is meant to be sorting this out.I have been nagging her for weeks to get some information for me about this(she hasn't)She is my eldest so I haven't experienced this before(I am ancient so didn't do this myself at school) She is now moaning that as she hasn't managed to approach anyone now the school will do it.I am frustrated as I am a teacher and have been unable to contact the school when I would be able to speak to anyone about this during my school day. Is there a booklet or website I can look at for ideas? She wants to do something sciencey, possibly in teaching or medicine or in a vets.I don't think shadowing a teacher would be on the cards? Or would it? I have a vets at the top of our road? I don't know, any advice.Most of her friends are doing retail, I think.I'm not sure what the purpose is of it.Is it to find out about working, any work or work in your chosen profession of interest or both? I think I heard that Connexions are organising this but I couldn't see anything on their website and there is nothing on the school website.

Thanks

The purpose of work experience is to give kids a flavour of what it's like to be in work - to have to get themselves there on time, be organised etc. The nature of the work is less important. It doesn't really have to be what they want to do in the future (though more interesting/useful if it is).

DD would probably be able to help in a primary school - my DD1 did this for a week. DD2 worked in a pre-school.

She could probably get work experience in a vets too - helping the nurse, looking after the animals etc. I know people who have done that. Or do you have any local kennels, catteries etc who would take her on?

She might be able to work in the science lab in a secondary school, helping the lab techs, rather than shaddow a teacher.

do any of those ideas help?

The purpose is partly to give all students a first idea of what looking for work and holding down a job is like, the sheer effort involved and the importance of making a good impression. And partly to give those students who already have an idea of what they might want to do a taste of what that job might be like.

The first lesson is that to get to do something interesting you have to be organised and on the ball. So from that pov it may be that your dd is about to have her first lesson... The placements at vets and in medical establishments tend to go very quickly to ambitious students who contact the establishment themselves and write a good covering letter explaining why this placement is important to them and what they are hoping to get out of it.

Of course, this is not a reason not to try the vet up the road. But your dd probably needs to approach them herself. She could either just walk in or phone and ask if they do placements and if they say yes go home and write them a formal letter, or start with the letter straightaway.

She could also try the schools as you suggest and if there is a university local to you. Universities are often quite keen as long as her placement period is in the teaching semester; otherwise it might be difficult to find somebody who is able to look after her as academics tend to shoot off on conferences and research trips.

If it's anything like our school (and many places aren't) she'll have been given a ton of paperwork, some class time, the option of a careers advice appointment and plenty of guidance. If she's like the kids at our school, she'll claim to have none of this and to have been told nothing.

There's two ways of taking work experience: 1. To do a realistic job that could lead on to ongoing part time work, like in a shop, to experience what it's really like (and appreciate the last few months of school) or 2. To have a go at something you might never get to do and find some inspiration/aspiration to work hard for the last few months of school.

No real help, I know, but I assure you she won't be the only disorganised one!

Thanks everyone, that's very helpful.I will get her to phone the vets this morning.I want her to go into teaching but realise it's not about what I want (I'm primary, I was thinking secondary as she is very good at science) but I don't want to unduly influence her.She has been exactly the same about her DOE Bronze and sorting out her placements, in fact I don't think she will be able to do it as she doesn't go to the gym regularly enough and she keeps changing her mind about her skill bit.It's hard isn't it, stepping back a bit and giving them that independence but not wanting them to miss out on valuable opportunites/experiences as they haven't done things in time/realised, but I guess that's all part of the learning as well.

No joy with any of the local vets or the vet hospital :>( Contacted local Pets at Home is it? and they do work experience but it needs to be through something called Trident which is on our councils school page but no phone number? Found out that the NHS do work experience so have emailed our local hospital, their work experience dept.That would be ideal but I think as others have said we have left it late.She quite fancies something along the lines of pharmaceuticals or research or anything like that. We have a vets we need to phone after 2.30, fingers crossed x

Companies which regularly have work experience students should be well set up to take a latecomer, if they have space. It's the less common or smaller companies that have to jump through hoops checking their insurance, etc, that often struggle (the "my uncles fencing company" types).

Good luck getting her a place. Whatever she ends up doing, even if it's something she wouldn't normally have chosen provided by the school, please try to embed in her how important it is to turn up, ask how she can help, and not complain when she's asked to make tea or mop!

We always have a good few who turn up at school on day 2, thinking these things are beneath them, or that they're being 'picked on' because they haven't been made fashion editor immediately!

I wouldn't fret too much about what the placement is, in Yr10. There's a limit to what responsibility they can have when U16 anyway, and, as others have said, it's more about getting themselves to work on time, respecting the rules of wherever they are working, respecting colleagues, having to communicate with adults they don't know well, etc., than the actual job.
I know several youngsters (now at University) who have done things like working in a care home, working as a chambermaid, working as a gardener, etc., when none of them have any intention of doing those things for their jobs.

It's about getting up and to your placement on time, wearing appropriate clothing, the social manners and rules of being a WE individual rather than the MD, dealing with adults, being flexible about what is asked...the basics of having a job.
Rarely is it a step into a chosen career.

In fact, exactly what BackForGood said.

lost my DD is similarly useless when it comes to planning and organising herself and also has procrastinated about bringing me the paperwork for DoE bronze, reading up on what is expected etc.
She is also very lazy and I do not know last time she did anything that involved physical effort beyond blow drying her hair.

Her school expects them to do "work shadowing" for a couple of days ie they have to get up and go to work, but are not expected to actually do anything, just watch someone at work. Sounds very dull to me.

It's going to be really hard for me to step back and watch her do nothing to plan or organise this.

I had a Saturday job at age 13.....

Does your DD want a paid, part-time job? If so, work experience in a cafe - or somewhere similar that might actually employ her - is a good idea. My DS had a great work experience - it was probably his favourite fortnight in the whole 5 years! - but it was with a small company where there was no prospect of a job... And he rather envied friends of his who managed to get part-time work following their placements.

Travelledtheworld, our children sound very similar :>) Apparently there was a letter that she swears she gave me but I know she didn't.We had a row yesterday over this as I had been treating this as a serious thing whereas all I had to do was set up a placement with a family member at their workplace. . . who knew?!?! I am not in touch with any of my family apart from my brother who is a courier and my husband has family living away .Both of our work is not suitable.He works in maintenance, I am starting a brand new job(temporary) that I might not be in next yr, so can't ask at my school.I don't even know when she is meant to be doing it.The woman in charge of placements at the hospital emailed me back and it looks like she might be able to do a non-clinical placement but I can't do much as I have no dates.The apathy is really getting to me AARRRGGGHHH!!!!

Flow4, yes she does want a job, she has been trying to get a paper round but there are not many newsagents round here.Thats a thought, there is an abundance of hairdressers though.

I was a work experience coordinator in a previous life and it seemed that all the local school sent their Yr 10s out on the same week. I was overrun with requests, letters, emails. Seems that you need to take a pro active approach and work with her on this one....

It can be a positive learning process, i.e. some children wrote CVs with covering letters, we interviewed them to develop their skills and confidence. It is a worthwhile process if used correctly.

At the other end of the spectrum you have Yr 10 children photocopying and making tea all week!!
Good Luck!!

Thanks trottingdon, that's useful to hear.She doesn't even know how to make a decent cup of tea yet (blushes) she doesn't drink it but needs to learn how as she helps out in a charity shop on a Sunday as part of her DOE and that I think will be one of her duties.

There seem to be some positive contributions here but I must say work experience turned out to be pretty pointless for my sons. The eldest was obsessed by rock music and wanted to go to a recording studio so the school sent him to an estate agents ( we weren't allowed to make arrangements ourselves). The most memorable event was when, showing potential buyers round a property, they came across a large patch of cannabis in the garden. My son was instructed by the agent to employ 'diversionary tactics'. I'm not sure what they were but, come to think of it, I suppose that was pretty rock and roll.

Pliudev LOL !

Great example of work experience.

What did he do with the cannabis . Set up a business ?!

I'd try and use someone reccomended, who have had students before if possible.

Only reason I say that is because last year dd1 arranged hers at a local hairdressers herself, and although they had college students, they'd not had school pupils before.

Dd only did 2 days out of the two weeks. They had her walking the owners dogs, cleaning up dog piss from the shop floor and constantly going back and forth to the shop for them.

After the second day we contacted the school and they said not to return as they were clearly taking the mick. The school then got her in with a local childminder for the remainder of the time, and dd absolutly loved it.

My DS has his work experience next summer he wants to be a science teacher, he contacted a high school out of our LEA which is near where I work and asked if he could do his work experience in the science department, he's been accepted and told he'll be working with years 7,8 & 9. He's very excited. It has the added advantage that he won't know any of the kids so will hopefully be taken seriously and I can give him a lift. I'm quite proud of how organised he's been. Hope your daughter gets sorted OP.

My DH is a vet and their rules regarding school students have changed for insurance reasons-they can only take kids aged 16 or above now! Also vet students have to do placements at practices so depending on when she is looking to go they may be full of students. I think it is the same in a lot of places now re insurance too which makes finding school work experience placements a bit of a challenge!