Y10 Work Experience Information (WEX)
Work experience Wednesday 10 - Friday 12 July 2024
Year 10 students have the exciting and beneficial opportunity to complete a week of work experience in the week of Wednesday 10th to Friday 12th July 2024.
Undertaking an opportuntity such as this can be a very valuable experience for students. It deepens their understanding about what a career in the placement area involves, helps them to understand their own strengths and areas to develop in relation to employability skills and can also give them first-hand experience on which to draw in future applications/interviews.
We encourage all our students to undertake work experience. Our designated week of work experience comes near the very end of the school year when all students’ exams and controlled assessments for their GCSEs have finished. There is not time for students to undertake work experience in Year 11 as they go into the final stages of their GCSE courses. During the work experience week (Wednesday 10th - Friday 12th July 2023) there will be no Year 10 lessons. Those students who have not managed to find a placement, even with our support, will stay in school and carry out silent study.
Past experience has shown that it is best for students to find the placement themselves. We will of course support them throughout the process. Many very successful placements arise out of personal contacts that students have through their friends or relations. Students have to be able to get themselves to the placement, so it is generally best if it is a local placement, but some students do go further afield where families can make the necessary arrangements. In school tutors will be encouraging their Year 10 students in finding a placement and if more help is needed then appointments can be made with our Careers Advisor or Teacher in charge of Careers Education, Mrs Rogers.
Work Experience Evening Booklet CLICK HERE!
Essential Information: Safe-guarding, Health & Safety, Employment Law & Parent/carer responsibilities
Essential Information
Details of Work Experience (WEX)
WEX will be for 3 days, 10th- 12th July 2024. Previously, we have offered a 5-day WEX week and find that employers find this too much to commit to but can accommodate for shorter placements. As well as the 3 days of WEX, we will offer students the opportunity to apply their skills in the job application process during school time, where they can apply for a mock job and the opportunity to have a mock interview with an employer.
Safeguarding, and Terms of WEX Placements.
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Students can only work 1-2-1 with an employer if the placement is with parents/ carers/ aunts and uncles and grandparents.
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Employers must ensure students will not be working on a 1-2-1 basis with any employee.
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Employers must ensure students will not be working with a person on the children’s barred list.
Health and Safety
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Work placement roles should be light duties, no heavy lifting, no use machinery, sharp tools, power tools or chemicals.
Basic Employment Law
Employers must ensure that basic employment laws are met in terms of working hours and rest breaks as follows:
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The young person is entitled to a rest break of 30 minutes if the working day is over 4.5 hours
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The young person must not work over 8 hours per day
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The student must have 12 hours rest in any 24 hours period in which they work. (Example, between one working day and the next)
The Responsibility of the Parent/Carer
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To communicate any special educational needs and support needs to the employer
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Communicate any allergies with the employer
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Parents aware of the risk assessment for young people in the workplace. Parents can ask the employer to copy them into the email sent to the school with the risk assessment.
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If the student is not happy, please do contact the school.
How To Find A WEX Placement
Values of Work Experience
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Workplace Insight: Learning how the workplace operates, expected behaviours and basic employment laws.
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Careers Insight: The opportunity to explore careers of interest
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Skills Developmemt and Confidence Booster: Work on those areas to develop, use your strengths and raise your self-esteem.
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Secure future employment: A third of RAS students gain future work with the employer due to their great efforts. Others will find work with another employer, due to the increase in their confidence and self-esteem.
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CVs, cover letters and Interviews: Refer to the experience when applying for jobs, Post 16, university, or apprenticeships.
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Networking, it’s not what you know, but who you know: Make links through the people you meet who may inform you of opportunities such as jobs, training, or events of interest in the future.
Skills Students Develop
From finding a placement to completing the 3-day work-place insight, there are many invaluable skills that will be used and developed, such as researching, communication, digital skills, networking, people skills, self-management skills, literacy, numeracy, reflection, self-awareness, teamwork, problem solving to name a few.
Where To Start
The Type of Placement Required
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A placement the student would enjoy, explore the Careers Pilot website to explore job roles linked to interests (hobbies or school subjects) CareerPilot.org.uk
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Any opportunity to build people skills and increase confidence: customer facing roles such as: retail, hospitality, a deli, and other food outlets are fantastic places to develop your confidence and people skills.
How To Find Work Experience
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Use your supporters: students can often find opportunities through the people they know, family, carers, friends, or school staff. This is networking.
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Use the internet: type keywords into a search browser, for example dog groomers or architects in Bath.
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Explore our latest database of past WEX placements which is held on the RAS website under careers/ Y10 work experience. WEX-Employers-We-Have-Used-Before.xlsx
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Business directories delivered annually to our homes. It will list all the businesses within Bath and surrounding areas.
How to Contact an Employer
Students should ask to speak with the manager or if it is a large company, the work experience coordinator.
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Send an email. Find the email address on the company’s website or in the business directory (Use those communication, literacy, and digital skills)
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Give the employer a telephone call (Develop those communication skills)
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Drop-in to the business and speak face to face. (Using initiative and developing communication and interpersonal skills)
Tips on making a phone call
Write a script or a list of questions to ask the employer
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Do you offer any work experience opportunities to secondary school students
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Do you have contact details of the person I need to speak to regarding work experience?
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Do you have contact details so I can send you the health and safety form the school requires to be completed?
List any details the employer may need
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Dates and times of WEX
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Your school email or a parent's telephone number so they may contact you
Tips on sending an email
Send the employer a letter or email using our letter template. Adjust to suit your personal circumstances.
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Remember punctuation, spelling, and capital letters!
How to send an Email
How-To-Send-An-Email-Guidance.pptx
Secured A Placement, What Next?
Both the student and employer will need to complete a health and safety form which can be found on the RAS website- careers/ Y10 work experience/ health and safety form.
The employer will require the following to complete the form:
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Student’s full name
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Tutor group
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Date of Birth
The student will require the following to complete the form:
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Company name and address
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Company contacts name and telephone number
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Job role and list of duties
What Information the Student May Need for A Successful Placement
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Times of work, start and finish time, breaktimes.
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Clothing requirements
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Lunch requirements
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An understanding of duties. Also, what the student would like to gain from the placement- negotiate with the employer.
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Travel arrangements, ensure travel has been planned before day 1 of WEX.
When applying for work experience, if the student has not heard back from the employer, please follow up as the employer may be busy. Adopt Resilience!
Apply for more than one placement!
Students are competing with other schools for places, so a winning letter listing strengths, aspirations and what they would like to gain from the placement is a good selling point. Good luck!
List of Employers Used in Previous Placements & letter template to send to employers
Explore our latest database of past WEX placements which is held on the RAS website under careers/ Y10 work experience.
WEX-Employers-We-Have-Used-Before.xlsx
Tips on sending an email
Send the employer a letter or email using our letter template. Adjust to suit your personal circumstances.
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Remember punctuation, spelling, and capital letters!
How to send an Email
Online Health and Safety Forms
Work Placement - Health & Safety Forms
The following forms are online forms.
Students, please provide the following information to employers, so they can complete the employers health and safety form :
- your full name
- tutor group
- date of birth
Health and Safety Form for Students:Click Here
Health and Safety Form for Employers: Click Here
For Employers to read: Work Placement Agreement
Virtual & Onsite Opportunities
Onsite and Virtual Work Experience
Royal Untied Hospital
Work Experience
Check in here regularly to see any job opportunities, work experience and other useful infomation.
RUH Work Experience and Information on Apprenticeships
See what the RUH has to offer here
Careers Advice offered by the RUH
The RUH is commited to providing careers advice and support to students at local schools here
NHS Careers
NHS Cadets
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Careers in the NHS
STEM
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For more information click here
Armed Forces Work Experience
Experience life in the forces click here
Army Officer Scholarship Scheme 16 - 18 year olds
Receive sponsorship through sixth form and university, before joining the Army in a leadership role.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Project Search
This is a transition to work programme for people with learning disabilities and autism. To find out more, see here
Other Work Experience Opportunties
Work Experience Opportunities in 28 Industries
Career Programmes for ages 12-18 run by InvestIn. NB these programmes incur a fee
Virtual Work Experience
Sign up here and take a look at all the opportunities to build up your CV and get free work experience.
Barclays Lifeskills
Virtual Work ExperienceHigher Education
Pathway
Pathway is a careers service that can connect you with leading UK employers to gain experience and figure out your next steps after school. See here for their upcoming events
See here for a video about joining their programme.
Virtual Work Experience (VWEX)
- Springpod over 88 online virtual experience click here!
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Barclays Lifeskills Virtual Work Experience
- Speakers for Schools click here!
