At Netherthorpe, all students follow a planned programme of careers education, information and guidance within the Personal Development curriculum. Our careers provision ensures that students are exposed to the Gatsby Benchmarks (nationally recognised measures within careers education) which have been designed to give them the skills needed:

•  to manage their careers and to be able to investigate learning and career opportunities
•  for making informed judgments about learning and career options
• to understand how these choices will help them achieve their aspirations
• to enable them to successfully manage the transition to Post 16 and into higher education

Gatsby Benchmark 6 focuses on ‘Experiences of the workplace’ and states the following:

Every pupil should have first-hand experiences* of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.

By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.

By the age of 18, every pupil should have had one further such experience, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.

Work experience placements are an invaluable part of students’ development. It teaches them early in life that school and work environments differ quite dramatically, which increases their maturity and develops invaluable skills that help them find and excel in work after school.

One of the most important benefits of work experience is its potential to provide opportunities for students to learn more about their own abilities. It helps them explore their strengths and weaknesses and identify the gaps in their skills. By helping students to explore the depths of their abilities, work experience can help students to draw a comparison between the skills they possess and those required by a specific job. 

Work experience also allows students to develop several soft skills such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, team-work and time management. It exposes students to the latest trends in their chosen sector. It imparts them with specialist knowledge giving them leverage over students who are unaware of the current developments in the industry. This will enable them to talk more authoritatively about their chosen industry during job interviews. Employers tend to give precedence to students who have considerable background knowledge of their job roles

Top 10 Benefits of work experience:

• Gives insight into the skills required for a particular job
• Is an opportunity to test out a job to see if the student really likes it
• Can broaden students’ knowledge of jobs they have never considered
• Will increase students’ awareness of their own skills and strengths  
• Helps student to understand how the subjects they study in school link to certain jobs
• Gives insight into what the world of work is really like and employers' expectations
• Can increase student’s motivation to do well in school
• Puts students in contact with potential employers
• Can give students useful experience for their CV and provide referees
• Helps students appreciate the skills needed to succeed in a job

2. Work experience is changing this year as Derbyshire County Council are no longer offering their Work Experience service.  Instead, students have received an email to their school email address from the company we are using to run work experience this year, Unifrog.

3. Unifrog - The universal destinations platform.

4. They have had support in PD time to complete the sign up process on the website. If the student forgets their password Unifrog are an external company and they should complete a password reset as normal, this will trigger an email to their school email address.  If they have any trouble with this, please see Mrs Taylor email dtaylor@netherthorpe.derbyshire.sch.uk
5. Students should spend time looking on the internet for local businesses considering adding additional terms to their search such as career categories (for example: architecture, engineering, education), area willing to travel to and skills they are wanting to develop and explore.
6. Create a shortlist of potential placements and write down their contact details such as main contact name and telephone number.
7. Contact the employer. We have had great success in students gaining placements when they make contact directly either via phone call or by arranging to meet in person. For employers, this demonstrates independence and a level of professionalism from the student and often results in students securing a placement. Students are also welcome to use the Personal Development Hub telephones, before school, during break or dinner to contact employers during school hours. 
8. Be proactive! Contact employers as soon as possible due to employers only being able to offer placements to a limited number of students at one time.
9. Once students have confirmed a placement – complete a ‘Work Experience Request Form’ – Students can get a copy of this form from their tutor, Personal Development team, school website or Satchel.
10. Return the ‘Work Experience Request Form’ to Mrs Taylor in the Personal Development office.
11. Please ensure that you meet the deadline put in place by school. It is important that placements are confirmed by this deadline to enable employers to complete their risk assessment information and for school to ultimately approve it. If students submit a work experience request after this deadline, the student may not be able to go on placement.
12. Mrs Taylor will then check the details for the work experience request and ensure that it covers the information that it needs to.
13. Once Mrs Taylor checks the form, students will be able to fill out their placement details on Unifrog – this is on the main page they should scroll down until they find ‘placements’.   Students will need to complete all sections (employer contact name, phone number, email address, parent/guardian email address, ensuring accuracy at every step.  If any details are misspelt or inputted incorrectly this will result in a delay of the process as Unifrog is designed to process placements through a series of channels and in order for the channels to receive the information all details need to be accurate.  For example, if a student enters the email address of parent/guardian inaccurately this will mean that despite the employer uploading all their details, the process will be delayed as Unifrog will not have an accurate email address to continue on to the next step.
14. For attention of students of with any SEND or medical needs – it is essential that you declare these when filling out your details, it is a requirement that employers MUST be informed of students’ needs in order to ensure students are fully supported on placement.  
15. Once the initial student details section has been submitted it will be automatically be sent across to their employer to fill out their Health & Safety and risk assessment sections.
16. When the employer completes this, it will trigger an email to parents/guardians for their approval.
17. When parents/guardians agree to the arrangements it will trigger an email to Mrs Taylor at the school for ultimate approval.
18. Students should maintain contact with the employer in the months leading up to work experience to ensure they are fully prepared for their placement. Some placements will require students to wear uniform which they will need to take responsibility for and to arrange to collect prior to going on placement. Other placements may require students to wear safety boots – if students do not own any, please come to see Mrs Taylor as we have a supply of work boots in school to borrow.
19. A few weeks before students go on placement, students will sign to receive their work experience log book.
20. During the weeks leading up to students going on placement, students will engage in a Health and Safety lesson delivered within Personal Development. This is a legal requirement that students understand Health and Safety within the work place prior to going on placement.
21. Students are encouraged to contact the employer the week before placement to ask any final questions they may have and to express that they are thankful for the opportunity and looking forward to learning new skills.
22. Students go on placement.
23. During your work experience placement students will be expected to fill in a logbook by recording their experiences and setting targets. This is an important part of the process as it allows students to reflect on their experience and the role they have taken on. The employer will also write in the logbook, commenting on such things as attendance, punctuality, key skills and how the student has presented themselves.
24. Whilst on placement, a member of staff from Netherthorpe school will contact the employer at the start of the placement to ensure the student has settled in well, meeting expectations and to inform the employer about the student work experience booklet that students must complete during their time on placement. Staff will also make a second telephone call towards the end of the placement in order to gain feedback and to complete a work experience evaluation document.
25. Students return to school after placement and are asked to complete a work experience evaluation.
26. Students are also expected to bring into school their completed work experience booklets. Form tutors will allocate time during Personal Development to go through students’ booklets and these will be used to form discussions. 
27. During Personal Development, students will write a thank you letter/email to the employer thanking them for the opportunity and for taking the time to provide this valuable experience for the student.

Students are required to go through the process below if work experience placements are during school hours 8:30 – 3:10, Monday-Friday, during school term dates. Sixth form students who want to go on work experience during their ‘free periods’ are required to follow the process below and have their placement formally recorded on the Derbyshire website. This will include Derbyshire County Council conducting all Health and safety checks prior to students being allowed on placement.

The school needs to abide by the Service Level Agreement put in place by Derbyshire County Council and therefore students must be aware that Derbyshire County Council can take up to 10 weeks to conduct all Health and Safety checks. Students will not be allowed on work experience until placements have been approved by Derbyshire County Council.

If students are going on work experience during school holidays, during weekends or after school, students will not need to go through the process below or have placements approved by Derbyshire County Council, therefore students can start work experience as soon as the employer states.  

1. Students have been provided with usernames and passwords in order to access the Derbyshire work experience website/portal. If the student has forgotten their log in details, please see Mrs Cracknell or email rwells@netherthorpe.derbyshire.sch.uk

The Derbyshire work experience website address is: https://derbyshire.work-experience.co.uk

2. Spend time exploring potential employers listed on the Derbyshire portal. Students can apply filters to their search such as career categories (for example: architecture, engineering, education), distance willing to travel and skills they are wanting to develop and explore.
3. Create a shortlist of potential placements and write down their contact details such as main contact name and telephone number.
4. Contact the employer. We have had great success in students gaining placements when they make contact directly either via phone call or by arranging to meet in person. For employers, this demonstrates independence and a level of professionalism from the student and often results in students securing a placement. Students are also welcome to use the Personal Development Hub telephones, before school, during break or dinner to contact employers during school hours. 
5. Be proactive! Contact employers as soon as possible due to employers only being able to offer placements to a limited number of students at one time. Derbyshire County Council also require up to 10 weeks in order to carry out Health & Safety checks.
6. Once students have confirmed a placement – complete a ‘Work Experience Request Form’ – Students can get a copy of this form from their tutor, Personal Development team, school website or Satchel.
7. Return the ‘Work Experience Request Form’ to Mrs Cracknell in the Personal Development office.
8. Students take responsibility to inform Mrs Cracknell of the exact days/times that students will be on placement so this can be marked accordingly on SIMs and so the school main reception are aware that students are on work experience during these exact times.
9. Mrs Cracknell will then upload the work experience request onto the Derbyshire County Council website to ensure all Health & Safety checks have been carried out and approved.
10. Once placements have been approved on the Derbyshire portal, Mrs Cracknell will print paper work which includes parent, student and employer consent signatures. Students will need to sign all sections, which includes taking the forms to the employer to sign. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself (if you have not done so already in person).
11. Return all three consent forms back to Mrs Cracknell
12. Maintain contact with the employer on the months leading up to work experience to ensure students are fully prepared for their placement. Some placements will require students to wear uniform which they will need to take responsibility for and to arrange to collect prior to going on placement. Other placements may require students to wear safety boots – if students do not own any, please come to see Mrs Cracknell as we have a supply of work boots in school to borrow.
13. Students go on placement
14. Students return to school after placement and are asked to complete a work experience evaluation.

Prior to placement - support

Parents play an important part in Work Experience. The areas you may be able to help in are:

• Talk to your child about subjects they like and dislike and why they prefer certain subjects over others
• Talk to your child about the skills they are good at and skills they would like to improve – how can these skills be used within a work setting?
• Explore the Derbyshire Work Experience webpage to generate job ideas and explore different career options
• Encourage your child to speak to their form tutor or the Personal Development team (Mrs Cracknell, Mrs Beeden or Mr Green) regarding work experience. We also have a careers adviser at school. Students can book an appointment with the careers advisor at Main reception.
• Pass on any contacts who could help your child
• Talk to your child about the benefits of work experience and the opportunities it could lead to
• Encourage them to start their search for a placement early and check in regularly with your child to see how they are getting on securing a placement.
• Remind your child of deadlines set – Students must have a placement confirmed before this deadline. This deadline is non-negotiable and is in place to ensure all Vetting, H&S checks have been undertaken prior to the placement.
• Support them to arrange their own work experience to develop independence
• Rehearse telephone calls they may need to make to an employer
• Proofread emails they send to employers
• Think about the location of placement and how they will get there

During the placement - support

As a parent or guardian, you will want to make sure that your son or daughter will get the most out of their work experience. The following tips will help you to support them:

• Make sure they arrive on time
• As work days are longer than school days, make sure they have a good night’s sleep
• Talk to your child on a daily basis about their experiences
• Remind your child to complete their work experience log booklet daily
• Contact the school immediately if you feel your child is having problems during the work placements
• If your child isn't enjoying their placement, help them to stay positive by focusing on the new skills they are developing

After the placement - support

Once the placement has finished, it’s important for your child to think about what they have learned. You can:

• Discuss what they learned from the experience
• Discuss if the choice of career chosen for work experience has had an impact on their future career aspirations – do they still want to go into that particular career sector or has the work experience influenced them to change their mind and explore a different career moving forward?
• Encourage them to write and thank the work experience provider either by letter or email.

Here are some hints and tips on how to have a successful phone call:

• Be polite and cheerful
• Speak clearly and not too fast so you’re easily understood
• Make some notes before the call about what you want to talk about so you don’t forget anything
• While you’re on the phone, make a note of anything important that you’d need to remember
• Even if you don’t feel very confident, try and sound like you do! Take a deep breath before you call, and give yourself time to think when asked a question.
• If a manager isn’t available at the time, ask if you can leave your phone number or email address for them to get back in touch with you. 
• If the employer is unable to offer you a placement, try not to be disheartened

Example of a telephone conversation:

Employer: Hello

Student: Hello, my name is Kelly Kapowski from Netherthorpe School and I’m looking for a work experience placement. Could I speak to Mr Belding please?

Employer: Yes, I’ll just get him for you.

Hello, I’m Mr Belding.

Student: Hello Mr Belding, my name is Kelly and I’m a Year 10 student looking for a work experience placement for 4^th-8^th July 2022 at your restaurant.

Employer: We can certainly help with that. What makes you want to work here?

Student: I have always been interested in hospitality and providing good customer service, so I feel a career working in a restaurant would be perfect. I just need some experience to get me going!

Employer: Ok, great. Could you come for an interview tomorrow, after school?

Student: Yes, that would be perfect thank you, I can be there at 4pm?

Employer: See you then, bye!

Student: Thank you, I look forward to meeting you tomorrow, bye!

Here are some hints and tips on how to write a successful email:

If you require further support and guidance please contact the following members of staff via the School Office; or alternatively via the email addresses below:

Work Experience Co-ordinator – Mrs D Taylor (Deputy Head of Personal Development)

Email address: DTaylor@netherthorpe.derbyshire.sch.uk

Careers Lead – Mr N Green (Deputy Head of Personal Development)

Email address: NGreen2@netherthorpe.derbyshire.sch.uk

Director of Personal Development – Mrs R Cracknell

Email address: RWells@netherthorpe.derbyshire.sch.uk

Careers Adviser – Mrs Carmel Haughey – If you would like to book an appointment please contact main reception who will allocate you an appointment

Email address: careersbycarmel@gmail.com

• https://www.unifrog.org/

• https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk

• www.ucas.ac.uk

• https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

• http://www.apprenticeshipguide.co.uk/vacancies

• https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/apprenticeships/become-an-apprentice-in-chesterfield/

• Start – Careers Information for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (startprofile.com)

• https://m.appbuild.io/myfuture

• Apprenticeship resources for schools, teachers, parents (amazingapprenticeships.com)

• Netherthorpe School - Careers Support for Student (Student section of the school website)