All Year 10 students at Trumpington Community College will participate in unpaid work experience from Monday 24th until Friday 28th June. During this week, there will be no Year 10 lessons and students must attend their placement each day.
You can view the letter to parents/carers launching work experience by clicking here.
You can download the slides from the Year 10 Work Experience Launch Assembly by clicking here.
Why do we do work experience?
We believe that work experience will give students an authentic experience of working life, and create a space for them to think about what they would, or would not, like to do in the future. A work experience placement will also provide students with the opportunity to develop core skills, through working with other people, meeting different expectations, and solving problems, including planning transport to and from work.
For Students, Parents and Carers
How do you find a placement?
The starting point is to think about what the student wants to do in the future, if they have ideas about this already. If they do not have specific ideas about careers, what are their interests? For example, a student who is interested in cooking or baking, may want to approach local employers such as bakeries and hotels. It may be that you have a family friend or relation who works in an appropriate workplace. Approach them and ask whether they would be willing to offer the student a placement during our work experience week.
This guide from Unifrog provides information about how to find a placement and how to be successful on it.
A model letter to employers requesting a placement can be downloaded here.
How do you register your placement?
We are using an online platform called Unifrog to manage the administration of the work experience programme: collecting information from employers, as well as securing consent from parents and carers to allow the placement to go ahead. We will introduce students to this platform in the week beginning 15th January, so that they know how to add details about the placement that they have organised. In order to register their placement on the platform, students will need to have:
- the name of the business/organisation;
- the employer placement lead's name and their email address.
Completing this form will trigger an email to the placement lead, who will be asked to provide information about the business/organisation, the placement, health and safety, liability insurance, and safeguarding.
You will find a guide to using the Placements Tool by clicking here.
For Employers
Why should employers offer our students a placement?
We believe that high-quality work experience should be a universal right for every young person, regardless of their circumstances. Research shows that access to work experience is neither universal, nor fair. Our student body is socioeconomically diverse, with almost forty percent of our students receiving free school meals. A high-quality work experience placement could be positively life-changing for many of our students.
What is the commitment for an employer offering a work experience placement?
The commitment for an employer offering a work experience placement would be:
- Sharing some key information with us regarding the placement and your workplace via our online Unifrog platform - you will receive an email from Unifrog, when a student has added your details to their profile;
- Having an initial telephone call or face-to-face visit with our student, so that you can share expectations with them, and so that they can ask questions about the placement;
- Allowing the student to attend your workplace for normal working hours in the week beginning 24th June 2024, and allowing them to observe colleagues at work, and also to take on some appropriate responsibilities and tasks within the workplace;
- Providing the student with a main contact for the week, who will support and supervise them;
- Completing a brief evaluation of the student at the end of the week, so that they can understand their strengths and areas for development.
You can find a guide to running a successful placement by clicking here.
Where can I find out more about the legal elements of offering a work experience placement?
You can access a brief guide on the legal elements of offering a work experience placement by clicking here. You can also find a placement induction checklist by clicking here.