We hope that the following will give you an insight into Work Shadowing, and answer any questions you may have.
When is Work Shadowing Day?
Work Shadowing for Year 8 students is taking place during REACH Week, on Monday 24th June 2024.
What is Work Shadowing?
Sometimes refered to as 'Take your child to work day', Work Shadowing Day is an opportunity for students to go to work with a parent/carer, other relative or family friend for the day and get a real-life insight in to the world of work. The job students work shadow can be anything from window cleaning to accountancy, broadcasting on a radio station to flying, to a law meeting at the other end of the country, training with a fire crew to a day with a vet. Your child needs to experience a real business schedule and get to grips with some genuine tasks – icing cakes, filing, weeding, sending emails, planning a meeting … whatever is in a normal day’s work!
Why work shadow?
Students will be able to get hands-on experience of the world of work away from the classroom environment. Work shadowing encourages pupils to appreciate the distance people have to travel to work, the relationships formed in a business environment, the variety of skills that a job requires and how technology is applied.
What if I do not work or cannot take my child to work with me?
The project is flexible, so you can nominate a family member or friend who is able to take your child to work with them. If your child has a real desire to experience a specific profession and has access to someone who works in that field, this flexibility can provide them with an opportunity to twist a few arms and do some sweet-talking to get what they want!
Is it safe for me to take my child to work?
Every employer involved in the work shadowing project will be required to complete an Employer Insurance Checklist and sign a declaration. Children will be classed as visitors on their Work Shadowing Day, so if your place of work accepts visitors their current insurance policy should provide the relevant cover. Personal insurance for children can, of course, be obtained privately if you wish.
What do I need to do now?
Have a chat with your employer about Work Shadowing and seek approval to take your child to work with you for the day. Encourage your child to see the educational benefits that this experience will give both now and in preparing them for life beyond the classroom.
There is one form to complete which will allow you to provide the necessary information about your child's placement and to give your consent. You can complete this form by clicking here. The deadline for returning all completed forms to school is Friday 14th June 2024.
How can I prepare for the day and what tasks can the students do?
The key to work shadowing success is in the preparation. The idea is for the students to work shadow their parent/carer and get to grips with tasks that crop up in a regular business day. Understandably there may be some elements of a job that children are not able to undertake, for example handling sensitive information or machinery, but generally there will be tasks that they can do.
The onus is on parents/guardians to plan the contents of the day and identify which elements of their job will be useful for their child to experience. This might be writing a simple letter or email, planting some vegetables, sending a fax or even icing a cake – the day can be flexible to fit in with the nature of your business.
Please make sure you give your child a taster of as many aspects of your job as possible by dividing the day into small, manageable chunks. There is plenty of time to prepare a programme for the day and discuss the tasks that you will be working on with your child in advance. It might be useful to have a colleague on standby in case something unexpected disrupts the day. Remind your child that a working day is longer than a school day – which may come as a bit of a shock to many of them! Above all, the day should be interesting, hands-on and fun!
Handy hints and tips for the day:
- Try to stick to the programme – that way everyone knows where they are
- Take your child on a tour of your place of work and introduce them to some of your colleagues – children are usually very curious about where their parents/guardians disappear to each day!
- Encourage your child to ask questions
- Above all, try and make the day interesting, hands-on and fun!