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Work Experience
At Herne Bay High, Work Experience is a key milestone in a student's journey and engagement with employers. A work placement is a student’s opportunity to spend a period of time outside the classroom, learning about a particular job or area of work and experience the workplace. Work experience can help a student decide on their options beyond school. Students will be able to develop and show evidence of vital transferrable skills such as self-confidence, communication, independence, and a variety of others, depending on what kind placement they have undertaken.
In Year 7-9 students will undertake one week's worth of work experience activities, which consist of varied meaningful employer led activities.
In Year 10 and in Year 12 students undertake a full week of In Person Work Experience and we encourage students to access a wider range of work places to enable students to understand how their skills are transferable to the workplace and to make the placement as meaningful as possible.
A meaningful placement should:
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Have a clear purpose
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Provide a young person with the opportunity to explore 'real' work in a workplace environment
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Underpin learning outcomes
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Have two way interactions
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Include opportunities to meet a range of people
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Include opportunities to perform tasks
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Include the employer providing feedback to the young person
In Year 10, we provide students with the opportunity to organise their own placement, undertake work shadow with an immediate family member or request that Education Business Partnership (External Company) locate them a placement. If students chose EBP to locate them a placement, the students provide sectors they would like to experience and EBP endeavour to meet this request. For self placement and work shadowing, students locate their own and information is documented and monitored using the Unifrog placement tool. All placements are undertaken in Term 6 and should provide students with a realistic idea of the workplace with a view to aiding their exploration of career opportunities and expanding their network.
In Year 12, the work experience placement is organised by the student allowing them the freedom and scope to apply for a more focus pathway relating to their potential onward destination Post 18. Students document all information using the placement tool in Unifrog. Additionally the Department for Work and Pensions run an employability course within school to aid students who have been unable to locate an in person placement.
Additional Support, All students who need additional support have further guidance through small group sessions from Education Business Partnership and are monitored by our SEND department to ensure their work experience meets their needs.
Student Reflection on skills gained: All students should keep a reflective journal throughout their Work Experience placement to allow then to learn from their experience, any skills developed can be logged on the student's Unifrog profile.
Guidance for employers: Employers should contact the school via wex@hernebayhigh.org if they wish to support a young person by providing Work Experience. Further information for employers can be found here: Young people at work - work experience - HSE
Benchmark 6: Experiences of workplacesEvery learner should have first-hand experiences of workplaces to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks. For schools:
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Equalex Framework - The Careers and Enterprise Company have developed a framework to support schools deliver work experience that has a clear purposes and opportunities to meet a variety of people, perform work relevant tasks, received feedback and have time to reflect on their experience.
What is Equalex?
- A framework of structured, progressive learning outcomes to raise the quality of work experience for learners
- A multi-year, multi-experience model supported by the curriculum and accessible to ALL learners
- A tiered approach providing a structure offering breadth and depth of workplace experiences
