St. Ivo School Work Experience

Work Experience 2012-2013 The Work Experience dates for Year 10 are the 1st to the 11th of July 2013. This is 9 days. The 10th day is a feedback day in school when students write summary statements of their experiences and send thanks to their employers. There will be a Work Experience evening for Parents/Carers at 6pm in the school Hall on Thursday 6th December 2012.

The preference sheet The first thing the students have done is to fill in a preference sheet. This listed the type of jobs available and asked Students choose what they would like to do for Work Experience in 1st, 2nd and 3rd preference order. For example, 1st-Own Placement, 2nd-Office work and 3rd-Working with animals. This gave the coordinator an idea of which areas are most in demand and who they can place where.

The Two Options There are two options for finding a work placement. One is to wait until a place is given from the school list by the Work Experience Coordinator, and the other, far more preferable option, is to find a Student’s Own Placement. Placements can be found by approaching local businesses or someone that the student knows who works in an area that interests them. Students must check first with the coordinator that the place they are interested in is not on the school list.

A School Placement These are sourced by the Coordinator for the school. There are roughly 80 available (so far) for a cohort of 298, so Own Placements are strongly recommended where possible. If an area is oversubscribed, students ‘apply’ for placements and are interviewed by the Careers Department and the places go to the most suitable candidates. Once a student is given, or has chosen from a selection, a placement letter will be sent to the company after 3 days telling them to expect a letter and CV from that particular student.

The Student’s Own Placement form This is the front of the pale blue Own Placement form. The parents fill in the top half and sign here. Above the signature is a disclaimer regarding payment for administration costs. This ONLY applies to placements in another county, if we have to pay an outside agency to run a Health and Safety Audit. All audits will, as far as possible, be done by qualified representatives of St Ivo.

CVs All students, without exception, will write a CV, even if they have a placement with someone they know. The CV is a constantly changing document which students will need when applying to colleges, Sixth Form or for employment. Writing of CVs starts in the Careers module in PSHE and is completed in tutor time." Templates for CVs are widely available and we have a school template that can be found in projects under Careers and Work Related Learning.

Employer letters If a student has been offered an Own Placement, they will write to the firm to thank them for the opportunity and to request a compulsory interview. Students who have been given School placements must write to the company as soon as possible to introduce themselves to the employer and request a compulsory interview.

The Four Way Agreement form The yellow 4 way agreement form is the student’s ‘passport’ to the placement. It must be completed by ALL students. Without this document signed by all parties and lodged with the coordinator, the student cannot attend the placement. The top front of the form is general information about student and school. The bottom of the form is a declaration of medical issues and is signed by the parent/s

The student then signs here. After signing, the student brings the form back to school for the coordinator to sign in this section. After all of the other sections are complete, the student should take this form to their interview when the employer should sign. The form is then returned to the Work Experience Coordinator.

Any questions? The school Work Experience coordinator is happy to answer any queries or problems you may have. Students can find her at lunchtimes in the Careers Office near K11. Email: dcarpenter@ativoschool.org Direct dial: 01480 375435 – if not answered, a message can be left.

With all of the paperwork correct and on time, St Ivo should have another happy and successful Work Experience this Year.