Work Experience and what it means for your Child

You might remember your own first steps into the world of work—perhaps during a school-organised work experience placement. Whether it sparked a lifelong career interest or helped you realise what you didn’t want to do, it likely left a lasting impression.

Now, as your child gets ready for their own work experience, it’s natural to feel a little unsure. Things may look different from when you did it, and you might feel pressure to help them make the most of the opportunity. But try not to worry—this stage is all about giving your child a glimpse into working life. It’s a chance for them to explore, learn, and start building their own memories, just like you once did.

At TRS we take work experience very seriously as we know the benefits it can bring to our pupils.  There are of course statutory requirements which TRS meets but our in house Bulunga Café and our Beyond the Classroom programme takes us above and beyond that.  Building resilience and self-belief is fundamental to what TRS wants to achieve for all its pupils and work experience is part of that journey as it develops:

  1. Improved self esteem
  2. Ability to communicate with adults
  3. Improved timekeeping
  4. Additional practical work skills
  5. Team Working
  6. Problem Solving Skills
  7. Time management and organisation
  8. Clarifies job roles within industry
  9. Broadens horizons in relation to career routes and job roles available

As a first introduction to the world of work, all pupils must complete a full week working in our Bulunga Café, which is open to the public.  We find that being at the school, working alongside another pupil and still seeing friends lunchtime is an excellent way of easing pupils into work experience.  It lets them have that first taste of dealing with the public and taking responsibility for tasks in a safe, supportive environment.

This is followed by Years 7 to 9 every term, all pupils will go out on one work place visit across a range of different businesses and, for their whole time with us take part in our Beyond the Classroom Programme.  During terms 1, 2, 3 and 4 one afternoon a week pupils will attend a session in school with a local entrepreneur, learning about their business and making a product to market.  They will learn enterprise skills and the lessons of starting up your own business so that they can understand what is required if you want to do your own thing, either as a business or as something alongside other work or study.

Finally in Year 10 pupils will go out on a full week of work experience in the last week before the Easter school holiday. We are grateful if parents can help find a placement for their child, especially if they have a particular job they want to try out or if there are family contacts that would be happy to support them with a placement.  TRS does have some community links which will provide some places but we are very appreciative of any help that can be given.

We use the Unifrog system to support the documents and consents required to approve a work experience placement and this is explained more on the Pupil and Employer Work Experience webpages.

 

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