Year 10 Work Experience

In the summer term of Year 10 we invite all Year 10 students to find their own Work Experience Placement.

This year, Year 10 Work Experience Week will be from 17^th to 21^st June 2024.

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Why Work Experience?

Work Experience provides a first-hand experience of what the world of work is like.

Work experience will give you an opportunity to try something new, possibly in a career you might be interested in.  There will be no school lessons during the week of 17^th June as we expect all our students to be out of school and on placement.

Finding a work experience placement of your own is part of the experience!  We encourage your independence and maturity as you make contact with potential employers.

Through a work experience placement you will become more confident and make new memories!  You will develop your “employability skills” such as communication and problem solving.

Maybe your placement will be in a career that might interest you, maybe not, but whatever the placement, you will learn more about yourself and what sort of career you might be interested in.  You might make new contacts for future employment or training opportunities. You will leave with a reference which you can use to help you with college and job applications.

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More information about finding a work experience placement

You will have some support through your Self and Society lessons to help you with your applications skills these include writing a CV and a covering letter.  You can also ask your tutor, and English teacher to support you.

Your first step will be to brainstorm different ideas for placement opportunities.  We strongly encourage you to discuss this with your parent/carers as they might know some contacts. This Norfolk Work and Skills booklet is a good place to start as it can give you inspiration for the range of jobs available in Norfolk.

Norfolk Work and Skills Booklet

Once you have drawn up a short-list of about 3 different potential work experience employers, it is time to contact them and ask if they will take you.  Do this in order, starting with your first choice, and only moving on to try the others on the list if they say no.

For many students, making first contact can be a challenging step, but one you will be pleased you took.

Many employers will want you to ring them, or pop in and ask them Face-to-Face, this way they can see if you are the sort of person they’d be happy to have.  Don’t worry if you feel nervous, they will not mind if you are anxious, flustered or find it difficult to communicate!

Here’s how to make first contact:

1. Check their details. If they have a website, try to search and see if they have any information about work experience.  There might be a specific person to ring, or a form to fill in.  It might say on the website some dates when they will/won’t accept work experience.  If it doesn’t say anything about work experience, use the website to write down the contact details so you are prepared for the next step.
2. Plan the right time. Think about visiting or ringing when they won’t be too busy, and if you are ringing, when you have some quiet surroundings and maybe the support of a parent or carer, or tutor from school.
3. Plan what you are going to say. You are probably best to write down a short script so that you know can give all the information they need and won’t get flustered. 
4. Start by saying “hello” and then introduce yourself eg “my name is Claire Smith and I am a student at Stalham High School”
5. Then ask for the right person to speak to regarding work experience eg “Is there someone I could speak to about work experience, please?” You might be able to connect with that person right away, or they might ask you to ring or come back later.  If this happens, remember to write down the name of the person you need to speak to, and ask when would be a good time to call back.
6. When you have found the right person you need to explain the following things
   1. explain that you in Year 10 and are asking if they might take you for a week’s work experience
   2. give the dates: 17^th to 21^st June 2024
   3. say why you are interested in working with that employer
   4. finish by saying you are grateful for any help they can give you
7. What happens next will depend upon the employer but make sure you listen carefully.
   1. If they say they can’t help, just say “thank you” anyway
   2. If they say Yes, then you need to arrange for them to complete the forms. You will need to agree a time when you can leave the forms with them, and a time to pick them back up.
   3. They might ask you to ring back another time, speak to another person, or send in some information about yourself – we can help you at school with this.

Some employers might ask you to contact them by email.  If they do, you need to write a formal email from your school email account.  You will need to include the following:

1. Choose a suitable subject heading such as “work experience enquiry”
2. A formal greeting/the name of the company or your contact
3. Introduce yourself as a student at Stalham High School and explain that you in Year 10 and are asking if they might take you for a week’s work experience
4. give the dates: 17^th to 21^st June 2024
5. say why you are interested in working with that employer
6. finish by saying you are grateful for any help they can give you

Make sure you reply to all responses, and if you get no response, follow it up with another phone call or email.

• If they say no, reply and say thank you anyway
• If they say yes, explain that you will need to arrange for them to complete some forms, ask them how the best way will be to do that.

Remember:  Always be polite, even if they can’t accept you.  Don’t give up, keep trying!

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The videos below might help you, but remember to ask Mrs Davison if you need any extra support.