WORK EXPERIENCE. RGS Careers & Higher Education

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1 WORK EXPERIENCE RGS Careers & Higher Education KEY PERSONNEL: For all queries about work experience administration in the first instance: Work Experience Administration: Mrs Judith Pringle Mrs Lois Wright For more general queries about work experience: Teacher in charge of work experience: Careers Coordinator: Mrs Carolin Towns Teacher in charge of medical and dental work experience: Medicine/Dentistry Experience: Ms Brooke Milburn 1

2 Why do work experience? A work placement can be very valuable in a variety of ways, including: To find out more about working in a particular profession. To see if you like it or not. To gain some experience of the workplace environment. To build the evidence of commitment and insight necessary for successful application to some university and other courses. What RGS does to help: RGS does not operate any compulsory work experience programme like some schools, so you should not end up on an inappropriate placement, awkwardly twiddling your thumbs in the corner whilst waiting for someone to ask you to photocopy a document or get the coffees from the machine. We do aim to support you in gaining a placement of your choice if you would like one. We (and universities and employers) like you to use your initiative in finding a placement and then we help ensure it is safe and appropriate for you. Work experience and the Law: Please read this bit In England and Wales, the Law makes schools responsible for students on work placements, even in school holidays and at weekends and even if the placement is at a parent s, relative s or family friend s workplace. For this reason, we have to follow a proscribed procedure, designed in conjunction with our legal advisers and insurers, which is laid out on pages 4 and 5. Teachers, parents, employers and students might well find this a nuisance but RGS has to comply or we would be in serious trouble. We have to set strict deadlines (please see back page) by which you must apply for a placement, so that we can carry out the necessary health, safety, insurance and safeguarding checks with the employer, secure their agreement and confirm the arrangements with you and them. If you cannot meet our deadline, please arrange your placement for the next one. It is not possible for admin. staff to handle applications after a deadline. So, are we telling you what to do when you re not even in school? We are taking reasonable steps to make you aware of the procedures and the legal duties of care placed upon us, just in case you choose not to go along with them and then something goes wrong 2

3 Who can apply for a work placement? Any student at RGS, if you will be 16 or over on the day you begin the placement. In very rare circumstances, we might not be able to support an application if we were concerned that your health or some other personal aspect might make the placement inappropriate for you, the employer or even the school. When can you do a work placement? In any school holiday period. We do not normally support placements in term-time because of the teaching you would miss, although certain exceptions will be made if a rare opportunity makes this unavoidable. Please discuss any such case with your Head of Year. How long should it be? As long as the proverbial piece of string? It depends on its purpose. Usually, a Monday to Friday working week will be fine (if you are even offered that long) to gain an insight and some experience. It is quality, not quantity, that counts and the key is to be able to reflect upon what you have learned from it. For some university courses, there might be minimum requirements. Most stringent is probably for Veterinary Science, where a minimum of six different types of animal experience in different environments is stipulated by some universities. For Medicine, it is desirable to try to find a NHS hospital placement (two or three days will do), a GP placement and a longer term (perhaps weekly or fortnightly) weekend voluntary service commitment. More of this on page 5. 3

4 THE PROCEDURE TO ARRANGE WORK EXPERIENCE Work placements may only be arranged for students aged 16 or over. Work placements may only be arranged for school holiday periods, including post- GCSE exam leave, so as not to disrupt vital teaching. The procedure below is to be completed before the deadline published via and school noticeboards each half term for the subsequent holiday period, otherwise the placement cannot be ratified. 1. The student is asked to discuss a possible placement with Mrs Towns (for general work experience advice) or Ms Milburn (for Medicine or Dentistry only), and then take the initiative to agree a placement and dates with an employer. We have a limited number of contacts we can suggest for students who have not been able to find a suitable employer but very few are willing to be on any kind of providers list. 2. The student should then collect a WS2 form in person from Mrs J Pringle or Mrs L Wright via Reception. 3. The fully completed WS2 form should be returned in person to Mrs Pringle or Mrs Wright before the deadline published for the holiday period in which the placement is to take place. You will hear in due course whether RGS is able to sanction the agreed placement. If the employer agrees the placement but is unable to confirm dates in time, please speak to Mrs Pringle or Mrs Wright before the deadline date, so we can try to help. WHY WE ASK THAT YOU FOLLOW THIS PROCEDURE All schools, including the RGS, have a duty of care towards their students and, by law, must be satisfied that a placement complies with health, safety, insurance and safeguarding legislation. This continues to apply during school holiday periods. Experience shows that placement providers often take several weeks to complete the documentation, hence the need for deadlines at least four weeks prior to the holiday in which the placement is to take place. We cannot stop you arranging a placement outwith the school s procedure (although several employers will not sanction a placement unless you follow the school s procedure). If you do so, we cannot discharge our legal duty of care towards your son or daughter and we would have to demonstrate that we had taken reasonable steps to inform you of the legal position. This letter forms part of that demonstration. Please note: we have been advised that we cannot sanction work experience outside the UK because we are not able to carry out the required checks in relation to foreign laws. 4

5 IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MEDICAL WORK EXPERIENCE NEWCASTLE NHS TRUST hospital placements for intending applicants to medicine: Since 2008, it has NOT been possible to arrange individual hospital placements in Newcastle NHS Trust hospitals EITHER through members of the medical profession OR by contacting the hospitals directly. There is a 2-day hospital placement within the Newcastle NHS Trust in June/July for Lower 6 th students only and this is arranged through RGS. Regrettably, numbers are limited by the NHS, so a place cannot be guaranteed. The deadline for application for this placement week is announced in the Lower 6 th year (date published on the intranet and electronic screens). The NHS then selects the students based upon the merits of their application. NHS Trusts outside Newcastle Given the difficulty of securing a place and the short duration offered in Newcastle, we strongly recommend students try to find a placement in a different NHS Trust area outside Newcastle, using our normal work experience procedure to complete the application. Most NHS Trusts are largely falling into line with NHS policies NOT to allow placements to be arranged through consultants or other members of the medical profession, no matter how eminent. Work experience has to be sought by application through those NHS Trust websites. Please note NHS deadlines. Some are as early as December of the Lower 6 th year. In summary: For Newcastle NHS Trust hospitals, apply only through RGS in the Lower 6 th. For all NHS Trust hospitals outside Newcastle, apply only through NHS Trust websites. Newcastle Dental Hospital: At present, Newcastle Dental Hospital accepts direct applications through its website. IMPORTANT: PLEASE do not try to circumvent the NHS policies and procedures For arranging work placements. Any individually arranged placements may be cancelled by the Trusts and will result in a complaint against RGS. 5

6 What do I need to know before I go? Preparation: Make sure you know: 1. Where you have to go. 2. What time you have to arrive. 3. Whom you are to meet. 4. Any specific dress requirements. 5. Any specific security requirements (Photo ID; DBS check etc.). Professionalism: A workplace is not school. It is unlikely to be the liberal, lenient environment you are used to, where you are at the centre of things. There will be guidelines, rules and regulations with which you must comply, just like the other people who work there. Some of these will be for safety; some will be to ensure professional conduct within the organisation. Please be mindful of expectations. 1. Punctuality is paramount. It is not acceptable to be even slightly late. If something beyond your control delays you, make sure you have a contact number to phone before the time you were due to arrive. 2. Dress professionally for the placement. Some placements may require you to wear PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) like safety boots, hard hat and high-vis vest. Usually these are supplied. Some may require you to have no loose items of clothing (ties, scarves, loose cuffs). Long hair might have to be tied back (for safety or hygiene reasons). For most office-based placements, smart suits are in order for everyone. This is especially so in a customer or client-orientated environment. Top collar buttons need to be fastened, ties done up, shoes clean etc. (You d be surprised). Skirt lengths need to be respectable. (This has been a source of employer complaint). Patronising? No just making sure you are accepted, not embarrassed and receive positive feedback. 3. Have polite manners, be alert and show interest in what is happening. Maintain a positive, enthusiastic attitude. Stand to shake hands. Make good eye contact. Do not be consulting or playing on your phone in work time. (Another source of employer complaint). Proliferation of profanity (bad language!) on television and social media does not make it acceptable in the professional environment. May be easy to slip up but it is not tolerated. You might be dismissed immediately from some organisations. 6

7 What If Things Are Not Right? If you have any concerns or problems, please speak with the person who is supervising you on the placement in the first instance. Most issues can be easily resolved. Don t just leave and not return if it is not what you expected. If something is wrong on your placement but you cannot resolve it, please speak to Mrs Towns or Ms Milburn (see front cover for details). So long as the placement was arranged through RGS, we can try to help. Feedback for future references: If you have arranged your placement in accordance with RGS procedure, we will ask the employer to complete a feedback form. This is superb for references written for UCAS, Higher Apprenticeships, part-time jobs, voluntary placements etc. How much more authentic to have the recommendation of a professional in the field than just a kindly teacher saying what a good engineer you might be one day? ENJOY YOUR PLACEMENT! Despite all the bureaucracy and the dos and don ts, the main aim is to enjoy the experience and get a lot out of it. It is a good idea to keep a daily diary to help you reflect upon what you have learned and experienced; it will be invaluable for your applications. Make the most of it! Photos: MGD 7

8 RGS Careers & Higher Education Work Experience Deadlines These are necessary because RGS is responsible in law for a student on placement, even during school holidays and even if the placement is arranged through family and friends. Employers are sent documentation for completion and this often takes several weeks to be processed by them Work Placement Period Deadline for Return of WS2 Form October Half Term Holiday Thursday 21 September 2017 Christmas Holiday Thursday 16 November 2017 February Half Term Holiday Thursday 11 January 2018 Easter or Spring Holiday Wednesday 28 February 2018 May Half Term Holiday Friday 27 April 2018 Summer Holiday Friday 25 May 2018 Reminder: WS2 Forms are collected in person from Mrs J Pringle or Mrs L Wright in the Main Office and must be completed and returned to them before the relevant deadline published above. Students missing this deadline will not be able to arrange their work placement until the next available holiday period. We regret there can be no exceptions. If an employer has agreed the placement but is unable to supply exact dates before the WS2 form is due in, the student should ask to speak to Mrs Pringle or Mrs Wright before the WS2 deadline. Please make enquiries about work experience administration to: Work.Experience@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk Mike Downie Head of Careers & Higher Education m.downie@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk 8