 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Workshadowing Overview: Click here for workshadowing arrangements for the summer
What is workshadowing and how does it differ from work experience? Click here to find out more.
Thinking about workshadowing, work-related learning and career steps? Click here for some questions that may help you.
1. Complete the workshadowing/future guidance form and give it or send it to your tutor
Your tutor is the first person who needs to know about your thoughts about your work and your future. Eventually, your tutor will need to write a reference for you, for work or university. The more your tutor understands about your thinking the more informed they will be and the more they will be able to help you.
Complete the form and use it as a basis for intial discussion with your tutor. If you are sure you don't want to do workshadowing, you won't need to do any more to arrange it. However, you should be able to demonstrate to your tutor what else you are doing to prepare you well for the next steps you will take after Guilsborough.
2. Think carefully about contacts you have or people you know outside school, who may be able to help you arrange a placement. Discuss your plans with your parents
The best placements are most often those that students have arranged themselves through exploring personal contacts. Such placements are often better environments where you may feel more confident to research and ask questions.
3. If you do not have any contacts in your area of interest, talk to your tutor to find out if any placements are available through contacts the school has with employers
It is possible that we may be able to help you with contacts in certain career areas. Talk to your tutor after you have completed your intial workshadowing form.
4. Think about when is the best time to do workshadowing
During the first week of Y13, no lessons will take place. This is the time the school has set aside for Y13s to undertake work-related research and learning. This is obviously a good time to do it. However, it may be more convenient for you to arrange a placement during the summer and to take the first week of September as holiday instead. Some people have no choice but to arrange a placement during the first part of the Autumn Term as this is the only time that is convenient for employers.
5. Obtain the necessary insurance/health and safety forms
You cannot do a workshadowing placement backed by the school, unless you get your placement to complete forms provided by Connexions, that give details about the company's or organisation's insurance details and health and safety policy. It is essential that these forms are returned to the school; they are then sent to Connexions who carry out checks to ensure that the arrangements are a satisfactory. It may be that your parents would be happy to take out private insurance to cover your placement; however, such arrangements cannot be supported as official placement by the school.
You can download a form here
You must arrange to get these forms back to the school by the end of June to allow Connexions time to carry out checks before you undertake the placement. Forms should be returned to your tutor and passed to Mr. Goode.
6. Find out what your placement expects of you
Those of you who have jobs outside school may already have realised that you are gaining skills that school cannot give. These skills cover areas like customer service, organisation, presentation and numeracy. These are just some of the skills you can gain in the workplace and they all contribute to your lifeskills, your CV and your employability. They can enable you to deal more effectively with challenges you meet in the future.
In Year 10, you did Work Experience. This enabled you to learn what it is like in a workplace. You may have undertaken work experience that was related to the kind of work you eventually want to do, although it is more likely that you were learning more generally what it is like to work 5 days a week.
In the Sixth Form, we want to encourage you to find out more about a career area you might eventually go into. The may involve carrying out some of the roles the career involves, or it may not. Work shadowing may help you to make a final decision to follow - or not to follow, a particular career pathway. It may also help you to become a lot clearer about the kind of higher education or further training you would need to enter that chosen career.
Workshadowing is not compulsory in the Sixth Form, however, we hope that everyone will take seriously the importance of finding out about possible career pathways and opportunities. Work shadowing can help in this respect. For some students, such as those considering physiotherapy, nursing, or medicine, it is essential.
So what is workshadowing? In workshadowing your are trying to find out as much as you can about a role in a career, rather than doing it yourself. It can vary in length from one day to a couple of weeks. It may be in one location, or more, depending on the king of experience you need.
EditR
on1