Work Experience at Allestree Woodlands School

At Allestree Woodlands we know that a quality work experience programme can help to build the resilience and behaviours that young people need to succeed in the world of work, whilst instilling confidence and ambition.

Year 10 students have the opportunity to arrange a quality work experience placement between Monday 11th – Friday15th May 2026.

The aim of this page is to give you the information required to support your child through all aspects of Work Experience.

We are here to help, however the Work Experience programme works best with both support for our students at school and at home. If you are ever unsure or need extra support or clarification relating to work experience, please contact your child’s form tutor in the first instance.

Other key staff are below:
Miss C. McEntee (Careers Co-ordinator), Miss H. Smith (Head of Year 10) and Mrs M. Riaz (Careers Administrator)

Events and Key Dates

November 2025: CV Workshops to prepare for applications

October 2025: Work Experience Launch

February 2026: Deadline for all placement confirmations and paperwork

Monday 11th May – Friday 15th May 2026: Work Experience week

How families can help

It is an exciting time when your child enters the world of work via work experience. There are several steps you can take to assist with this:

Assist your child in researching and applying for placements,
Help your child understand the employer’s goodwill in offering the placement,
Encourage your child to have realistic expectations about the type of work they will be undertaking,
Encourage your child to meet the placement deadline by completing forms,
Help your child organise safe travel to and from work,
Discuss your child’s work experience placement and help with any potential or perceived difficulties,
Notify AWS immediately if your child is absent from work or is having difficulties with the placement,
Talk to your child about work and potential careers. Encourage them to consider as many options as possible.

Your continued support is appreciated in helping to make Work Experience a valuable experience for all students.

Placement flexibilty

If a student wishes to split their 5 days placement between two employers (e.g. 2 days followed by 3 days) this would be suitable so long as the organisations involved are also in full agreement.

In fact, in previous years we have found that professions like law, health etc. are more inclined to accept a student for a couple of days instead of the full working week, e.g. work shadowing.

Placement vetting

When organising Year 10 work experience, we need to ensure that the chosen placement is going to be within a safe environment and there are risk management arrangements in place.

Each student will be expected to gain key information from the employer and fill in the relevant forms on UniFrog. The school will then take reasonable steps to confirm the placement provider’s Employers’ Liability Insurance. You will be asked to sign an electronic agreement before the placement begins.

Getting in touch

The Work Experience programme works best with support for our students at school and at home.

If you are ever unsure or need extra support or clarification relating to work experience, please do not hesitate to contact us:

The key contacts for work experience are:
Your Child’s Form Tutor
Miss C. McEntee (Careers Co-ordinator),
Mrs H. Smith (Head of Year 10)

Any enquiries please email: workexperience@woodlands.ttct.co.uk

Principles of Work Experience

Professional learning: That work experience can afford the opportunity to develop skills essential for the work place (communication relating to others, enterprise, thinking skills, emotional intelligence and achieving personal goals, taking responsibility for self-development).

Learning about work: That work has a profound impact on your quality of life; that different organisations have different value systems and priorities; the aptitudes and further training needed for career progression; the reality of working in specific fields.

Raising Aspirations: Work based learning can motivate and inspire young people to achieve, to broaden horizons and to think differently.

Choosing a Placement

Although it is great when a student knows what kind of career they would like to pursue, the real value of work experience is not always in the specific tasks that are done, but in the learning to become more self-reliant and coping in an adult environment. At AWS students are encouraged to find their own placement taking into account their own interests and aspirations.

While we appreciate that finding a placement can be difficult, we encourage students to seek placements that take them out of their comfort zone rather than:

Immediately asking their old primary school
Attending their existing part-time work outside school
Working directly with family members or friends

Additional points to consider include:

Will the workplace be easily accessible and how will they travel to and from the placement (public transport, walk, cycle or car)?
Will this be an interesting and enjoyable placement, or is it an easy option that could lead to boredom and a counter-productive learning experience?

What Woodlands and Employers expect of students

1. Behave as an employee while on placement, conforming to all the workplace rules and instructions from their supervisor.

2. Complete their work experience log book during their placement.

3. Understand that all equipment, use of telephones, internet, photocopying etc. are for work purposes only.

4. Find their own placement, wherever possible.

5. Complete Form and return them to Careers before end of February

6. Remember while on work experience they are representing AWS, therefore core values should apply at all times.

7. Understand that the placement may involve confidential and sensitive information which must be kept private.

8. Wear appropriate footwear, protective clothing, and uniform as requested by the employer.

9. Seek feedback from the employer at the end of the placement and thank them.