Work Experience Service

Service Code: S105_sesp
GL Code: 32370
Cost:

Work experience supports young people to make career decisions, develop employability skills and support successful transition into FE, HE, apprenticeships and the workplace.

Research shows that work experience influences admissions to the Russell Group universities, and this trend is increasingly shared by other HE institutions. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) states that 70% of employers want to see the development of workplace skills among young people at school and college made a top priority, and that it is ‘hard to overstate the potential importance’ of work experience for young people’s future employability.

Key Benefits

Access to an online database of employers across Sussex
Health and safety assessments undertaken on all work placements
Ongoing support for work experience coordinators, including training and access to guidance and paperwork online
Support to meet statutory responsibilities to keep young people safe on work experience, including management, investigation and collation of data for all reported accidents and incidents that occur during a work placement
Further consultancy support for young people with additional needs, employability provision and work experience preparation and debrief.

Testimonials

The response and support from the Work Experience Team is second to none, totally outstanding.

Bishop Bell and Causeway Schools

Service Details

We offer three levels of support:

SI05-1 Work Experience: Health and Safety Assessment and Support

Access to an online database of employers across Sussex
Work placement health and safety assessments undertaken on behalf of the school
Ongoing support for work experience coordinators, including database training, three meetings per year and access to guidance and paperwork online
Management, investigation and collation of data for all reported accidents and incidents that occur during a work placement.

SI05-2 Work Experience: Matched Placement Service

Everything included in the SI05-1 service above, plus:

Students choose placements through the online database of employers
The Work Experience team calls employers and matches students to placements on behalf of the school
The team confirms the placement with the school and employer.

SI05-3 Work Experience: Bespoke Matched Placement Service for learners with complex needs

The bespoke placement matching service is for learners with more complex needs, and ensures that they are placed in safe and appropriate work placements. Support is provided for both the learner and the employer. The service includes all of the above plus:

The Work Experience team will meet with the learner to discuss vocational interests and what to expect from work experience
The student will be matched to an appropriate employer. The team will work with the employer to ensure that they are properly prepared to support the student on placement and undertake a risk assessment that takes into account the young person’s additional needs
The team member will meet with the student and prepare them for the placement and provide a work experience diary to capture learning.

Consultancy support:

We can provide additional support for your staff or learners. This includes:

Training on delivering a high quality work experience programme to support learning and careers education.
A work experience preparation session for learners, including understanding the benefits of work experience, choosing a placement, employer expectations and health and safety in the workplace.
A work experience debriefing session for learners, including feeding back experiences from work placements, what was learned, applying employability skills and career planning.
A ‘health check’ for your work experience scheme to ensure that your programme is effective and meets health and safety legislation and quality standards.
Training for your work experience coordinator including the opportunity to shadow an Employer Liaison Officer on workplace visits.
Work placements for staff members to gain experience in specific vocational areas.

Pricing

Schools can choose to subscribe to the Work Experience Service and benefit from reduced rates, or pay the rates for non-subscribing schools.

Subscription to the service is £260*

The price of the service includes:

1. Free placements:

10 free SI05-1 placements
or 3 free SI05-2 matched placements
or 1 free SI05-3 bespoke matched placements

2. Reduced rates per additional student per placement (see table below)

Rates for Subscribing schools*

SI05-1 Work Experience: Health and Safety Assessment and Support	£12 per student per placement
SI05-2 Work Experience: Matched Placement Service	£42 per student per placement
SI05-3 Work Experience: Bespoke Matched Placement Service for learners with complex needs	£75 per student per placement
Consultancy support, half day (up to 4 hours includes prep, travel and event)	£35
Consultancy support, full day (up to 7.5 hours includes prep, travel and event)	£70

Rates for non-subscribing schools*

SI05-1 Work Experience: Health and Safety Assessment and Support	£21 per student per placement
SI05-2 Work Experience: Matched Placement Service	£55 per student per placement
SI05-3 Work Experience: Bespoke Matched Placement Service for learners with complex needs	£95 per student per placement
Consultancy support, half day (up to 4 hours includes prep, travel and event)	£35
Consultancy support, full day (up to 7.5 hours includes prep, travel and event)	£70

Funded Support

The Work Experience Service will manage, investigate and collate data for all reported accidents and incidents that occur during work placements.

Getting The Most From Your Service

What Your School Needs To Do

When offering work experience to students, you must do the following:

comply with health and safety legislation
demonstrate that they meet the standards set out in the County Council policy on work experience and follow any guidance issued – Policy on Work Experience (Adobe PDF, 79KB) (Adobe PDF, 79KB)
prepare policies detailing the arrangements to manage health and safety
work with learners to identify potential placements
provide relevant information to the work experience organiser and employer regarding any health or special educational needs issues that could affect young people’s safety on a placement
ensure students are well prepared for their placement, including their health and safety responsibilities and any risks they might encounter in the workplace
visit and monitor students who are on work placements
ensure students are de-briefed after placements.

For more information please read the following guidance:

Policy on work experience (Adobe PDF, 79KB) (Adobe PDF, 79KB)
Work Experience Handbook

All aspects of the SI05 Work Experience Service comply with the requirements set out in the County Council Policy on Work Experience. This includes the responsibilities set out for Placement Organisers in Paragraph 3.3.

If an East Sussex school buys a work experience support package from any other provider, they must ensure that the provider meets the standards set out in the County Council policy on Work Experience and that they can provide evidence of this. Not all providers deliver the same level of service, so we advise you to check before entering into any contractual agreements.

Quality Assurance

Terms & Conditions

Support

Name: Work Experience Team
Email: workexperience@ eastsussex.gov.uk
Phone: 01323 466860