Year 10 Wellbeing
Spring 1
Unit 2
Work Experience
Quickfire Questions for Registration
1. When do you start work experience?
2. What do you do if you’re sick?
3. What do you do if you’re not sure of something in
your workplace?
4. How long will it take you to get to your work
placement?
5. What form of transport will you use to get to work?
6. What are the hours that you will be working?
7. What is the school telephone number?
8. What will you do if you are going to be late to work?
L1 – Teacher Guidance
You can do the first two lesson in any order. For one of them it will be necessary to have access to computers so this may
determine when you do that lesson.
This lesson is focused on getting students to think about their expectations of WEX and what they would do in certain
situations. It is also about helping them to ensure that they are fully prepared for starting WEX and reminds them of some of
the things they may need to think about. You may want to allow them to use their phones (if they have a smart phone) for
looking up train times and journey routes. Students can help each other to do this so it shouldn’t matter if they don’t each
have a phone. Make sure that sufficient time is given to looking at the scenarios as these will help students to succeed on
WEX.
Resources: projector, ipods/ipads/student phones, scenarios (print out of slides 16-22)
Starter (10mins) – test your attitude. Go through each of the three scenarios on the slide (with thanks to Enfield Work
Experience) and have students decide what they would do in each situation.
Part 2 (10mins) – At the end of the three questions discuss the importance of having a good attitude for WEX and how they
can make sure they have one! Ask students for their ideas on what a good attitude is. You could get them to model good and
bad attitudes. Go through the slide on what a good attitude is. Then ask them to discuss or write down 5 things that they
could do on WEX to show they have a good attitude. Get feedback and then show slide 12 with a range of examples.
Part 3 (15mins) – basic preparation. For each of the questions on the slide students should discuss with each other or write
down their ideas. Tell students that if they don’t know the answers to the questions then now is the time to find out! They
can discuss with each other or plan a route to work on their phone etc. The teacher can then get some feedback from
different students. Choose a range of students including those who you don’t think will be prepared (to force them to
consider these things) and those who could provide a good model to the rest of the class.
Part 4 (15mins) – scenarios. Students are put into 6 or 7 groups and each group is given a different scenario. Groups discuss
the best way to respond and feedback to the rest of the class. Teacher ensures that everyone understands the best way to
respond.
Plenary (10mins) – students write 3-5 questions that they could ask their employer at their work placement or 3-5 things that
they need to do before the work placement starts.
Preparing for Work Experience
Learning Objectives:
• To consider the importance of approaching
WEX with a positive attitude
• To prepare for starting your work placement
• To feel confident and prepared
• To consider the best way to react to different
things that may come up on WEX
Test your attitude - how would you
react to these three situations?
1.It's the day before you start your work experience. Which of these
two statements comes closest to how you might be feeling?
a)
I'm a bit nervous but I'm really looking forward to starting my
work experience. It will take me a day or two to get used to things
but I'll soon make new friends and I'll be learning lots of new
skills. I must make sure that I look my best so that I make a good
first impression. I'll be okay.
b)
I don't want to go on work experience. It will be boring. I'd rather
stay home and watch the telly. I bet they're all a load of idiots
anyway. They won't like me! They'll just boss me about and expect
me to do stupid things. See if I care.
Question 1
a) Good. This is a positive attitude. You'll be
fine.
b) Oh dear - this is a bit negative - try not to
talk yourself into failing before you start!
2. It's your first morning on work experience and you
have been asked to make tea for the boss and three
colleagues. How would you deal with it?
a) Say "Get lost" and walk off in a huff.
b) Say "Make your own tea" and carry on with what you
were doing.
c) Say " Of course" and spend the next half an hour
aimlessly wondering where the cups are, where the tea
bags are, where the milk is etc., etc., then burst into tears
because you can't find the sugar.
d) Say, "Yes, okay" but ask someone to show you where
the things are and write down people's names with
information about how they take their drink.
Question 2
d) is best as you are taking charge of the situation. This
is a good attitude and people will respect you for it.
c) is probably more common than you think. Never be
afraid to ask questions or ask for help. How could you
possibly know where things are on your first day.
a) and b) are poor choices. If you want to be part of a
team at work, you have to give a little. It would be
better to say, "I'm a lousy tea maker but I'll have a go if
you show me what to do."
3. It is coming up to one o'clock on your first day
and no-one has mentioned your lunch break. Do
you:
a) Get up and walk out.
b) Sit there feeling upset and hungry.
c) Get out your packed lunch and start eating it.
d) Ask someone else about lunchtimes and
routines.
Question 3
• Again d) is best because you are taking
charge of the situation.
• a) is rude and may get you a reprimand.
• b) is not necessary - if you're not sure about
something, ask someone.
• c) is okay, especially if other people are
eating packed lunches - but it may be against
company policy to eat at work desks.
What is a Good Attitude?
• Given the choice of dealing with a positive, upbeat person with a
"can-do" attitude or dealing with a disgruntled, bored, uninterested
person, which would you choose?
• Most people prefer to be around people with a positive attitude. So
developing a good attitude can help you get more out of your work
experience, and can benefit you in all areas of life:
• It makes you feel better
• You can brighten other people's day
• People want to be around those who have a good attitude
• Employers want to employ people with a good attitude
• Customers prefer to deal with people with a good attitude
How can I show a good attitude in the workplace?
• Write a list of 5 things that you can do to show
that you have a good attitude
• How hard is it to come up with ideas?
• The following slide has some ideas for you…
How can I show a good attitude in the workplace?
• Be enthusiastic and willing. Think about how your work will benefit others
- this can help you to find job satisfaction even in menial tasks
• Think about lessons learned - even if something goes wrong, or the
placement isn't what you expected you can still learn something from the
experience.
• Focus on the positive aspects of your work experience - nice people, nice
workplace, easy journey to work, opportunity to learn etc.
• If you're bored, try not to show it. Most jobs have some aspects that aren't
as fun as others.
• Listen carefully to what you're being told and ask if you don't understand
something
• Some workplaces are quite formal while others are more relaxed, so use
how other people behave as a guide.
• Be friendly and smile! - smiling can actually make you happier
Getting Ready!
• Answer each of the following questions;
– Where are you going on WEX?
– What are you going to wear to WEX on the first
day?
– How are you going to get there? What route will
you take?
– How long is it going to take you?
– What questions will you ask your boss?
What would you do?
• You will be put into groups and each group
will be given a scenario.
• You should read through and then discuss the
best way of responding
• Try to keep in mind the idea of the positive
attitude…
• Each group will feedback to the class
Scenario 1
Tommy is working in a local solicitor’s office. It is
his fourth day and yet again he has found
himself sitting in the staff kitchen with nothing
to do. His supervisor appears to be uninterested
in Tommy’s placement, giving him nothing to do
and being quite dismissive when Tommy
approaches her for some work.
Scenario 2
Ben is working in a high street music store.
Although he is enjoying the work, he is finding
his colleagues unfriendly and there is one
person in particular who is making his life
difficult by laughing at his clothes and telling
him the wrong things to do. Ben is worried that
by saying something he will make things worse,
but doesn’t want to continue the rest of his
work experience in this way.
Scenario 3
Alice has been at her placement in a café for 2
days when her provider contacts the school. He
complains that although she has been asked to
come dressed in a longer skirt, she has failed to
do so. He says that her dress is distracting to
other employees and gives the wrong
impression to clients. Alice says that she only
has that one skirt and that her employer will not
allow her to wear trousers.
Scenario 4
Liam is on his first day of his work placement at
a veterinary clinic and has been asked to make
teas and coffees for everyone twice in the day
and has been told to stay in the reception area.
Scenario 5
Craig has a placement in a nursing home for the
elderly. All seems to be going well until, 3 days
into the placement, Craig feels extremely tired
and as though he is being 'leaned on' by the
manager. The manager has promised him a parttime job when he leaves school if he will work
extra hours during the placement and skip his
breaks as they are under-staffed at present and
Craig is keen not to rock the boat.
Scenario 6
Umar is doing work experience in a retail fashion
outlet. He is told that his job this morning is to
sweep and mop the floors and make sure that
all the stock is tidy. Umar doesn’t want to do
that job and think that he should be able to be
behind the tills.
Scenario 7
Alex is working in a café. A customer is unhappy
with their meal and the service and starts
complaining loudly. Alex doesn’t think there was
anything wrong with the food or service and
that the customer is just being difficult.
L2 – Teacher Guidance
This lesson focuses on health and safety at work. It is important for students to understand the necessity of having a health
and safety briefing and also of knowing what they should do if anything goes wrong. Completing the online health and safety
test will give them a certificate that they can include in their Record of Achievement but you will have to ensure that printing
from the computers you access is possible.
Resources: ICT and access to internet for all students (if this is not possible please see M Springer or your head of year for
alternatives), access to a printer (optional but useful), WEX booklets (not essential but useful if you have them)
Starter (5mins) – Show students the picture on the opening slide. Students have 30sec-1min to identify as many health and
safety risks as possible. The image is not relevant to all workplaces but is used as a hook for students. Later tasks look at risks
in other environments.
Part 2 (10mins) – discussion. Why is health and safety at work so important? (your safety is paramount. You need to know
what to do to keep yourself safe. Litigation. You have a right to be safe at work). What should you expect from your WEX
placement regarding health and safety? Outline people’s health and safety rights and responsibilities at work using the slide.
Part 3 (5-10mins) – students make a spider diagram that identifies the possible hazards in the workplace that they will be in
for WEX. For example, someone who is in a hairdresser will write ‘hairdresser’ in the middle of their page and then write
different health and safety risks around the outside such as use of chemicals, sharp objects, wet floors, long periods standing,
etc. There are some examples in the “Looking out for work hazards” document. Students should just do this in one colour as
they will come back to it at the end of the lesson.
Part 4 (20-25mins) – students get onto a computer and go to www.placementsurvivalguide.com and click on ‘For Students’.
Instructions are in the slides. Students find Thomas Tallis. The password is School (capital S). Students then register
themselves. Emphasise the importance of using their own names so that they get a certificate for their Record of
Achievement. They should read about health and safety rules on the site by clicking on the icons at the top of the page or the
‘Learn about Health and Safety at Work’ link on the left hand side. Although the website is very straightforward, it would be
useful for you to have a look at the site prior to the lesson.
Plenary (10mins) – Students go back to the spider diagram they did at the start of the lesson. In a different colour students
add possible risks that they learnt about on the website and for each risk write what they would do. This will form part of
their assessment so please ensure that it is done.
Health and Safety at Work
Learning Objectives:
• To understand what Health and Safety is and
why it is important
• To identify some of the health and safety risks
you might face in your work placement
• To know the main health and safety issues at
work and gain a certificate in this
Rights and Responsibilities at Work
Rights
• Right to know
• Right to Participate
• Right to refuse unsafe
work
Responsibilities
• Cooperating with your
employer on health and
safety
• Following safety
procedures
• Using or wearing
protective devices
From the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work – http://www.osha.europa.eu
Risk Assessment
• Make a spider diagram with your WEX
placement in the centre
• Around the outside place all the potential
hazards you can think of that might exist in
that work place
• You will be coming back to this later so just do
it in one colour
Students click
here
Type Thomas Tallis here
and click ‘Search’.
Then click Thomas Tallis at the
bottom of the page
Registering
• The password for the site is School – make
sure that you use a capital ‘S’
• Register for the site by putting your first and
last name
• This is what will be printed on your certificate
when you finish the quiz so make sure that it
is accurate
Doing the Quiz
• The quiz consists of 20 multiple choice
questions
• You can do the test as many times as you want
• Before starting, read through the different
sections by clicking on the “Learn about
Health and Safety at Work” button on the left
of the screen or by clicking on the icons at the
top of the page.
Plenary
• Go back to the spider diagram you made at
the start of the lesson.
• In a different colour add other possible risks
that you have found out about by doing the
quiz.
• For each risk, also add what you can do to
protect yourself against that risk
L3 – Teacher Guidance
This lesson takes place when students are back in school after work experience has finished.
This is an opportunity for students to discuss their experiences and to reflect on what they have learnt about the work
place, including what they enjoyed and what was difficult. The session is mainly discussion based but there is the
opportunity to write at different stages. The main point is that students are able to debrief their WEX. However, they
are also writing a letter of thanks to their placement and so time should be left to be able to do this.
Resources: projector, speakers, computers/laptops (optional but useful)
Starter (10mins) – Show the selection of situations on the slide ‘Good or Bad’. For each one, students put their hand up
if it happened to them. Allow some feedback but don’t get into too much detail.
Part 2 (10mins) – students tell each other stories from their placements. In order to promote listening and sharing you
can tell students that you will be asking some of them to relate what their partner told them.
Part 3 (30mins) – drafting/writing a letter of thanks to the placement. Explain to students the usefulness and
importance of thanking the people that allowed them to do WEX in their work place. Explain the idea of not burning
bridges and of networking/having contacts. Even if they don’t think that their WEX placement can be useful to them
now they never know what might happen in the future! Plus, it’s good manners and it means that future year 10s will
have the same opportunities they had. Show the outline for what they can include in a letter and have them draft it in
their books. It doesn’t have to be long. They can then type it up or hand write it neatly. Sometimes a handwritten letter
can be a nice personal touch.
Plenary (10mins) – write the most important piece of advice that you think future year 10s should be given about WEX
Work Experience Debrief
Key Questions: How was
it and what happens next?
Good or Bad?
Put your hand up if…
– You liked work experience
– You didn’t like work experience
– You got lost
– Something funny happened to you on WEX
– You got into trouble
– It was hard work
– You had long hours
– You had an argument
– You had a health and safety issue
Stories to Tell
• There are always stories to tell when you come back
from work experience
• You have 2 minutes each to tell the person sitting
next to you about something that happened while you
were on WEX
Saying Thank You
• Your WEX Experience employer had to
make space for you
• Is there anything you can thank them
for?
• What should you include in a letter?
Writing a Thank You Letter
• Who is it to?
• Remind them who you are
• Appreciate the time they spent preparing
your placement and looking after you
• Mention a specific thing that you enjoyed or
found useful
• Skills you learnt
• Do you want to go back there? – give them
your contact details and offer them your time
• Final thank you