Dear Parent/Carer,
Students who attend Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy participate in a range of programmes and initiatives to support future career choices which add important supporting evidence to applications for universities, apprenticeships and employment. With this in mind we are delighted to be able to offer Year 10 students the opportunity to participate in the next work experience programme, which is scheduled to run from Monday 13th July to Friday 17th July 2026.
Benefits of immersive work experience include networking opportunities and written references for Post 16, Post 18 and employment, as competition for jobs, apprenticeships and university is very high.
Students must find their own placement. We encourage students to ask their parents/carers, families and friends for help finding placements. Advice and support is always available from Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy’s careers team.
When your child has agreed a placement with the employer, they need to log into their Unifrog account https://www.unifrog.org/ and complete the placement form. Once this is completed, an email will go to the employer asking for additional information and to parents asking them to confirm they agree to the placement. Please ensure the Placement is agreed and the Unifrog form completed by Thursday 30th April.
Please use this website if you need further support using Unifrog’s placement tool: https://www.unifrog.org/help/unifrogs-placements-tool-faqs
Companies must have Employer Liability Insurance. Lone workers, including the self employed will not have Employer Liability Insurance and we therefore are unable to allow work experience with the company/person unless it is immediate family.
It is a mandatory requirement for any employee who works with a student on a one-to-one basis to have an Enhanced DBS Certificate. Failure to provide this document will result in the placement being unauthorised.
Arranging your own placement
Plan Ahead – It takes longer than students think to arrange work experience. We advise students to start looking now for work experience placements. Good quality placements go quickly and there will be competition from students at other schools.
Where – Identify which sector your child wishes to gain work experience and what they hope to achieve. Research relevant organisations, skills sector councils e.g. skills for Care for Health and Social Care employers, professional bodies e.g. Royal Geographical Society. Write a list of employers to contact, with email addresses. If you are unsure of a career area, look at possible work experience in primary schools or retail, beneficial employability skills will be gained here. Although it is a good idea for students to source a work placement in their preferred area of career or study, this may not be possible – particularly as some professions require applicants to be over 18. It is useful to remember that an important objective of any work experience is to prepare young people generally for the world of work, allowing them to develop transferable skills in areas such as communication, customer service, teamwork and time management. No students will be allowed to undertake work experience within Sir Geoffrey Leigh Academy. It is best that students get a rich experience and staying in their own school doesn’t provide the best opportunity.
Useful References – please see below some useful websites which can support students.
● https://successatschool.org/jobcourses – search for work experience
● www.studentladder.co.uk/work-experience/work-experience.html
How to Apply – your child can send speculative applications by email or post attaching an up to date Curriculum Vitae (CV) with a covering letter, explaining the purpose of the Work Experience, what they wish to achieve and dates of the work experience. Follow up with a telephone call if necessary. Please encourage and support your child to find his own work experience placement. Through finding a worthwhile and challenging work experience placement that interests them, it will provide an opportunity to develop essential employability skills and gain an insight into the world of work.
Placement checks – All placements must pass health and safety checks.
PREPARATION SESSIONS
During tutor time over the next couple of modules, students will be learning more about the skills needed to be successful as well as the introduction to the workbook they will complete before and throughout their placement.
We believe that work experience will be an invaluable opportunity for students to gain employability skills such as using initiative, applying IT skills, developing interpersonal and communication skills. It is important to gain an insight into the world of work and stimulate future career ideas. Employers recruiting for their apprenticeship, school leaver and graduate schemes, are more likely to employ young people who have work experience in addition to their qualifications. When applying to university, a good personal statement should describe personal qualities and include reference to how periods of work experience apply to the chosen degree course.
Additional support and guidance for parents can be found here.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Hardaker oliver.hardaker@leighacademy.org.uk (Work Experience Coordinator) or Ms Dickinson (Careers Lead).
Yours faithfully,
Ms S Dickinson
Assistant Principal
