Dear parent/carer,

Tuesday, 2nd May is the commencement of Year 10 Work Experience. This is an exciting opportunity for our students and we know most are excited for this and will have a great time learning new skills, exploring industries they are looking to build careers in and having the chance to experience a snapshot of adult life.

Before the placements commence we want to make you aware of the plans in place for the very small number of students who are not attending a work placement and also of plans in the unlikely event of a work placement failure.

The small number of students who are remining in school will still receive some work-centred learning via virtual work placements and lessons based on life in the workplace. These will be delivered by school staff alongside one lesson of English, maths and science per day. Students will be required to remain in school until 4pm and any who have refused to attended a placement will also have their lunch under supervision of a senior member of staff.

Whilst we expect that our students will excel in their placements and represent Aspire well, we want to make you aware of the implications for any failed placements. Should a provider feel that your child is not behaving in a suitable manner they will contact school and withdraw their offer of placement. In this unlikely event, the child in question will not return to Aspire for the remainder of the week. Instead they will be directed to a placement at another school, and potentially at a Pupil Referral Unit. As I am sure you will appreciate, each individual student will be representing Aspire as a whole and failed placements will likely result in the providers withdrawing their offer of placements in the years to come. One failed placement could potentially impact a number of our younger students who will undertake work experience when they reach Year 10. With this in mind, the consequence for such behaviour needs to be reflective of the impact it will have for the school as a whole. After such placements are completed, there will be a reintegration meeting with parents/carers before your child returns to their normal timetabled lessons.

Please note that any unjustified absences from either the work placement or school in the week Tuesday 2nd May – Friday 5th May will be followed up by our Pupil Welfare Officer. Attendance to placement is vital to ensure your child gets the most from the experience and the expectation of attendance to school for those not attending placements remains the same.

Finally, we wish your child the best of luck on their placements and look forward to visiting them and hearing about all they have learned upon their return. We thank you for you ongoing support with your child’s work experience and in ensuring that all relevant paperwork has been completed and returned to us.

If you have any questions or concerns please call school and ask for Ms. Hanlon-Catlow or myself and we can discuss the matter.

Kind regards

Kayleigh Taylor
Director of Personal Development