Work Experience at Harris Academy St John’s Wood
Why do we do Work Experience?
Work experience is fundamental to establishing the strongest links between future employers / partnerships and secondary schools.
At Harris Academy St John’s Wood we firmly believe that exposure to work is a significant step in preparing our students for their working life, by developing their personal and social skills, as well as the key skills they will need for the world of work.
Please be aware that work experience placements in Summer 2021 will be virtual, due to Covid-19 safety restrictions.
Work Experience:
- stretches the career horizons of young people
- allows your son or daughter to be more realistic about their career aspirations
- is a very effective means of challenging social stereotypes about occupational ambitions. There is no set career for women or men, for instance
- means that young people return to school more motivated and inspired and grades go up
Work Experience:
Our Harris Academy St John’s Wood Work Experience Programme is bespoke to our academy. Adam Snell, Assistant Principal at the academy, heads up this programme.
During the summer term, Year 10 and 6th Form students traditionally take advantage of a work experience placement. We are fortunate to receive a well-resourced career and higher education service through the Harris Federation as well as a plethora of in-house knowledge and experience about careers, which is delivered from Year 7 through to Post-16 students.
Our work experience programme focuses on 3 key areas:
- Recognising our own strengths in a careers / education setting
- Considering opportunities available (how to apply for work experience placements, routes / providers to explore)
- Developing employability skills (interview techniques / guidance)
Our enriched and engaging programme begins in Year 7 through our tutor time delivery and we build on this provision each year, to help students to make informed decisions during their school careers, such as GCSE and A-level choices, not to mention life post Harris Academy St John’s Wood. For students embarking on Work Experience programmes, we additionally factor in opportunities for individual career interviews / additional support, to build confidence and skills prior to starting these pathways.
High proportions of both pupils and teaching staff believe that young people return from work experience more motivated to do well at school.
Harris Academy St John’s Wood is proud of the established network of providers we have in place for our students however we actively encourage our students to seek their own opportunities: it is their work experience placement and the most successful placements are when the students have chosen their own placements.
For further information, please contact Laura Lewis, Vice Principal with oversight of Careers Education
Telephone: 0207 7228141; Email: laura.lewis@harrisstjohnswood.org.uk
