Work Experience (yrs 10 & 12)

At Dene Magna, we put a high value on work-related experiences for our KS3, KS4 and KS5 students. All Year 10 and 12 students are expected to arrange a week (5 days) of in-person work experience linked to their career aspirations. By spending time within a career they are interested in, students not only see the purpose of their learning, but also the need for life skills such as confidence, independence and initiative.  It helps them to rule in or, just as importantly, out whether this is a career path they wish to pursue. By investing time in finding the right placement, students better understand the realities of their ideal career and are able to make better choices after their GCSEs or A-Levels.

The Benefits of Work Experience

• Real-World Insight: Gains firsthand exposure to the workplace and management structures.
• Skill Development: Builds practical knowledge, confidence, and essential employability skills.
• Future Advantage: Enhances future applications, CVs, and interview performance.
• Networking: Helps them make valuable professional contacts for future employment.
• Clarity & Motivation: Boosts academic motivation by putting their schooling into perspective and helping them discover what they do (and don’t) like.

In 2026-27 we are encouraging students to take this opportunity during a week where no curriculum learning is taking place: 12th-16th October 2026 (for Year 10 only) and 28th June to 2nd July 2027 (Year 10 and 12) or during some of the longer holidays e.g. October half-term or the Easter holidays. If these weeks don't work with the employer and hence the quality of the placement is impacted then students may be permitted to do their work experience at another time but they MUST check with their teachers that they aren't missing anything important during that week. They must also arrange to catch up on any school work if they choose to take time out of term. This will help the majority of students to find an optimum and interesting placement. They can also use their holidays if they want more than one placement to boost their future CV and applications. Please try to avoid a placement with immediate family if possible as this limits the benefits of work experience.

Please see guide below:

All students need to use the Unifrog Work Placement Tool to arrange their work experience. Please see video below explaining how this process works:

To develop those interpersonal skills, students arrange their own placement (supported by parents/carers) bearing in mind practical considerations like transportation. Once a student has been offered a place in principle, they MUST log in to Unifrog and follow the whole process so that we can check insurance and safety measures. The online form must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the placement, so we can check the safety of the placement and plan a staff visit or phone call to check on progress.

If students do not wish to take time out of lessons, they will need to arrange for their placement to be completed in the July reserved week also called Timetable Suspension Week (This is a week when no lessons are timetabled and other enrichment activities are on offer for students), in a yellow week or during the holidays.

If an in person work placement is proving difficult to find there are Virtual Work Experience opportunities available. Some of those can be costly but Forage, Speakers for Schools and Springpod, for example, offer free virtual work experience: 

If a Year 10 or 12 student hasn't been able to arrange a placement by the 14th June 2027 they will undertake Virtual Work Experience and/or Careers Learning Activities for three full days from the 30th June-2nd July 2027. Teaching will take place as normal on the 28th and 29th June 2027.

For more information on work experience, please contact Jo Rich: j.rich@dms.fodt.co.uk