work experience

At Darrick Wood School, all Year 10 and 12 students take part in our annual Work Experience Programme on designated weeks during the summer term. Additionally, all Year 12 students studying a BTEC course which requires them to participate in a work experience placement in line with their course, will complete additional work experience during the academic year.

Our work experience programme is designed to give young people a better insight into the world of work and to acquaint them with the key skills necessary to succeed in adult working life. Taking part in the work experience programme is an excellent opportunity for students to learn and develop transferrable skills that will benefit them in the future.

Aims of the Work Experience Programme

To give students a practical understanding of the wider society outside school, particularly the role of employment and the economy in everyday life and to prepare them for transition from education to employment.
To help students achieve a better understanding of industry including how a business functions, employer expectations and to introduce them to requirements, disciplines and satisfaction for working life.
To give students the opportunity to develop self-confidence and social skills, resilience, enhance general, personal and social development and to encourage them to acquire basic skills in a variety of work.
To enable them to form relationships outside their immediate social group and to make real life decisions.

Year 10 Work Experience Programme - Monday, 29th June - Friday, 3rd July 2026

Year 12 Work Experience Programme - Monday, 13th July - Friday, 17th July 2026

All Year 10 and 12 students are required to source a one-week work experience placement during the designated weeks listed above

Students have attended a Work Experience Assembly, led by Mrs Collier, our Head of Work Related Learning and are aware of their responsibility to source their own work experience placement.

Deadlines to secure work experience placements:

Work Experience Dates

Deadline to submit Student Initial Form on Unifrog

Deadline for Employer Information Form and Parent/Guardian Form to be submitted

Year 10

Monday, 29^th June – Friday, 3^rd July 2026

Monday, 13^th April 2026

Friday, 24^th April

Year 12

Monday, 13^th July – Friday, 17^th July 2026

Tuesday, 5^th May 2026

Friday, 15^th May 2026

Once a student has secured a work experience placement, the following forms must be submitted by the deadlines outlined:

The Student Initial Form must be submitted by students on Unifrog as soon as they have secured a placement and no later than the relevant deadline above.
The Employer Form and Parent/Carer Consent Forms must be submitted using the links emailed directly from Unifrog by the relevant deadline above. The sequence of form completion means that if a form is not completed, the process cannot move to the next stage. The Employer Form and Parent/Carer Consent Forms are sent directly by Unifrog to the emails that are provided in the Initial Student Form and neither the Employer or Parent/Carer require Unifrog accounts to complete the forms.

Throughout the Summer Term, the Work-Related Learning Department will carry out pre-placement checks in school to ensure that every placement sourced is suitable and can be authorised.

Finding out more:

Unifrog have created a set of guides about placements which you can find here.
Within this set of guides, this is the best one to start with (it includes a short animation of how the whole process works).
Next we recommend looking at this one, because it includes advice on how to find a placement.

Students are encouraged to contact Mrs Collier for advice and update her of their progress in finding a work experience placement. It is important that students do this so that the school are aware of individual progress and can update records in order for the Careers and Work Experience Department to start making basic checks on placements that have been sourced.