Welcome to the Year 10 Work placement part of the website. Here is all the information students and parents need to know about how to get a placement and then record a placement onto Unifrog our external provider.
Please see below a link to a short video explaining the Year 10 work placement process. It is designed to give an overview to parents who were unable to make the parents presentation evening and as a reference point for parents and students to use when working through the Year 10 work experience process.
Who are Unifrog
Unifrog are an extremal provider who we used to help make the administration process smoother. All information is digital so students, parents and employers can do it from anywhere in the world.
Please find a link which will explain from the provider about Unifrog
Last year over 200 employers hosted placements. Please find an updated list of employers who have contacted us and are willing to offer placements this year. This list will be updated when more employers inform us, they are willing to take students. Internet searches for local companies is also a really good way of finding potential employers who can be contacted to see if they are willing to provide work experience placements in July.
There is a filter function at the top so if you move across to column “I” you can filter by “main sector”to explore all the different employment sectors for example “Hospitality and tourism” to understand all the different roles and find ones which interest you.
There are a number of ways you can contact potential employers, and I have designed resources to help you do this. With employers being very busy people, I suggest the following to ensure you have the best opportunity for them replying.
Stage 1) Initial email
Send an email which explains who you are and what you are requesting. I have developed a letter template you can edit (I have highlighted the areas you need to edit in Red).
I would also include a flyer which explains what is expected from Employers and about using Unifrog as our external provider for arranging work placements.
Speaking to someone you don't know or meeting them for the first time can be a very daunting process as you want to make a good 1st impression. Don't worry, below is a link to a document which will help you when speaking or meeting some one for the 1st time.
Once you have got your placement you need to add it to our external provider Unifrog’s website.
Please find below a short video explaining and showing you how to add a placement.
There are a number of stages in the unifrog process. These are listed below and at what stage they take place.
As each stage is completed it changes colour from orange to green. You are only responsible for Stage 1 the initial student form. This is where you add the information about the company which you have obtained from them either on the phone or when you meet the employer.
You need to ensure that Stage 1 to 4 are completed in line with the key dates slide in the presentation video.
Work Experience FAQ's
Yes, students are responsible to get a placement before the deadline.
Type in Unifrog in your search engine. Then click the green writing “reset password / resend welcome email”. Next go to your email and look for an email from Unifrog. You need to click on the link and then type a new password. Write this password down or enter it in your notes section on your phone so you don'tlose it.
You need the following information from the employer;
- The company name.
- Name of the main contact at the company.
- The email address of the main contact at the company
- Company address.
- Company telephone number.
From the welcome screen scroll down and you will find a number of tiles under the “exploring pathways” banner. The placement tool is the last tile on the righthand side.
There is a small data base of companies who have agreed to take students in the summer. You can use this to help find a placement.
You need to input this information onto the Unifrog website via your unique log in. This login will be sent to you through your academy email account. When you receive it follow the link and create an account (This includes a password. Please remember to make a note of the password so you don’t forget it). Once you are on your home screen scroll down to the Exploring pathways section and the bottom right hand tile says ‘placements’.
Click on the go to tool and you will see the following.
Unifrog will send an email to the employer to ask for further details. Employers complete all the information and submit it. Parents or carer will then be emailed to confirm they are happy with the placement. Once they have agreed, the school will then look at the documents and complete a health and safety check to ensure that the placement is safe and can go ahead. All you have to do is log on and check the progress of your placement. You should do this regularly so you know what stage your placement is currently.
Just log on and go to the placements tool again and check the progress
Each section goes green when it has been completed and orange when a form has been sent out and Unifrog are waiting for a reply.
Either you have not entered the employer's email correctly, you have not checked the “agree” box and/or the “form finished” box. After doing this you need to click the green add placement button.
Your placement will only be rejected if after a health and safety visit the health and safety deems the risk is too high for the placement to go ahead. You will then be informed of the school decision and requested to find an alternative placement.
No, your placement is a voluntary placement. You should not get paid over this placement period.
You will be asked to complete an evaluation form on your employer. This will not be shared with the employer but will be used by the school to evaluate the placement ready for next year. Your employer will also complete an evaluation on you.
Unifrog is atotal careers package. You can build a personal profile which helps develop a CV, find out about different jobs in the careers library, complete a personality profile, look at work environment profiles and even watch webinars from experts in areas of interest.
Key dates and information can be found in the careers section of the website. Select ‘Year 10 Work Experience’ to find some useful resources for work experience. Here you will find link to the assembly I held with you on accessing Unifrog. At the end of the presentation there is a slide with the key dates.
You need to ensure that this is an “In person” placement as you will be completing a placement with an employer and not completing online. This will ensure that the named person at home you have added when you fill in the details on the initial form will get an email and be asked to agree your placement.
It is important that your employer understands that they will receive an email from a company called Unifrog which will have a link to a document they have to complete. Please ask them to check their junk mail and spam folders as some companies systems will send the email straight to these folders.
Check you placement by logging onto Unifrog and going to the placement tool. If the employer section is amber, check the information you put in is correct if it is not edit it. If all the details are correct please give your potential employer a ring and explain again about checking spam and junk folders. Remember that companies are normally very so be polite and thank them at the end of the conversation as this goes a long way.
Search for the company on the internet. Find out about them so you understand as much as you can.
Contact them to remind them you will be coming. Make sure you know the following before your 1st day
- The name of the person you are meeting on your 1st day
- The time you need to be there
- What you need to wear
- Arrangements for lunch
- Your working hours
- Any other special arrangements or information you need to be aware of.
It is good to give your employer 2 weeks to complete their form. After this time, I would suggest you contact them again. It could be that their email firewall places the email from Unifrog in their junk or spam folder. Please ask them to check there.
If they say they still have not received it email me, and I can send you a link which you can forward to them.
Get them to check their junk / spam folder. If it is still not there email me and I will send you a link which they access and fill in the required information.
You need to first phone the employer and explain you are unwell and give a reason, then secondly phone the academy attendance team.
Students have a block placement period and therefore need to be involved with work experience for the duration. If your placement can only take you for part of the time you need to try to find a second placement to fill the time. You do this the same way as you did for the 1st. Approach an employer and ask see if they can take a work placement, get all of the details needed (Company name, Company address, Company phone number, Person who will be your contact at the company, Their email address, A parent/ carer who will be able to review your placement, their email address). Now you need to log onto Unifrog and go to the placement tab and add the second placement. If you can not find another placement you need to contact the Placement co-ordinator via email and discuss it with them.
No you have a work the times which have been set out by your employer throughout the placement. For example, if you placement is 9-5pm at the start of the placement you need to keep to what the employer has requested.
Informing your parent(s) / Carer
Once you have completed your initial form make sure the parent / carer you have put down to be responsible for agreeing the placement is aware and that they are checking their emails for an email from Unifrog. ***Don't forget to remind them that this might go straight into their Junk / Spam folder depending how their privacy settings are set up.
What to do a month before the placement starts?
You need to make sure your placement is still going ahead. Contact your employer and ask them to confirm your placement can still go ahead and check the information you took down at the meeting
Start time
Who you will report to
Where you will meet them
Dress code
Arrangements for lunch
Finish time
Please note that students
Should be completing a full-time placement (35 hours a week or more)
Students should work the normal working hours of the company and not the hours they would be at school for the duration of the placement. This includes the final day of the placement even if the school day finishes earlier.
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