Work Experience
At Cricket Green School, every pupil will have experiences related to work through visits, shadowing and/or appropriate work experience. We believe that this will support the pupils to develop essential skills, explore career opportunities based on interests and help to expand their networks. We aim to support all pupils to realise their potential.
From Key Stage 1, pupils are encouraged to develop their independence skills and prepare themselves for working life whatever their level of need. As part of this ethos, from Key Stage 3, pupils will have the opportunity to take part in on site and off site Work Experience. The aim of these opportunities is to provide pupils with an idea of what working life can be like. Each opportunity is tailored to the needs of each pupil so that they have the best chance to succeed.
Before the placement, all pupils are given job coaching. This is completely personalised and can include: interview preparation, understanding the expectations of the specific role, expectations of behaviour and attitude, support around travelling (reviewed based on the each pupil) and timekeeping, placement specific role play work and understanding dress code. In addition to this, all pupils will be visited by a member of staff during their placement.
For those pupils that are not ready to go out into the local community for placements or the paid employment pathway may be more of a challenge, we offer experiential work education. This includes other work related learning opportunities to further each pupils’ vocational experience and this takes place on site. Such opportunities to explore this have included:
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Working in Chapel Orchard Café
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Library responsibilities
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Site care with our Site Team
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Catering for training days, conferences and in-school functions
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Working with Primary pupils to support reading, lunch duties and in-school events
In addition to the above, pupils will visit different work places in the community, including local supermarkets and charity shops and also, visits to Deen City Farm, Merton Libraries and Mitcham Fire Station. The pupils are fully supported during this time to ensure that they get the most out of their experience.
