Work Experience – Information for Parents

Work Experience, where appropriate, is offered to our pupils from year 10 upwards. We run our programme for the whole of the year and most are a full day for one day a week for at least half a term.

We run a range of placements to meet all our pupils’ needs.

These currently include:

  • Alfreton Library
  • Barnardo’s
  • Matlock Farm Park
  • Lea Green
  • Made@No18
  • Teversal Café
  • Swanwick Primary School

In addition to our external placements, pupils may also work on The Deer Shack Café, do groundworks on the school site, work on the school reception or work with the Caretaking team.

Work Experience is a wonderful opportunity to develop a range of skills including: working with unfamiliar people, following instructions, teamwork, problem-solving, following new rules and expectations and building their confidence.

We try as much as we can to match our pupils to their chosen placement but we also encourage them to step outside their comfort zone and try something they haven’t done before – and they usually love it!

We are really proud of our wide and varied offer and we think it is incredibly beneficial. But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what some of our parents have said about our provision:

The Deer Shack Café

We are so incredibly proud of our Deer Shack. Not just because we serve up the best coffee for miles around, sell a host of delicious snacks and even sell sausages for our local 4-legged friends but because of everything it offers our wonderful pupils.

The Deer Shack gives our pupils the opportunity to experience a real-life working environment close to school that they may not otherwise be able to access. The pupils are able to develop a whole host of skills. They make delicious hot drinks, handle money, use SumUp, our online payment system, ensure The Shack is kept clean and tidy and manage stock – to name just a few! The confidence of the pupils has absolutely soared and pupils who were reluctant to speak to our customers now hold their heads high and are proud to be part of our little venture.

Perhaps what has astonished us the most is how much it has developed our pupil’s independence. They have taken on their role with such enthusiasm and many need very little support from staff to serve customers and keep everything ticking along.

Please do come along and support our café if you can. We are usually open every week day from around 9.30 – 3.00.