The last and biggest of the Year 7-9 employer-led activities: pupils out in pairs on structured observation tasks, back for a whole-cohort debrief. Updated statutory guidance (DfE, 23 June 2026) asks for one week's WORTH of employer-led activity across Years 7-9 - it is explicitly not required to be a placement, and this day is the fifth or sixth activity in that bank, not the whole of it.
Learning outcomes
- I can observe a workplace and identify three things I noticed
- I can complete a structured workplace journal
- I can connect what I saw to my own career interests
Success criteria
- Workplace observation journal submitted
- One follow-up career goal added to Chapter
1
Pre-visit briefing
task · 30 min
How to behave at a workplace, how to ask questions, what to look for (people, processes, products).
2
Workplace visit
task · 240 min
Pairs visit a host workplace. Structured journal: 5 jobs you saw, 3 questions asked, 1 surprise.
Builds: Listening
3
Whole-cohort debrief
discussion · 60 min
Each pair shares one surprise to the whole cohort. Patterns emerge. Connect to careers profile.
📓 Chapter timeline: Save your workplace journal as evidence of your Y7-9 statutory work experience activity.
🎮
Chapter Student Game
+100 XP
Action: Log your workplace visit as a Day-in-the-Life real-world experience
Write a 200-word reflection on your workplace visit. What surprised you? What questions do you still have?
Skills: Listening, Speaking
Plenary discussion
Pair-share for 2 minutes: one thing you'll take from this lesson into next week.
Homework / follow-up
Part of the Y7-9 employer-led week (a week's worth banked across three years, not a block). It is the school's own educational-visit process that applies here - trip consent and a trip risk assessment - not the placement paperwork chain: nobody is on a placement. Record host and attendance so it lands as BM6 evidence.