Work Experience Prep LabThe Work Experience Expedition: find it, get ready, go, then say what you learned

Why this matters

Year 10 students prepare for the first of their statutory placement days. Updated guidance (DfE, 23 June 2026) asks for one week's worth of in-person placement across Years 10 AND 11 - five days spread however the school's employers can host them, with one employer or several, rather than a single Year 10 block. Students set goals, plan questions, learn workplace etiquette, and understand what has to be documented (host details, hours, parent consent). It teaches the KS4 Work Experience Expedition (pupils' name for it in Chapter, hosted by Mr Patel at Work Placements): finding your own placement, getting ready, knowing your rights, and - within a week of the placement days - a reflection that ends in a placement logbook the module's Pupils panel shows.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson

I can set three goals for my work experience placement

I can describe appropriate workplace etiquette

I can prepare a workplace journal template

I can turn moments from my placement into evidence: what I did, who saw it, what changed

ActivityActivity 1: Three goals for placement

On your own20 min

Each student writes 3 goals: one skill, one observation, one question they want answered. Stored.

ActivityActivity 2: Workplace etiquette

Whole class20 min

10-question quiz on workplace norms: dress, time, phones, language, body language. Discuss surprises.

ActivityActivity 3: Journal template

On your own20 min

Build your daily journal template: what I did, what I noticed, who I met, one question. 5 days printable.

Success criteria

How we'll know it worked

Placement goals saved to Chapter

Workplace etiquette quiz passed

Placement logbook handed in: three moments, one skill with proof, one thing to do differently, a next step

Chapter Student Game

Action

Set 3 work experience placement goals in Chapter

Skills: Adapting, Planning

Save your placement goals and pre-WEX questions to Chapter. You'll review them on return.

What's next

Use the Chapter Work Experience tracker. Confirm parent consent, employer's liability cover and a risk assessment for every student. Placement days are in person: remote counts only in exceptional cases, and only alongside time on site. Teach the first three lessons before the Year 10 placement days and Reflecting on your work experience within a week after them - it ends in the Expedition's capstone, the pupil's placement logbook, which this module's Pupils panel shows (pupils without a Chapter account fill in the sheet).