Extended Work Experience

[tommulliner]

Hi there BR users,

 

Mods, feel free to place this where you wish as I was unsure.

 

At school, we have two weeks dedicated to work experience in year 10. I am involved with many junior and adult drama groups, and one of them has a show on the week before my two weeks of work experience. The shows aren't a problem as they are outside of school hours, but the get in, rigging and plotting etc is during the day (when school is on). Now normally, this wouldn't be a problem and I would just go in after school, but as I am designing the lighting for this show, I would really like to be there!

 

There are some people at my school who for one day a week(every week), go and train at my local football club as they are in the youth academy there. Now, yes... you may think that they are having a day off school ever week to kick a ball around, but the important thing is that they wish to have a career in it, the same goes with me and my extended work experience.

 

My question is,

 

- Has anyone else had time off school to do a show outside of school?

 

- How did they convince the school to let them have the time off?

 

- Was it straight forward, and how did the school go about it?

[themadhippy]

Cant you just bunk the day off

[elvenprince]

I've done this a couple of times when I was LDing a show for a youth group. Luckily for me however, the get-in was on a day when I only had a couple of lessons.

 

I got my Production Manager to write a letter to my Head of Year, asking if I could take the day off, because I was a vital member of the team for this day. I handed it into my HoY and said that I would be talking to my subject teachers and making sure that I caught up with my work. If he/she is a bit wary, make the point that it is only one day, and that you will catch up on the work you miss, as well as the fact that it is the career you want to go into.

 

I spoke to the subject teachers and told them that I would be missing the lessons on that day; I asked them if there was any work that I could do to help catch up afterwards.

[tommulliner]

Yeah, thats what im planning to do... but my Head of Year is a bit of a... well... :down: you get the picture, and so I may just go straight to the head, at the end of the day... its her decision!

 

A concurrent post has been automatically merged from this point on.

 

Cant you just bunk the day off

 

Yes, that would be my alternative option! 

[Joe Bleasdale]

I spent more days out of school doing work or training than I did in school. I took a whole week off in the summer term one year to go the MA office for a week of training on the Grand MA series 1. And another week later in the year to go to Martin and do their Mac service courses. There were many other days I didn't go to school and instead decided to attend industry related meetings and the like. The school understood as they knew how many shows I did per year and by taking the time off, I was making valuable contacts and gaining knowledge that school could not give me. I did have to catch up with the work though, and I would suggest you do to. If they are good enough to give you the time off, show some respect and catch up on anything you missed. Besides, you might not think so now, but there is a lot of the curriculum you will use whilst working in the industry. I use Trigonometry and Pythagoras everyday without fail, not to mention percentages, decimals etc.

 

Hope that helps,

[tommulliner]

If they are good enough to give you the time off, show some respect and catch up on anything you missed.

 

 

 

 

I use Trigonometry and Pythagoras everyday without fail, not to mention percentages, decimals etc.

 

Of course one shall catch up on missed work... and meh, im good at maths!

 

Oh yes and to add, I have no exams, important things going on that week. (and it is only a few days that I want off, not the whole week)

[Matthew Robinson]

If that doesn't work, just be 'ill' on that day.

[ojc123]

Is there a sympathetic teacher at your school who might advise you on the best way to go about this? It's about the internal politics of the school, the personalities involved and the staff perception of the student. You need someone on your side who sees the importance and benefit of this experience. I have been that person in our school on a number of occasions. I've raised the issue on the student's behalf with the right people (not always the people that it's supposed to be) and helped make it happen. There is no advice that will apply to every school. Good luck.

[paulears]

Keep in mind that if the show is taking place in a theatre, and you are under 16 (as in year 10), then it is ILLEGAL for you to do work experience in the venue. Some people know this, some don't - but my own venue last year were going to take a really good person to work in the box office, but the local authority, who check these things, stepped in and banned her. Stupid of course, but the only exception would be if a Childrens License was taken out and a chaperone present throughout your time there - which is obviously rather difficult to arrange.

 

Catering kitchens and Abattoirs are also on the list.

[smalljoshua]

When a friend of mine did his Y10 work experience in a commercial kitchen, the head chef became a registered chaperone for the week.

 

Could you not do something similar?

 

Josh

[ojc123]

Keep in mind that if the show is taking place in a theatre, and you are under 16 (as in year 10), then it is ILLEGAL for you to do work experience in the venue. Some people know this, some don't ...

Paul is right (as usual). There are lots of regulations about this sort of thing these days. I don't know how it has been done but we've had students (some of whom were not sixteen) in local theatres on work experience. Arrangements must have been made which satisfied the local authority.

[paulears]

More likely to have been sloppy work placement checking. After all, it's such a silly thing that very few people will know about it. The example I quoted was a good one. The box office manager was telling me how she'd been approached and agreed. I raised the point, and she phone the town hall. They said on the phone it was fine. However, I guess that whoever said ok mentioned it to somebody in the office and a panic phone call was made back to the venue saying no - sorry, it wasn't on. If the officials don't all know about it, it's easy for the work placement person in a school to be unaware. Common sense just doesn't work.

[Jivemaster]

Getting your placement supreviser a prosecution under child protection legislation could easily be long term career limiting for them, -it may get them on bad lists, and even cost them their job.

 

Follow the rules for work placement, what you do as hobby is much less critical.

[Dodgecaliber]

Just skive school for a day. We've all done it and no one will really bother.

 

Just don't ask your head then be "ill" after she says no.

 

 

- God skiving school seems so harmless now but back in the day it was a huge decision!

[steve h]

As far as im aware the football academy stuff goes towards the students set hours in school/training that they are meant to be doing each year and is different from work experience.

 

Secondly work experience has strict guidelines to go with it (even if some schools/students dont enforce them all that much) and will/should involve writing it up and visits from staff so to ask for it as work experience in a school sense will not work

 

However. DO talk to your teachers and head of year. Even if they can be a bit slow they will almost certainly let you take the day off. Explain to them why it will help you in taking the day off, not why they should give it to you because of someone elses decision!

 

Steve