Designation/Project-Title:	Work Related Learning for Young People With Learning Difficulties
Homepage:
Project-Number:
Actual date: (of the information)	01/07/2003

The project is:

a national project

Co-ordinating person:	Graham Rodbard
Address:	Pinewood School. Hoe LaneWare, Hertfordshire, UK
E-Mail:	GRR@pinewood.herts.sch.uk
Tel/Fax:	44019204122114401920411100

Contact person:
Address:
E-Mail:
Tel/Fax:

Participating countries (In which countries the project takes/took place?)
United Kingdom.

Statistics:
number of participating persons / institutions:	Up to 108 individual student placements annually within 1 school.
project-costs:	£2400 annually for student placements, £150 annually for printing, staff travel costs.

Short description:

During their final two years of statutory schooling, students undertake 3 blocks of work experience (one week when they are 15 years of age, and two additional two week blocks when they are 16 years old). The purpose of this activity is:
- To expose students to the demands of a full working day;?
- To sensitise students to the social norms of a work environment;?
- To enable students to experience the discipline and rigour of a work environment;
- To provide opportunities for students to practise skills;
- To provide opportunities for students to acquire new skills. The school's work experience policy specifies six vocational contexts within which student placements are organised (e.g. catering, motor vehicle mechanics, agriculture/horticulture, service industries etc.), and sets our three key principles:-? All students must work within at least two different vocational contexts over their 3 placements;? There should be a direct relationship between the vocational contexts of the link course options that students choose to undertake at Further Education Colleges and their work experience placements;? The measure of student choice in placements should increase over the duration of the programme. Each and every student work experience placement is carefully setup, with serious consideration given to matters of individual student independence and autonomy, travel arrangements, levels of support from the student's parents and matching the demands of the placements with the student's confidence and capability. Each placement incolves a number of critical steps:-? A health & safety check of the workplace by the Connexions service;? Preparatory curriculum work in school before the start of the placement;? A staff mentor assigned to each student;? An interview with the employer;? A monitoring visit by the mentor (1 visit per week for each week of placement);? A summary report completed by the employer;? A diary kept by the student andf signed off daily by the employer;? Follow-up work in school.The main outcome for students is that this total experience contextualises much of their prior learning, and draws together the various strands of the two year programme in a concrete and meaningful way..

Transformable results:	.
Can the results be transformed into other countries?	yes
If yes, Have they been transformed into other countries?	no
If no, pleace write down your suggestions on how to transform the results into other countries
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Documentation of the project:
Which materials/documentations/publications/instruments/etc. of this project do exist?
? Work experience policy ? Student monitoring report forms ? Work experience diary.
Where can these documentations be demanded (For example: Address/Telephone of the institution/contact-person/list of publications/link for downloads/ etc.)
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