Work Experience Success
When LVS Hassocks pupil Tonie chatted to staff about her ideal job as part of her personal development programme, it was clear that working with young children was her goal and inspiration to learn.
As a school for young people with Asperger’s and autism, part of the LVS Hassocks approach is to enable pupils to develop employability skills. So setting up work experience opportunities plays a crucial part in helping them achieve this.
With the support of her teacher, 15 year old Tonie set about planning who she could ring to try and get a placement. She carried out research on the most suitable pre-schools and wrote out a list of questions to ask potential employers. Her hard work and good planning soon paid off, as after only a few calls she secured herself an interview. Head Teacher Sarah Sherwood commented: “We are really proud of how determined Tonie was about getting a placement, she was really organised and took the responsibility for getting her work experience with Dicker House Pre-School.”
Once a week, Tonie worked with young children, aged 3 to 5 at the local nursery. As well as enjoying the experience, it was very motivational and helped her focus on the rest of her school week. The skills she is learnt, included communicating with the children and taking direction from the staff, preparing snacks, reading stories and helping with art and craft sessions. All of which really gave Tonie an insight into the world of work and the demands of working with young children. “It was a lot of fun” she said, “I enjoy helping the children at lunch and with making things. It made me a lot calmer and happier in myself.”
The nursery was delighted with Tonie’s progress. Cathy Reeve from the school said: “She was excellent, so keen and enthusiastic, the children enjoyed her contribution and oftened squabble over who should sit with her at story-time.”
LVS Hassocks is grateful for the support and encouragement Dicker House Pre-School have afforded Tonie and hopes to engage with many other local employers to support its growing Secondary and Post 16 departments.
Sarah Sherwood, Head, summarised: “By giving young people the opportunity to experience working life, particularly those who have to work hard to overcome communication barriers, the learning in the classroom becomes more engaging and they grow tremendously in confidence and develop practical skills they can really relate to.”
