Every year 10 student takes part in the Work Experience programme at St Augustine Academy. It is intended to give students experience of working life and to develop and practise the various skills and attitudes needed in the workplace.

It also provides an opportunity to increase self-confidence, develop personal and social skills and helps to give a focus and relevance to their school studies. In some cases, it may also lead to the offer of a summer or Saturday job or an apprenticeship opportunity.

The whole process from researching placement opportunities to meeting with potential employers and securing a placement is the responsibility of the individual student. However, there is comprehensive support from the Work Experience Co-Ordinator who organises and runs the whole programme from start to finish.

Although the placement takes place at the start of July, the whole process begins in the previous November. It is important for students and parents/carers to realise that the placement does not always have to be linked to a future  career choice. At this stage, many students may not have decided what they may want to do on leaving the Academy but Work Experience can give them valuable help in making these decisions as it gives them a chance to have a ‘taster’ of an area of work.

Students will access Unifrog by clicking a link in the welcome email which they have already received, where they will be asked to create a password, before they can begin to use the platform. They will login using their school email address and password and they can do so from any computer, tablet or smartphone. You can download the Unifrog app from your relevant app store for free. We would encourage you to use the platform with your child so you can support them through the process of deciding their next step.

Once your child’s placement has been planned in principle with an employer, they will need to add the relevant details to the Work Experience ‘Placement tool’ section of Unifrog. This will action an email to be sent to the prospective company, for them to complete their details around the placement, and then you as parents/carers will be asked to confirm your approval via another automated email. This will all need to be completed by 30^th April to allow time for the school to give the final approval to the placement.

We will also expect students to complete a Work Experience Journal (which will be provided) during their placement to enable them to reflect and learn from the opportunity. Prior to the work experience week, we will further prepare students for their placements through an assembly focusing on health and safety, safeguarding and expectations regarding conduct as they represent the school in the workplace.

Please see the diagrams below for additional support and also video links if required:

From the home page scroll down and click on the Placements tab.

Click the green Add New Placement tab.

Complete all section of the form

Please note for the questions – please select ‘in person’ placement

Click ‘Work Experience Team’ for the Placement Coordinator

Work Experience Dates – Mon 7^th July – Fri 11^th July

Click Add Placement when you have finished the Form

• Student video explaining how to complete the initial student form can be found here
• Filling out your student initial form (Sep 2024)  video for Year 10 on how to start off the placement tool.

For placement enquiries please ask your child to speak with Miss Thomas the Work Experience Placement Adviser vthomas@saa.woodard.co.uk

For Unifrog enquiries please contact Juliet Salmon the Careers Adviser jsalmon@saa.woodard.co.uk

For other concerns relating to Work Experience please contact Keeley James the Careers Lead kjames@saa.woodard.co.uk

Thank you in anticipation of your support for what will be an exciting opportunity for your child to have an insight into the world of work.

St Augustine has a part-time Careers Adviser, Miss Salmon, who is available in school on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00am till 3:30pm to meet with all Year 11 students individually.  Additionally, Miss Salmon is available to meet with students from other Year groups by teacher referral or student/parental request.

Miss Salmon will provide support and guidance on:

• Exploring career options and choices available for students based on individual strengths, interests and abilities.
• Further education opportunities (college and 6th Form)
• Apprenticeships, Training Providers and Traineeships
• Careers Research and local labour market information
• Interviews, Applications and CV writing

For more detailed information on these topics see the downloads below.

Students should also read ‘My choices after year 11 – an action plan.’ Click here.

Throughout the year we hold different events for employers, businesses, organisations, training providers, sixth forms, colleges and universities to be a part of. Please be aware that all times and dates are subject to change and we will confirm with you the dates.

• Careers Evening
• Mock Interviews with Year 11 students
• Intervention and mentoring
• Careers and Business Breakfasts
• Employers Fair

We also have a bespoke Key Stage 3 Careers Education curriculum, through this we look to offer our students. Again if you would like to provide a course, activity or event to our students please email careers@saa.woodard.co.uk, this would be subject to timetables, dates and times of the Key Stage 3 classes.

Universities that we work with to provide our students with oppurtunities of Higher Education:

If you are a former student of St Augustine Academy, we want to hear from you!

Your experiences since leaving could help to motivate and inspire our current students to feel more confident in making decisions about their future. We would love you to join our alumni network and stay connected with the school.

You can choose how and when you help – perhaps you can act as a career and education role model, provide work experience, become a mentor in person or online, or help with donations or fundraising.

It doesn’t matter when you left us, whether you’re in further education or employment, whether you still live nearby or have moved further away, there are still ways you can help.

In order to sign up, just fill in the online form – we promise it will only take a couple of minutes.

Thank you - and we look forward to hearing from you!

Please click the link below to open the form and register your interest

Register to join our Alumni group

Provider Access Policy Statement

This policy statement outlines the arrangements at St Augustine Academy for managing the access of external providers to students in order to share information about their educational or training offers. It complies with the Academy’s legal obligations under Section 42B of the Education Act 1997, and aligns with the most recent guidance on Provider Access legislation.

The Academy will facilitate opportunities for approved providers to interact with students as part of our careers programme. These interactions will give students insight into the full range of post-16 education, training, and apprenticeship options available to them. The policy aims to ensure students are well-informed and can make decisions that best suit their educational and career aspirations.

Pupil entitlement

All pupils in Years 8-11 are entitled to:

Receive information about technical educational qualifications, apprenticeships, and other post-16 opportunities, as part of a comprehensive careers programme.

Hear from a diverse range of local providers about the opportunities they offer, including technical education and apprenticeships.

Understand the application process for academic, technical, and vocational courses.

As per the Provider Access legislation, the Academy is committed to providing at least six encounters with approved providers of apprenticeships and technical education for all students:

Two encounters in Years 8-9 (the ‘first key phase’) – mandatory for all pupils.

Two encounters in Years 10-11 (the ‘second key phase’) – mandatory for all pupils.

Two encounters for students in Years 12-13 (the ‘third key phase’) – mandatory for the school to organise, even though we do not have a Key Stage 5 in the Academy. We will, however, ensure that we adhere to the regulations by providing careers information for these year groups as required.

Management of provider access requests

Providers wishing to request access to speak with students should contact Keeley James (Careers and Work Experience Lead) at kjames@saa.woodard.co.uk. Mrs James will work with the relevant senior leaders to assess and manage the request. Providers are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible about the focus and nature of their session to ensure alignment with the Academy’s career programme.

Safeguarding Arrangements

Providers who interact with students must have appropriate safeguarding measures in place, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This check must be carried out by the provider’s employing organisation. The Academy maintains an up-to-date single central record of DBS checks for staff, volunteers, contractors, and external visitors, in line with statutory safeguarding requirements. The record also includes confirmation of right to work in the UK and identity checks. The People Manager, Sam Garratt, manages and maintains this record.

Premises and facilities

St Augustine Academy will ensure appropriate space and facilities are provided to accommodate provider sessions. Should the Academy be unable to provide suitable premises or facilities for an event, the provider will be consulted to determine whether the event will still take place. Providers are advised to be flexible in their arrangements where possible.

Right to Cancel

Both St Augustine Academy and the provider reserve the right to cancel any planned access due to unforeseen circumstances or other internal/external factors. If either party needs to cancel a scheduled session, notice should be given as soon as possible, and no later than 48 hours before the event. Cancellation notices should be sent by email to kjames@saa.woodard.co.uk.

Below shows that last five years of destination data.

2021 NEET - National average - 6.4% (Awaiting the 2022 figure)
2022 Year 11 Leavers NEET- St Augustine Academy - 2% (Data collected from collaboration with Kent County Council)

Click here to find out more about our Destination Data