11 May
Aurora Hanley reflects on work placement success
Aurora Hanley School is celebrating its most successful series of work placements with students benefiting from a wide range of employment experiences in Stoke, Leek and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
In total, nine students, aged 16-19, were found six-week placements running between January and the end of April with seven students going on to complete their experience and earning glowing feedback from the various settings.
The work placements were sourced locally and online through organisations such as ‘Work Experience Support Services’ and included a Mind charity shop, a primary school, mobile phone repair shop, a tyre fitter, café and gift shop.
Teacher Charlotte Thomas, who organised the placements, said: “I think it’s been the best year yet, in terms of the range of placements, how much our students learned and the valuable skills they’ve acquired.”
She said efforts were made to match each of the placements to the students’ individual needs, what interested them and what might benefit them in the future.
“Work placements build social skills and help prepare our students for the world beyond Aurora Hanley” Charlotte Thomas, Teacher
“They help develop self-esteem, resilience and skills such as problem-solving and teamwork, which are all great assets to bring to future workplaces.”
Among the students to have successfully completed their recent work placements are Joe, Sophie, Kelsie, Ava, Leo and Aston. Here’s a taste of how they got on:
Ava at Becalmed, in Leek
Ava’s role: To work with the manager and member of staff to check off a delivery on the delivery note, price up new products and create a new display of items. Ava also used a pricing gun to price items ready to go on display.
Feedback from Becalmed: Ava proved herself to be a delightful and capable young person. Ava has a naturally cheery disposition and approached each task with enthusiasm and a genuine willingness to learn. She quickly settled into the team, interacting pleasantly with both customers and staff, and was always polite, friendly, and approachable.
During her time with us, Ava carried out all tasks with care and attention, showing a strong work ethic and a proactive attitude. Throughout her placement, Ava was a pleasure to have in the shop. I was particularly impressed by her good communication skills and her warm, positive character, which made her a valued addition to the team. I would not hesitate to recommend Ava for future opportunities.
Leo at Loui’s Kitchen, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Leo’s role: To serve customers, take payments, make sandwiches, milkshakes, hot drinks and boxed up cakes for customers taking out. Leo wiped tables down and re-laid them.
Feedback from Loui's Kitchen: Leo was a fabulous team member, always willing to help and asked what needed doing around the café, from taking orders, to serving cakes to helping in the kitchen. We really enjoyed having him as part of our Loui’s Kitchen team.
Joe at the MIND Charity shop, Leek
Joe’s role: To serve customers, ensure the stock on the shelves is up-to-date, take payments and process the gift aid scheme.
Charity Shop Feedback: Once Joe begins a task, he gets stuck in and completes the task at a good pace. This was especially true when it came to him making sure that stock rotation was up-to-date and, after a certain date, had to be taken off the shelf and sent to another shop. Joe interacted well with customers and greeted them with a smile.
Aston at Mr Tyre, Stoke-on-Trent
Aston’s role: To shadow staff and learn how to use equipment such as the wheel balancer and tyre inflator equipment and shadowing staff.
Mr Tyre Feedback: Aston learnt how to take off and put on a tyre. He used an airline hose to check tyre pressures. Aston was also shown all the different parts of a car, whilst it was up on a ramp. Aston would ask questions if he was unsure and he’d listen well to any feedback that he was given from the member of staff supporting him. He also helped to solve problems that he sometime faced when changing a tyre.
Kelsie at independent gift shop Bibelot, Leek
Kelsie’s role: To engage with customers and complete stock takes in the shop. Kelsie was able to process new deliveries and add these to the shop's system. She served customers at the till and created a new display for the shop.
Bibelot feedback: Kelsie was an effective planner and time manager. She always completed tasks quicker than expected. She was always determined to complete a task or get to a suitable place to stop work before leaving. Kelsie became confident with using the pricing gun and changing the prices. She even agreed to have a go on the Epos till and serve some customers. It's really daunting for anyone at first, so she did really well.
Sophie at Leek Mobile Shop
Sophie’s role: Sophie has enjoyed learning how to replace a phone battery and also a phone screen. Although the work can be quite intricate, She’s understood and followed through on the instruction she’s been given. Sophie has been offered the opportunity to gain more experience that could lead to her undertaking more complex tasks such as fixing laptops and, as a consequence, her work placement is ongoing.
Kingsland Primary School placement
Pupil’s role: To gain experience working with young children, reading stories to a small group, engaging in conversation in the home corner area, encouraging the children to help tidy up at the end of the day and modelling good listening at the end of the day’s activity.
Primary school feedback: The pupil built up lovely relationships with the children in nursery. She was happy to join in with any area of learning and quickly developed bonds. She liaises with staff and asks where she needs to be. The pupil is polite and well mannered.
