Posted By Mark Talbot The obligation you have to the 14 year old suggests to me that you need to try and agree with the journey man the work they will do, on which site. It doesn't need to be done other than 'before' - so as long as you have time to pass the significant findings of the risk assessment to the parents, you can do this. It is one of those special occasions that will need flexibility and probably multiple visits. From the 14 year old's viewpoint, it will probably be worth every bit of effort you put into it. A single visit (probably to the 'good' site if the journeyman has anything to do with it) cannot be called suitable and sufficient - unless you have good information from the host sites. Sorry, sounds awkward.

Posted By Cathy Ricketts Be aware that there are a number of restrictions on what young people under the minimum school leaving age can and cannot do with regards to work experience. The best you can do with your pre-placement visit is to make a reasonable assessment of the activities the young person will be understanding and ensure the necessary insurance and risk assessments are in place. You will also need to inform the young persons parents of the activities he/she will be undertaking and any risks. If the young person is attending school then it is usually the teacher who visits them on wk exp which does mean that sometimes health and safety issues dont always get picked up. A pre-briefing with the young person before they start the work experience is good practice If you have a local Education Business Partnership or Trident I would suggest you contact them. Also have a look at LSC site www.safelearner.info

Posted By Patricia Hook Thank you to all who responded. I am helping a group of work experience officers who work for the EBP to address the problems of journeymen visits/assessments. We are aware of the LSC guidelines for H&S Competency for employer vetting personnel. Most of the journeymen trades are electricians, painters and decorators or landscape gardners amongst others. Pre-placement visits are made a few months before hand and so officers were worried that they didn't really know what environment the students would working in. More of theses visits are being handed over to the EBP because the schools do not want to do the assessments themselves.

Posted By Linda Crossland-Clarke Hi In addition to your placement RA, would it be a possiblity to have the supervisor of the YP to undertake the Unit D H&S Qualification? This way they then demonstrate the competence to assess their own YP as they move about. Regards. Linda. SHE Knows.

Posted By DaveTripp Work experience students are usualy placed by their schools careers advisors and/or the local careers office who will check out the company long before the placement starts, insurances will need to cover young workers (worth checking policy) and risk assessments will need to be carried out beforehand and the parent/guardian will need to sign a form granting consent as well. students will also require on site inductions and be supervised at all times, they are also only allowed to work the same hours as in school (approx 9-3)and are not allowed to work in high risk areas such as construction sites and heavy engineering, local authorities have also got rules about young workers so it might be worth checking with them too. The one thing the student will get out of this is how much red tape is involved just to protect them and how little they will actually be allowed to do!