Work Experience: Safeguarding and Health & Safety Guidance

This page provides schools and colleges with clear signposting to statutory and national guidance that applies to work experience placements for Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 learners, alongside example work experience policy templates.

The guidance below supports schools to take a proportionate, consistent approach to safeguarding and health and safety when learners are undertaking work experience, including short‑term, block or extended placements.

Summary for schools and colleges

When organising work experience, schools should:

Statutory safeguarding guidance (schools and colleges)

All schools and colleges must have regard to the Department for Education’s statutory safeguarding guidance when arranging work experience:

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)

  • Sets out schools’ safeguarding duties for pupils educated or supervised off‑site, including work experience
  • Clarifies expectations around supervision, information‑sharing and responding to safeguarding concerns that arise outside school
  • Applies to KS3, KS4 and KS5

Schools should ensure their safeguarding and child protection arrangements remain effective for pupils while on placement.

Health and safety responsibilities for work experience

Health and safety responsibilities for work experience are set out in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance and under health and safety law:

Key principles

  • Learners on work experience are treated as employees for health and safety purposes
  • Employers have primary responsibility for workplace health and safety, including risk assessment, supervision and training
  • Schools do not need to inspect low-risk workplaces or duplicate employer risk assessments

HSE guidance for schools, colleges and employers

Schools’ role is to check that employers have suitable arrangements in place, share relevant pupil information (e.g. medical or SEND needs), and ensure the placement is appropriate for the learner.

Applying guidance across key stages

  • KS3
    • Work experience is usually short‑term and often accompanied by school staff
    • Safeguarding and health & safety considerations are generally lower‑risk but still require clear arrangements
  • KS4 and KS5
    • Placements are typically longer and more independent
    • Schools should ensure clear safeguarding reporting routes and employer supervision are understood

All placements, regardless of key stage, should follow the same statutory guidance and national principles, with controls proportionate to risk.

What is modern work experience?

A programme of modern work experience should:

- Prioritise young people who are missing out and provide targeted support

- Start early, allowing access to multiple, different industries and occupations

- Include experiences that are employer-led in their design

- Be underpinned by learning 
outcomes, to ensure a progressive high-quality approach

- Enable meaningful relationships between the employer and young person

- Offer meaningful experiences as defined in updated Gatsby Benchmark 6

Example work experience policies

This page also includes links to example work experience policies provided for reference only.

  • These examples illustrate how schools structure their local arrangements
  • Schools and colleges should adapt policies to reflect their own context
  • Local policies should align with national statutory guidance and HSE advice, not replace it

Other Example Policies

Please note: these examples may not yet reference the updated careers guidance.

Secondary school examples

Ermysted's Grammar School in North Yorkshire outlines details of its careers programme in its policy. Its programme is delivered through: 

  • PSHCE (personal, social, health and citizenship education) in years 7 to 13
  • Workshops and special events such as a biennial careers fair

Glenthorne High School in Sutton has a policy (scroll down towards the bottom of the page) that includes sections on: 

  • The Gatsby Benchmarks
  • Assessment
  • External partnerships

Special school examples

Longcause Community Special School in Plymouth has a careers policy that includes information on the:

  • Careers guidance pupils can access, including a dedicated Learning for Life curriculum and meetings with a careers advisor
  • Organisation and logistics of provider visits

The Eresby School, Spilsby in Lincolnshire has a careers policy that sets out how the school:

  • Works in partnership with organisations
  • Measures the impact of its careers programme

Other Useful Links

Use the links below to access additional information and resources.