Positive Relationships: Let's talk about ... Student placements

- Q: Were you made to feel welcome and part of the team when you started your placements?

'We are on placement every other week so after a few weeks we feel very comfortable at the settings. This really helps as we get the chance to know the routines, and the members of staff and the children also get used to us.'

'I was introduced to the staff, shown the fire exits and told about their policies and procedures when I first arrived.'

'Parents get to know who we are after a while, often after their children talk to them about us.'

'I just go with the flow. I know I can fall back on my supervisor but I haven't actually been told what to do in different situations, or what their policies are.'

'The supervisor should give us more feedback on how we are doing. It would be good to have this weekly, or at least regularly.'

'After a few weeks I feel a part of the staff team and I think it is important that I am treated as one of them.'

- Q: Are the staff at your settings good role models?

'I've not always felt they've been good role models. They can often be hypocrites - telling me not to do things and then doing it themselves, which can be very frustrating.'

'It's good to see how staff do certain things, such as getting the attention of a group of children.'

'At my placement we are not allowed to give the children a hug when they are upset or crying without first getting the parents' permission. I find that weird as it goes against how I feel I should react with the children.'

'We have discussed a lot about coping with child behaviour in college, but it is good to see how the staff deal with it.'

'When the children are around my supervisor always talks on her mobile phone. She is talking to friends rather than interacting with the children.'

'My supervisor used to be in the office all day. He'd come out when the parents were around and it would all be like a big act. He was not a good role model.'

'Often the staff are at a table gossiping and I'm told to sit with the children.'

- Q: Do you feel that, as a student, you're only given the menial jobs?

'My placement can be quite extreme. One week all I seem to be doing is washing up and cleaning while the next I will be asked to do all sorts of things - full-blown organising of activities. Sometimes the supervisor includes me in the planning and puts my name on the planning sheet and sometimes she doesn't. Other members of staff just leave the rubbish jobs to me too.'

'I do get asked to do the menial tasks but other members of staff do them too. I think it is part of the job. It is important that we do activities but also that we clear up afterwards.'

'Unfortunately I often do not get time to do my activities and the things I am meant to do for the course. I have told them what I need to do but they say that they have already made plans for the week. I would like to go to the planning meetings so that I can include my ideas, but they have these meetings when I'm at college. I have raised this with my supervisor a number of times but nothing has been changed.'

'At my placement I tell the nursery in advance what I need to do and they include it in the schedule.'

'On Thursday we did cooking biscuits and I had to do all the cleaning, run the activity and wash the dishes. I had so much to do, much more than one person could manage, so I asked and someone helped me out. When I was new I wouldn't not have had the confidence to say anything but now I feel more like a member of staff.'

- Q: Does your placement include you in the staff ratios?

'We are not allowed to be left on our own with the children because we are not qualified. They are not even meant to go next door and leave us.'

'Sometimes the members of staff have their breaks and leave me to do things by myself.'

'They need at least three adults outdoors and they do count me in with that. I am often out with a Level 2 and 3. I am allowed to be out on my own with the Level 3 but not just with the Level 2.'

'I do get left by myself but never for long - they say they are just popping to the loo or to the office. I'm not comfortable to be left on my own with the children because if a child was to fall over or hit their head, I would know pretty much what to do but I would panic.'

- Q: Do you enjoy your placements?

'I love going on placements. I love the children.'

'It's great to be able to put into practice what we have learnt in college. There we do all the theory, but you never understand it properly until you have been on a placement.'

'Going on placement helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Then the tutor can help us with certain areas when we're in college.'

'You learn so much more than in college - you need to experience situations and be able to see it and to do it for yourself.'

'I started off in nursery but I am now in reception because I was having problems with my supervisor. He was not very supportive and failed me on about 10 criteria. The supervisor in reception is more willing to talk about what I am doing and tells me how to improve and meet the targets.'

'It is great that the children get to know us and will come and play with us. Some of them say they have missed me when I've not been there.'

'I'd love to be on placement all the time. When I am on placement the children talk about what they have done the week before and I feel left out - I read the planning to see what they've done.'

- What are your experiences of student placements? To continue the discussion go to 'Have Your Say' at www.nurseryworld.co.uk

AN EXPERT'S VIEW

Avaril Allen, childcare and education EYP assessor, City and Islington College, London

One of the most challenging aspects of any childcare course is getting the balance right between the theoretical and practical elements. I believe the key to success lies with the liaison between the college and the placements.

At City and Islington College we have an excellent, full-time training placement liaison officer (TPLO) who ensures that placements run as smoothly as possible. We work on a 10-day (two-week) cycle, with six days in college and four days in placement. This gives the student a chance to plan and follow through on activities and it also gives them a more realistic experience.

The students have placements with all age groups including babies, foundation stage, and key stage 1. They also work with other groups such as special needs and hospital and family placements. In addition, our second-year students have the opportunity to work at the prestigious Portland Hospital.

Our TPLO inspects all our placements and has built up strong relationships with them, which enables the students to be matched with the most suitable experience. She visits all the students regularly and encourages them to speak openly about the placement.

Before going the students are prepared using comprehensive pre-placement forms which guide the expectations of both student and the setting. We emphasise the importance of the student being familiar with the setting's fire policy, such as what procedure should be followed if a fire occurs, and also what their first aid and accident procedures are.

Professionalism is stressed to students, as is the need to be neat, punctual and reliable.

We encourage both our students and their placement supervisors to be as open and professional as possible. If there are concerns on either side, our TPLO will arrange a discussion with all interested parties so that any problems can be aired. If this does not resolve the difficulty then we will remove the student and arrange alternative provision. Fortunately, because of the time spent in the placements by our TPLO, this is very rare and we usually manage to match our students and placements fairly successfully.

We will not use an unsuitable placement and where we have a difficulty with the student, we will support and guide them as much as possible through liaison with their personal tutor and use either our in-house college provision or our more experienced placements.

The main awarding body we work with is CACHE, which recently changed its course structure. At both Levels 2 and 3 on the new certificate and diploma courses there is now a practice evidence record diary which has set tasks for the students to perform and then reflect on. As a result, they are learning the value of being a reflective practitioner.