Boston College Skirbeck Road BOSTON Lincolnshire PE21 6JF 01205 365701
2013 - 2014
E a r l y Ye a r s 2013 - 2014
PLACEMENT TRAINING
Safeguarding Statement
Welcome
Boston College places a high priority on the safety and wellbeing of our learners. We are committed to creating and maintaining a friendly, welcoming and safe working environment for all young people and vulnerable adults, whether learning is taking place on or off College premises. We have a duty to safeguard all learners, and we will respond immediately if there is a concern that a learner might be the victim of bullying, harassment, abuse or neglect.
During your training you will be offered practical experience in a wide variety of settings. These will include: Nursery Schools Primary Schools Day Nurseries Registered Childminders Level 2 You will undertake two work placements during the course of your study that will cover Pre-school 1-3 years and children aged 4-7 years. Your Tutor and Placement Officer will work closely with your Supervisors in each placement to assess your progress. Level 3 You will undertake four work placements during your course of study that will cover working with babies’ birth - 1 year, pre-school children aged 1-3 years and children aged 4-7 years 11 months. You will also have the opportunity to attend a setting for children 8-16 years or repeat an earlier age range.
All staff are trained in safeguarding and there is a designated specialist Safeguarding Team to help with any concerns you might have about your own or someone else’s safety. If you need to contact the Safeguarding Team please go to: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
Main reception Learner Services The ‘Stay Safe’ button on Moodle E-mail staysafe@boston.ac.uk
If you need to contact someone out of College hours about safeguarding contact:▪ Children’s Social Care on 01522 782333 ▪ In an emergency situation dial 999 and call the police An important part of safeguarding is making sure only authorised people are on our College premises. Please help us with this by carrying your ID badge at all times and showing it if asked by a member of College staff. At Boston College we respect everyone within the College community. We also emphasise respect for personal property and for the facilities of the College. We therefore, expect learners to work with us to create an environment where everyone feels safe and valued and can work to achieve their full potential.
BEFORE YOU START PLACEMENT Although you are bound to be nervous, this is just to check that you are able to communicate effectively with the children and that you are organised. For example, that you have thought through what you are aiming to achieve with the activity being observed. You could prepare a placement visit with your supporting placement mentor as he/she is there to help you. On these visits you will be expected to show the Placement Officer/ Tutor your Placement portfolio and also your diary sheet of attendance. The Placement Officer will also ask your Supervisor how you are progressing and feed back this information to you at the end of the visit. These visits will usually take about an hour and you will get a copy of the Placement Officer’s / Tutor’s report. You MUST keep this copy in your file.
You will be required to attend an interview prior to starting your placement. This is so that you can meet the staff and listen to the guidelines of the setting. Also you will have questions to ask so you know what is expected of you. At your interview you need to find out who your mentor is. A mentor is someone who will meet with you on a regular basis to discuss your progress. This is a good time to discuss your observations which you will need to carry out when they have been set by your tutor. You will be required to show and discuss your placement portfolio and CRB.
WORK PLACEMENT DRESS CODE
Placement Officer: Kelly Harris
When you go into placement you will be working as part of a professional team, and you will be expected to present yourself in an appropriate way.
College Tel. No. 01205 365701 Ext. 3364
Clothing should be practical, comfortable and modest and jewellery kept to a minimum for Health and Safety reasons.
E.mail: kelly-h@boston.ac.uk
The following tips may help you: No jeans No trainers No low tops No underwear on show No body piercing No rings with stone settings No dangling earrings (hoops) etc. stud earrings only No long nails No nail varnish No high heels
Finally, we hope you will find your Placement Practice to be a rewarding experience, which will help you to develop the skills needed to work effectively as an Early Years Professional.
REMEMBER for Health and Safety reasons you will need a pair of strong sensible flat shoes and clothing should be clean and smart at all times.
TIME KEEPING
PLACEMENT OFFICER
Your hours of work will depend on your work placement but are usually between 8.30am and 3.30pm. Therefore, you need to check your placement requirements as times may vary.
You will be visited by the Placement Officer or your Tutor at least once a term (3/4 times during your course). This is for an observation where he/she will observe you working with either a child or a group of children. This is an opportunity for you to show him/her what you can do. This is a positive experience so do take the opportunity to demonstrate your developing skills. This will be planned in advance in a pre-assessment target review. Your Placement Officer will discuss targets with you and develop an action plan. This will be reviewed when visited and in a follow up post-assessment interview. Action plans will be on-going and you will be expected to maintain agreed targets.
You will have a lunch break. You need to arrive in plenty of time before the children arrive to receive your instructions for the day. At the end of the day please do not be in a rush to get out of the door as your Placement Supervisor may wish to discuss plans for the next day.
If you are absent from your work placement for any reason it is your responsibility to inform the Placement Supervisor immediately by telephone as they will be expecting you to attend that day. This is very important as while you are in placement you will be considered as a member of the professional team for that setting. Your absence will affect the activities planned for the day. When you have telephoned the Supervisor of your setting you must then contact your Placement Officer as to the reasons why you are unable to attend. If there is a difficulty with this then you must inform your Tutor at the College. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES WILL RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
WHAT DO I NEED TO TAKE INTO PLACEMENT EVERY DAY DURING MY TRAINING?
Placement Portfolio Notebook and Pen Learner Attendance record Any College assignment guidelines relevant for that week Placement Diary (CACHE)
College work - you are expected to discuss your College work (PERS, Diary, observations) with your Supervisor, regularly. This is really important as your Supervisor has a lot of experience and can make comments to help you. Your Placement Supervisor will be someone to whom you can go for guidance and support. He/she will be the main person who will give you feedback on your progress on a daily or weekly basis. You must listen to the advice and take on board what is said to you. The Supervisor is there to help you achieve a good result in your practical training. It is, therefore, important that you do liaise closely with your Placement Supervisor. He/she will arrange with you a weekly time slot when your Practice Evidence Records can be signed off. It is important to find out when it is best for your Supervisor to do this to ensure that you collate the necessary evidence for your practical training as it occurs. Sometimes learners have waited a period of time before doing this. This is not a good idea as the Supervisor may not be there on certain days and then it may be difficult to prove that you have completed certain competences. A good idea is to jot down when you have achieved a given competence and make a note of how you achieved it.
ON YOUR FIRST DAY You will probably be very nervous on your first day. This is only natural. However, to minimise nerves it is a good idea to be very organised. Arriving on time will mean you are less hassled. People who are in a ‘panic state’ may not listen to what the Placement Supervisor says as they find retaining new information hard.
So arrive early with your folder and go to the reception area of your School or Nursery. On arrival you will be asked to sign your name in the visitors’ book. This is very important for Health and Safety reasons as this book acts as a register to record the people present in the building in the event of a fire.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY Placement Summary Record—this is a record of the placements that you have attended and the number of days or equivalent hours you have completed. You should fill in the record when you have completed each practical placement. You should use your diary sheet to help you do this.
Confidentiality It is important that you do not disclose information about the setting, staff or children in your care. If you have any concerns about placement, please speak to the Placement Officer or your tutor.
Your tutor or Placement Officer will then sign the placement summary record at the end of the course. REMEMBER it is very important that you keep this record up to date and provide accurate information. Practice Evidence Records - the practice evidence records contain statements which describe the skills and tasks you must be able to perform competently in your practical placement in order to achieve your qualification.
Who is responsible for the Practice Evidence Records? This is a very important document and it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that it is completed by the end of the course. Take great care of it as this is your only evidence of your practical training. Diary All Level 2 and Level 3 learners will undertake a diary. This is an important part of your Placement/College assessment. Your diary is linked to taught modules in College and must be started as soon as possible into the course. Your Tutor or Placement Officer will guide you. Professional Development Profile - each Placement Supervisor will complete a final (PDP) towards the end of each placement. He/she will indicate Pass or Refer and provide comments against each statement. It is important that you discuss the outcome with your Supervisor and ask how you can improve your work, particularly if you are referred.
Final Report - when you receive your report from your Supervisor, please make sure that all boxes have been filled in including number of days before it is returned to College. Interim Report - the Placement Officer will require an interim report on your progress during your placement. The ‘Needs more Practice’ option in the interim report is to identify areas of practice where you may need guidance and support. Your Placement Officer will be able to develop an action plan to help you achieve the required number of passes. Attendance Registers—You must ensure you bring your attendance register every Monday to College to allow this to be updated on the electronic register system. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary procedures and effect your overall attendance. There will be a post box in CoVE for you to put your registers. The Placement Officer will return these before the end of the week. You must take an attendance record, witness signature sheet and a checklist which the Placement Officer will provide for you to take into each placement. You will present these documents to your Placement Supervisor at your preliminary meeting (first interview with the Placement Supervisor). When the Placement Officer has informed you where your placement is, you will be given the full contact details on a card.
WHAT DO I NEED TO TAKE INTO PLACEMENT ON MY FIRST DAY?
CRB check * Checklist Paper and Pen * Attendance record Placement Portfolio * Witness signature sheet
If you have a warning or caution on your CRB the College cannot guarantee we can find you a placement. If this happens you will need to consider an alternative course.