Placement Provider Roles and Responsibilities
Placement Provider Roles and Responsibilities
This page identifies responsibilities for an organisation hosting a placement for a WBS Undergraduate student.
These responsibilities form part of a wider document, designed to support understanding of expectations and the role of the different parties involved with a placement. Click here to view the Placement roles and responsibilities of all parties in full.
Pre-placement
- Provide a clear job description setting out the role and responsibilities, skills and experience required, working hours, salary, and working arrangements
- Remuneration should be stated at the outset, either as a set figure, an appropriate range or expressed comparatively to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage
- Recruit and select students using the same methods and standards that apply to regular recruitment
- Understand and fulfil legal responsibility as an employer with regards to recruitment and equality legislation, including Right to Work checks
- Provide an employment contract to the successful candidate(s)
- Seek to become familiar with any relevant university processes, as advised within placement communication
- Provide required information in relation to health and safety, insurance, and due diligence
- Prompt and monitor the completion of risk assessments
- Ensure that sufficient insurance cover is in place (held by the Placement Provider and the student, if appropriate) for the activities of the placement student and to others who could be affected by the placement student’s actions or inactions
- Be familiar with and agree to the responsibilities and expectations for all parties through a formal signed agreement
- Arrange an induction programme and appoint a named line manager or supervisor who will act as the first point of contact throughout the placement, supervise the student, and liaise with the practitioner
On placement
- Provide a sufficiently safe, professional working environment where appropriate, including the provision of guidelines for home working if necessary
- Accept liability and responsibility for students on placement in the same way as for all other employees
- Provide a structured induction and induction materials including information regarding equality and diversity and health and safety
- Provide suitable supervision, training and support throughout the placement
- Agree learning objectives with the placement student and include regular opportunities for two-way discussion, feedback and review sessions
- Allow time, where possible, for the student to reflect on learning, or undertake any other tasks relevant to the academic assessment of their placement.
- Support the student to manage their own learning, by ensuring sufficient access to resources, support, and materials
- Comply with health and safety legislation and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Treat the placement student as a regular employee, excepting the additional needs of the placement
- Maintain good communication with the academic department by responding promptly to emails and other requests for information
- Report any issues or concerns that arise during the placement to the student (in all cases) and to the academic department (issues that threaten the continuance of the placement, unexplained absences) following agreed reporting procedures
- Facilitate at least one placement visit by the practitioner or their representative, and ideally at least one further check-in by email if longer than one term
End of placement
- Complete a final review with the placement student that includes an objective evaluation of their performance, effectiveness in consolidating the knowledge and skills to the workplace, and the learning that they have gained from the placement
- Complete any evaluation forms provided by the academic department