Hempsted Playgroup and Toddlers
                                                                                                           Student Placement Policy

 

Our setting recognises that qualifications and training make an important contribution to the quality of the care and education provided by early year’s settings.

We offer placements to students undertaking early year’s qualifications and training, and we also offer work experience placements for school children. 

For students on placement with us we aim to provide experiences that contribute to the successful completion of their studies and that provide examples of quality practice in early years care and education.

 

We require students/volunteers to meet the ‘suitable person’ requirements of Ofsted.

We require schools placing students under the age of 17 years with the setting to vouch for their good character.

We supervise students and volunteers at all times and do not allow them to have unsupervised access with the children.

Students who are placed in our setting on a short-term basis are not counted in our staffing ratios.  

 

Suitable students on long term placements and volunteers (aged 17 or over) and staff working as apprentices in early education (aged 16 or over) may be included in the ratios at the level below their level of study, if the provider is satisfied that they are competent and responsible and if they hold a valid and current PFA qualification.

We take out employer’s liability insurance and public liability insurance, which covers both trainees and voluntary helpers.

We require students and volunteers to keep to our confidentiality policy.

We co-operate with students tutors in order to help students to fulfil the requirements of their course of study.

We provide students and volunteers, at the first session of their placement, with an induction on how our setting is managed, safeguarding procedures, how our sessions are organised and our policies and procedures.

We communicate a positive message to students about the value of qualifications and training.

We make the needs of the children paramount by not admitting students or volunteers in numbers that hinder the essential work of the setting.

We ensure that trainees and students placed with us are engaged in bona fide early years training, which provides the necessary background understanding of children’s development and activities.

 

 

Reviewed August 2025