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Kylemore Nursery School, Coleraine

Students on Placement

It is the policy of Kylemore Nursery School to welcome and accept students, after considering the well being and needs of the children, and to provide opportunities for these students to work and train in a Nursery School environment. The aim is to provide students on placement with experiences that contribute to the successful completion of their studies and that provide examples of quality practice in early years care and education.

Students will be accepted in the following order of priority:-
 Students from Teacher Training Colleges
 NNEB/NVQ3/BTEC students
 NVQ2 students
 Students on work experience courses from statutory and non-statutory agencies.
 Pupils from secondary schools involved with child care related courses.

An access NI check must be completed for all students BEFORE placement begins.
The number of students will be limited so that the staff may meet the students’
needs satisfactorily without over-stretching the school’s resources.
Children are paramount at all times and the needs and interests of each child will always be considered.
Students on placement are never left unsupervised with children or asked to change/toilet a child unless this is a requirement of the course.
Students on placement are required to maintain the Confidentiality policy.
Students are provided, at the first session of their placement, with a short induction on how the nursery is managed, how the sessions are organised and the policies and procedures.
A planned work programme will be established. Students will spend the Morning session inside and the Afternoon session outside – or vice versa. Students are asked to remember that the completion of observations are an integral part of your course. If a student requires information to complete these tasks you must ask for it as soon as possible. A student with an activity to complete must give adequate notice – at least one working week - particularly if you require something specific. Staff will arrange to incorporate this in the curriculum planning.

A positive message is communicated to students about the value of qualifications and training.
Interaction between tutors/teachers and Nursery School staff will be established prior to and during the student’s placement in the Nursery School to the mutual benefit of both the student and the staff.
This will be done in the following ways:-
Tutors/teachers will be invited to visit the school prior to and during placements to discuss and arrangements and work involved with the Principal and the teachers.
The Principal and/or the tutor informs the student of the principles of nursery education.
The Principal and/or the tutor explains good nursery practices to them.
The tutor meets with the Nursery school teachers and together they prepare a report on the progress of the students.
The school appoints a staff mentor for each student and communicates this information to the student and to all staff.

Disseminating and Implementing this Policy
All nursery staff will be required to read this policy on their induction and to comply with the contents of the policy. The policy will always be available for staff to refer to.
The implementation of the policy will be monitored by nursery staff on a day to day basis.
If incidences of non-compliance do occur, this will be dealt with on a case by case basis through performance management of staff.
Any adverse incidents will be recorded and reviewed to ensure the policy is fit for purpose.

All staff must ensure that no one in the organisation discriminates (directly or indirectly) or victimises another person or patients on the grounds of sex, age, disability (including reasons of a person’s association with disabled people), race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender, including transgender men and women, sexual orientation, marital status or any other unjustifiable condition or requirement.

The policy will be formally reviewed at least every three years.

This policy has been agreed by the Board of Governors.