The importance of placements is highlighted by Carl Duck, Lecturer and Work Placement Coordinator at University of Hull. The School of Education delivers three undergraduate degree programmes and all
students engage in professional placements over the three years they are with us. This year I have organised over 180 placements for students with the large majority being in Hull schools; mainly primary and special schools. We also have some students who undertake a placement abroad. This year we have two students in Holland. The placements are experiential, and the focus is to build the students experience of working in a professional education setting. The students attend placements for 10 days up to 25 over a period of 12 weeks.

Placements are very challenging for students putting them in an environment outside their comfort. In the time I have been working at Hull I have become much more aware of the challenge of mental health and wellbeing faced by young people. We do a lot of work to ensure students are placement ready and all students have a full DBS and complete personal risk assessments. It is fantastic when a student successfully graduates, completes a PGCE or SCITT and then becomes a teacher. I have been lucky to see students take this journey, and the undergraduate placements are the first small step.

Accessing Funding
There is a lot of funding available for schools to access and I think it is an area of development you might be interested in discussing. I think this could also be an interesting research area as I know from my experience at Hornsea the positive impact funding can make at a family level.
Contact Details:
Carl Duck, Lecturer and Work Placement Coordinator
c.duck@hull.ac.uk