At Lancaster University, we are committed to fostering a culture of safety and creating a learning environment where all students thrive, feel secure, and receive robust support. We uphold the principle that everyone deserves equal protection from abuse, regardless of age, race, religion, ability, gender, language, background, or sexual identity.

We strive to build a fairer and more inclusive University for our entire community - staff, students, visitors, and extended partners - by integrating equality, diversity, and inclusion into all University plans and activities.

This guidance outlines the shared responsibilities of placement providers, students, and the University, offering clear direction on maintaining student safety and wellbeing during placements.

We each play a vital role in making this commitment a reality. Placement providers share responsibility for student welfare in the workplace and should seek appropriate guidance whenever they believe a student (at any organisational level) may be at risk, both within and outside the work environment.

This guidance for placement providers offers practical advice and highlights suggested good practice for supporting students during their placement experience. Individual Departments, Schools, or teams may also have their own specific procedures, which may differ from the recommendations outlined here.

• Definitions
• Preparation for the placement
• Supporting students while they are on placement
• End of the placement

Definitions

Placement: work or study-based learning opportunity external to the University

Placement Provider: the workplace environment outside the University offering an agreed period of learning in the workplace

LU Placement Coordinator: designated member of staff at Lancaster University responsible for coordinating and supporting students on placement (note that the member of staff working with you may have a different title).

Placement-based Supervisor: designated line manager, supervisor or mentor assigned to support the student at the placement provider

Preparation for the placement

Placement Learning Agreement

As the placement provider, you will be asked to agree a three-way Placement Learning Agreement which sets out the expectations from the student, the University and the placement provider.

As a placement provider the University expects you to:

• Provide a job description or outline of the duties the student will be expected to deliver while on placement
• Provide details of the working location, times and details of any annual leave entitlement
• Fulfil the requirements of Health and Safety, Equal Opportunities, Insurance and other legal obligations in relation to the student. Assess any risks to the student before placement begins, including welfare and safeguarding.
• Provide the student with a full and clear induction to the organisation and its working practices covering all aspects of health and safety
• Provide the student with the necessary training and equipment required for them to fulfil their placement duties
• Inform the student of company policies and processes which are applicable to their role such as GDPR, confidentiality, absence reporting
• Ensure students are aware of how to report a welfare or safeguarding concern to the placement provide as their employer.
• Confirm that the student is covered by the organisation's employer liability insurance. Additional consideration may be required where a student presents with a disability which may have insurance implications.
• Ensure a Placement-based Supervisor has been identified to supervise and support the student while on placement
• Ensure that staff who are working with under 18-year-olds or someone identified as vulnerable have the necessary level of Disclosure and Barring Service check completed. Ensure that colleagues do not pose a threat
• Work with the student and the University to complete a risk review or risk assessment for the placement, if required. Individual risk assessments may be required where a student shares information about a disability or is pregnant.
• Discuss reasonable adjustments and possible support requirements where a student shares information relating to a disability

The University will:

• Provide a nominated Lancaster University Placement Coordinator as a point of contact for placement providers and placement students
• Where a student has shared information about a disability, facilitate the student and employer in assessing support requirements and identifying reasonable adjustments or undertaking risk assessments if necessary
• Provide pre-placement preparation sessions and provide students with support information
• Establish a regular check-in schedule with placement students and providers
• Implement mechanisms for providers to report unauthorised absences or concerns
• Ensure students know who to contact in an emergency and how to report any concerns while on placement
• Provide support for students returning from placement to help them re-integrate into University life

A template Placement Learning Agreement is available here

International students and visa requirements

For international students with a Student Visa, their right to work has already been confirmed by the University and places no additional administrative burden on the placement provider. The legislation simply requires that if a placement student is a Student Visa holder, in the event of any unexplained or prolonged absences you, the placement provider, must inform the University immediately so that we, as sponsors, can inform the Home Office. This would also apply were the student to resign, be made redundant or fired. Further details on Student Visas can be found here: Student visa overview.

Lancaster University Placement Coordinators will email international placement students once a month to confirm their placement details.

Students with disabilities, health conditions and additional support needs

Lancaster University is committed to removing barriers to learning for our disabled students.

External providers as well as the University have a duty to both anticipate and manage reasonable adjustments in placements for students with Specific Learning Differences (SpLDs) and disabilities, physical or mental health conditions.

We encourage students to share information relating to a disability or health condition with a placement provider to access their legal rights to reasonable adjustments. As a placement provider, we would also ask you to encourage placement students to share if they have a disability, mental health condition, additional support needs or caring responsibilities. A formal diagnosis is not needed – the student’s support needs are determined by the level of challenge or impact they experience. The Lancaster University Placement Coordinator can work with you to ensure the placement is fully accessible.

Requesting reasonable adjustments from a placement provider

Students who have shared information about a disability or health condition with the University should work with their Lancaster University Placement Coordinator and their placement provider to complete a Placement Inclusive Learning and Support Plan (Placement ILSP). This document will identify the requests for reasonable adjustments based upon either a self-directed skills audit or the competency/professional standards required by a particular field. This document should be a ‘live’ document which can be adapted as needed during the placement.

It is important that a student discusses reasonable adjustment requests with their placement provider, in advance if possible. This proactive approach allows time to agree upon reasonable adjustments while familiarising students with the location, people, processes, and procedures that can be adapted to their preferred learning style. Students may already have an Inclusive Learning and Support Plan (ILSP) in place at the University for teaching learning and assessment and may require guidance to recognise that what may be appropriate in a teaching setting may not be appropriate in a work environment. If your organisation has an HR or Equality and Diversity department, they can provide guidance on implementing appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of disabled individuals. You may need to consider amending a start date where required adjustments have not been implemented prior to a scheduled start date.

While we provide examples of reasonable adjustments and a Placement ILSP template (link), each student's needs differ, and their plan should be tailored to their specific requirements and placement environment.

It is essential to monitor these adjustments during the placement and evaluate their effectiveness afterwards. This approach enables the University to assess how reasonable adjustments are anticipated and managed in various placement settings. Increased collaboration between providers and the University promotes more effective implementation of anticipatory adjustments.

For students with specific disabilities, health conditions, or additional support needs, the University may need to work with placement providers to conduct risk assessments ensuring proper support. The University has a duty to disclose disabilities to placement providers when they might affect the student's safety or the safety of others in the placement environment.

Unable to meet support request

If a placement provider is unable to accommodate a student’s needs then the provider will need to inform the University as soon as possible, outlining their concerns. A decision will then be made regarding the placement's suitability for the student in question, if reasonable adjustments cannot be met.

Sometimes students ask for reasonable adjustments in practice that are not reasonable – we can work with you to help them understand, and access appropriate support where needed.

Induction packs

Just like any other worker, students need to be given all relevant information about the workplace and what will be expected of them. The checklist below is offered as a guide; you may have an induction programme for newly appointed staff and some of this could be relevant to a student on placement, and it is recognised that some providers may provide a group induction programme.

Ideally a placement student induction pack would include:

• Employer’s aims and objectives
• Organisational structure and accountability of the student
• Location map of the building that the placement will occur to orientate a student
• Relevant contact details supported with photos of staff including name and role
• Relevant policies and procedures such as health and safety, equality and diversity, organisational policies on using the internet and technology safely in the workplace
• Standards of conduct/staff guidance
• Confidentiality policy
• Recording processes (if relevant)
• Employer complaints and whistle blowing procedures
• Flow charts of particular processes commonly used in placement
• Templates of reports, memos and or letters and/or proformas
• Copies of acronyms or abbreviations commonly used in placement
• Named contact with whom the student may discuss reasonable adjustments or other protected characteristic requirements

Supporting students while they are on placement

As the placement provider, the University expects you to:

• Provide the student with helpful feedback on their progress and performance (via their line manager/Placement-based Supervisor)
• Participate in the evaluation of the placement including attending mid-placement review meetings with the student and a University representative and any other check-ins/meetings as required (online or in person as preferred)
• Fulfil the roles and activities as outlined in the Placement Learning Agreement, including any specific support that has been identified for students who have shared information about a disability
• Notify the University of any uncertified absences and/or work-related accidents as a matter of urgency. If a student is missing from work without explanation for more than one full working day, the University must be notified using the Student Cause for Concern Form.
• Notify the University if the placement is terminated earlier than anticipated e.g. via redundancy, termination or resignation
• Promptly report any non-urgent concerns about the student to your nominated Lancaster University Placement Coordinator

Students retain access to University support services while on placement; you can find more details on the LU Guide for Placement Students webpages. If you have any concerns at all about a placement student’s wellbeing, please contact your Lancaster University Placement Coordinator or the University wellbeing services directly.

Some students may need adjustments due to their faith, spirituality, sexual orientation, caring responsibilities or other protected characteristics; as their placement provider we would ask you to support them with this as you would any other employee.

Know how to raise an urgent concern about a student

The Lancaster University webpages provide information on:

• What to do in a wellbeing emergency or crisis
• What to do if you are concerned about a student: complete the Student Cause for Concern Form to tell us why you are concerned about a student. The LU Student Wellbeing Services can help them get the right support and provide you with advice.

If the student is based outside the UK, in an emergency, use the appropriate emergency services for the country the student is located in, and then follow up by informing LU Student Wellbeing Services of the situation using the Student Cause for Concern Form above.

Allocation of work

The placement provider (i.e. the Placement-based Supervisor or team manager) is expected to provide the student with a range of work that is suitable for them to undertake in line with the aims of their placement. Workloads should be balanced and offer a range of different activities to ensure that the student also has opportunity to demonstrate their ability to produce work of acceptable quality against realistic time frames. Quality as opposed to quantity is important.

Line managers/supervisors need to make decisions about the type, amount and complexity of work allocated to individual students according to their past experience, particular abilities and whether the student is undertaking a first or final placement. In the early days of a placement, students will need to shadow and observe other workers, gain insight and knowledge into the actual work of the placement provider, practice existing skills and learn new ones in a safe environment. Co-working with another professional taking the lead role offers students a unique opportunity to listen and learn without having to take overall responsibility. It will also probably take some time for the student to become familiar with employer paperwork, procedures, professional language and the office culture. The build-up of work allocated needs to be planned, appropriate and interesting to ensure a steady pace of learning. It should also provide evidence of progression/development of skills.

End of the placement

End of placement review

We would recommend that at the end of the placement, you hold a review meeting with the student to reflect on their achievements during the placement, give them honest and constructive feedback and help them to identify any key learning points and potentially discuss future career opportunities. This will help the student to understand the benefits the placement has had for them and how their skills have developed.

Suggested questions for an end of placement review:

• What skills do you feel you have developed during this placement?
• What have been your highlights?
• What have been the biggest challenges you encountered?
• What advice would you give to other students starting this type of placement?

Feedback to the University

If you have any feedback you wish to share with the University on your experiences of working with us as a placement provider, please do share these with the nominated Lancaster University Placement Coordinator as this will help us to improve our approach to placements going forward.