Placements

Procedure for raising concerns in partner organisations

In alignment with the university’s policy statement on equality, diversity and inclusion, we have created a document that sets out how our School supports students and staff who experience racism and discrimination during practice placements.

• Procedure for raising concerns in partner organisations (.docx)

Toolkits for practice placements

Please select from the icons below for resources that support practice placements.

Returning to placement

The UK Council of Deans of Health have published an FAQ document that explains what you need to know about returning to standard placements and Covid-19.

Fitness to Practice Procedures

All students at the University of Essex are required to comply with the regulations of the University regarding conduct. Students enrolled on courses which have a practical professional placement have additional responsibilities placed on them as outlined in relevant regulatory and/or professional body codes of practice. Failure to meet these responsibilities can lead to the Fitness to Practice Procedure being invoked. Students will be notified on registration if their course of study is subject to the terms of this procedure.

Occupational Health Clearance

Students who require Occupational Health clearance for their programme will receive an email with instructions prior to their course commencing. Please refer to the guidance here or email studentoh@essex.ac.uk if you need support.

Access to the placements database

For Nursing, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language Therapy, we have a Practice Education Management System (PEMS) which allows you to view and update the practice education elements of the programme. You will have received log-in details of this by email - should you have trouble with this, please contact us. We also have a handy 'how-to' guide for Placement Organisation users.

Online updates

Your role as a practice educator is essential in developing new generations of health and social care professionals. To help support your practice as an educator, we have a range of CPD modules and online training which you may be interested in.

Learning support fund

There are different sources of financial support.  You can get financial support from the University of Essex as well as claiming support from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

Travel and accommodation expenses

Eligible students can claim back travel and accommodation expenses, relating to placements, through the NHSBSA Learning Support Fund (LSF). This includes fuel and public transport, as well as car hire in special cases.

As the LSF is not managed by the University of Essex, we are unable to tell you whether you are eligible. However, for details regarding eligibility, how to apply, what can be claimed, and how to claim, please refer to the NHS Learning Support Fund webpage and the TDAE application guidance booklet.

If accepted, you will gain access to the TDAE claims form. This form is to be downloaded, completed and returned to us at hscplacements@essex.ac.uk. We will then check your form over and, if there are no issues, send it to the NHSBSA on your behalf. The NHSBSA aims to process payment within 35 working days.

Please note ordinarily, claims cannot be made until the placement has come to an end, however, if you will be on a long-term placement, e.g. for several months, and prefer to claim for shorter periods at a time rather than wait for the placement to end, you can make several smaller claims during your placement in order to receive part-reimbursement.

Please also note from 2021/22, you have a maximum of six months from the last date of the placement period you’re claiming for to submit your claim.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please let us know by emailing hscplacements@essex.ac.uk 

Feedback

How would you rate your experience using this web site? Tell us what can be improved.

• placementpagesfeedback@essex.ac.uk