Flexible new deal stages and signing off to reclaim

donnajunkie

coupes wrote: »

donnajunkie, or anyone on stage 4 of FND and is currently with a provider could you help answer some of the questions below please:

1. How long was your induction?
2. How many days or hours per week do you attend the centre?
3. Are there any core modules on the course or are they all optional?
4. What is the minimum attendance required with the provider?
5. Is the 4 week voluntary work done in one block or gradually over the 12 months?

thanks

1. mine was scheduled to last 3 hours.we got away after 2.5 hours. when you are sat waiting in reception be prepared for stupidness. my advisor clearly said it was called induction but when the woman came along she said is anyone here for a fnd awareness course. some people might think thats not me and ignore them. i played safe and asked is that the induction.
2. as i am only new i am not totally sure about this. what i know is i have to see my advisor once a fortnight and the scheduled time for this is 30 minutes. my advisor said she would book me in for a jobsearch session once a week. this could last half a day i guess. they also book you onto any courses they think you need. it could be to do a cv or perhaps a motivational course or something to update your skills. whatever they are they are all likely to be short courses.
3. some are optional and some are mandatory. the jobsearch will no doubt be mandatory. my advisor did say while some things are optional once she has refered me for it she wouldnt be happy if i backed out. so make sure you definitely want to do any of the optional activities. if you are ever unsure then always ask your advisor if it is mandatory or not.
4. i think i have pretty much covered this already.
5. i think the 4 week work placement in most cases will be in one block. it can be at any time during the 12 months but expect them to be keen to get you onto one as soon as they can. they can also be extended and i think you can do more than one. i am pretty sure though so long as you get 4 weeks done they cant make you do anymore. one thing that is important to remember is you should avoid having any time off from your placement. for example even if you were only off on the last day of the 4 weeks this would mean you have to start right back at the beginning of the 4 weeks.

Arg

libbysmum wrote: »

Its 26 weeks if they want top avoid stage 4 however alot of jcps are fast tracking people now, especially if they think they can afford to live on their own money or are working cash in hand so will not necc be avoided. Sanctioning all depends on your advisor at the provider so if you show them you are looking, they can usually assess the timewasters from those genuinely looking for work.

The problem with that is they then go on try to try and remove people through underhand measures because they know they won't be getting a payoff from those types of people they cannot find work for.

TheBottomLine_2

john539 wrote: »

Don't reply to idiots, they are not you & in your situation.

You're right, I'm not in the exact same situation. I wouldn't be getting pregnant if we were both out of work, unless of course I wanted some extra cash. Another mouth to feed would just make life more difficult, that's one of the reasons people can get free contraceptives. It's not difficult to avoid pregnancy.

But according to you I'm an idiot for having that opinion. :rotfl:

coupes

donnajunkie wrote: »

3. some are optional and some are mandatory. the jobsearch will no doubt be mandatory. my advisor did say while some things are optional once she has refered me for it she wouldnt be happy if i backed out. so make sure you definitely want to do any of the optional activities. if you are ever unsure then always ask your advisor if it is mandatory or not.

Thanks for your detailed response donna. So basically the mandatory part is the jobsearch which is half a day each week? And you dont have to do any other courses, unless you want to, as long as you have a good CV and can write letters etc.

It seems odd that they are getting people to stay with the provider for 12 months when you just need to do 4 weeks voluntary work. It should be that as soon as you have done your placement you can leave the provider.

donnajunkie

coupes wrote: »

Thanks for your detailed response donna. So basically the mandatory part is the jobsearch which is half a day each week? And you dont have to do any other courses, unless you want to, as long as you have a good CV and can write letters etc.

It seems odd that they are getting people to stay with the provider for 12 months when you just need to do 4 weeks voluntary work. It should be that as soon as you have done your placement you can leave the provider.

other things as well as jobsearch could end up being mandatory. she just said some things are not mandatory. she didnt explain in detail what might be mandatory and what isnt. it is just logical to assume the job search will be mandatory. she didnt say how long it was for. she just said i will book you in for a session once a week. so it could be anything from 1 hour to all day. again though it is logical to assume it will be half a day. you may think you have a good cv but if they dont agree then you may end up doing a cv course.
i agree it is odd that the placement is only for 4 weeks when the course is for 12 months.

mummytotwo_3

TheBottomLine wrote: »

You're right, I'm not in the exact same situation. I wouldn't be getting pregnant if we were both out of work, unless of course I wanted some extra cash. Another mouth to feed would just make life more difficult, that's one of the reasons people can get free contraceptives. It's not difficult to avoid pregnancy.

But according to you I'm an idiot for having that opinion. :rotfl:

I actually work part time, and I was sterilised last year, so should not have needed contraceptives - you see i almost lost my life last feb having my dd. If and only if I can make it to 37 weeks, im to have a c-section and full hysterctomy at 33.

Mr_Falling_Star

donnajunkie wrote: »

they are all part time jobs at those places.

Get two part time Jobs then...

Either that or stop coming up with excuses and just GO DO IT!

mummytotwo_3

mummytotwo wrote: »

I thought these forums were for help, support and advice. Not for being judgemental and defamatory to others, which in some i think are bordering on, which in a court of law is looked on very seriously with serious consequences.

Until you are in a situation yourselves, you have no idea what its like, and are therefore not qualified on the subject. There was a time like some of you I may have carried the same views, but not anymore, seeing how hard it is first hand.

I hope none of you are ever in the situation, but if you do find that you are, please dont expect me or others that have been through it to have any time for you.

I stand by this earlier post.

I doubt if you didnt have a computer screen to hide behind and had to air your views face to face, that some of you would be so daring in what you say, almost sheepish I would say.

I think some of you need to take a good hard look at your own lives before you start judging others, im sure that your perfect worlds are not as perfect as you make them out to be. At least some of us are prepared to admit that.

I came on this board to empathise with the op, and for my time, most of you have been down right insulting and judgemental. I am throughly disgusted with how some of you can speak to people.

Just because people have fallen on hard times, does not give you the right to speak to an individual the way you do, the quicker some of you realise this the better.

I hope I never have the misfortune of reading any of your posts again.

donnajunkie

Mr_Falling_Star wrote: »

Get two part time Jobs then...

Either that or stop coming up with excuses and just GO DO IT!

and what if one of the jobs is lost?

codwidow

Donnajunkie - did anyone mention paying for childcare at your FND place ?

I am signing for my credits and the JCP are being woolley about whether the provider will pay my childcare whilst I attend FND. If I am going to be expected to be sat there for half a day at a time I am either going to have to take my child with me or get something paid for.

I cant see the point in my attending the course at all, I am not getting any benefits so I cant see why they are insisting on my attendance when it clearly costs the taxpayer loads of money, its not like they are getting me off benefits and back to work because I dont get any money from them as it is, it will be costing them far more to send me on FND than it would to see me once a fortnight at the JC, hey ho another waste of money