Pre-PGCE School Experience (Programme).

Darren08

Hello all,


I've recently had some bad experiences with a school and it's left me feeling quite angry and frustrated. I am out of pocket as a result of the schools actions.


I arranged a formal 10 day placement with a school a few towns over from me via the School Experience Programme. Getting to and from would have required three buses and a 1.5hr commute each way, or a £15 cab and 20 minute drive.


Due to the distance, I asked a local school if they would let me come in and do the 10 day placement there with them as a private arrangement outside of the SEP. The school is a member of the Carmel College conglomerate.


The local school agreed and I cancelled the placement booked via the SEP. They agreed in writing and verbally that I could come in for the ten days. I therefore cancelled the formal SEP placement on the understanding that I had an agreed placement.


I went into the school to meet the head of department and we discussed how everything would work. I was told I could still visit once per week after the 10 day placement if I wanted. I was told I had to attend in formal attire. They agreed to sign the School Experience Programme forms even though it was privately arranged outside of the SEP.


The school asked me to arrange my own DBS check which they would pay for. I therefore booked an appointment and took time out of my busy schedule to go into the local council to have the DBS forms completed.


The school asked me to conduct some online training prior to agreeing to me going into lessons. It took me and entire afternoon and evening to read all of the material on child safety and the likes and to do the test.


I then had to go into the school a second time with signed forms (declarations, references, personal info etc).


The school did not get back to me and left me chasing them for a number of weeks. Eventually they replied that they had swapped heads of department and that I could go in again to set up the ten days.


I purchased a suit, ties, belt and shirts which came to around £65.


I went into the school (for the third time) and met the new head of department. We sat down and agreed ten dates that were agreeable to us both and she told me she would send me out a formal timetable. I was told I could even get proper school lunches on the days! I was told I could stay that day, so I stayed and observed one class.


I did not receive a formal timetable as promised so I chased the school up yet again.


I got a response saying that they were too busy and could no longer offer me the ten day placement.


This came completely out of the blue and there were no more formal placements available via SEP.

So now I am sat with £65 of formal gear in the wardrobe which I no longer need, no placement, no alternative placements to pick from, no observations/experience, and a lot of time wasted going to the council and into the school three times.


I advised the school I intended to file Small Claims for the formal clothing as I no longer need them and their solicitor responded that the claim would fail because there was no contract between the school and myself for the placement.


I have all of the e-mail correspondence proving they agreed to the 10 day placement, including the training and DBS check correspondence. The school just keeps coming back with 'we can revoke placements at our discretion' but surely they must be at fault for doing it after the first day of and agreed 10 day placement.


It seems really unfair that I have lost any chance of a placement until October, money and a good deal of time because of their disrespectful, disorganised, actions. Do I have a claim?


Thank you for your time!

bellaboo86

I'm not sure why you would cancel your formal SEP to do an informal one? It seems a really stupid thing to do in my opinion. I can appreciate being messed around is frustrating but if you has stuck with your SEP it wouldn't have happened.
Do you drive? If you don't you are limiting your choice of teaching jobs. Also, I would hate to have to carry my marking on to a bus. Staying late at school to get your marking done isn't always option so you might want to consider learning if you haven't got a license.
I also fail to see how you have wasted money on clothes. If you are set on a career in teaching then you need smart clothes so you will have ample opportunity to wear your purchases even if it isn't straight away. Alternatively take the clothes back and get a refund.
What is it your wanting to make a claim about? I'm not sure you have any grounds for one really.

FutureGirl

Your claim for the £65 for the clothing will fail. You state in your OP that you've lost the chance of placement 'until October' - so you would have had to buy the clothing then anyway, so it isn't a waste, and therefore you've not lost anything financially.

I can't see anything for you to claim for.

Andypandyboy

This is why there are organised and regulated placements.

If you had gone with the first one all of the onus to organise and sort out the detail would have been taken from you. You would also have been in a school that was approved and vetted for such placements. Vetting covers reliability, supervising staff, breadth of exposure to curriculum etc.

With regard to the clothes, just save them for when you do go on placement. A voluntary agreement with the school is not binding so you have no redress I am afraid.

Darren08

bellaboo86 wrote: »

I'm not sure why you would cancel your formal SEP to do an informal one? It seems a really stupid thing to do in my opinion.

Bit rude. Why would it be stupid when the school offered me the 10 day placement and agreed to sign all of the SEP forms?

bellaboo86 wrote: »

I can appreciate being messed around is frustrating but if you has stuck with your SEP it wouldn't have happened.
Do you drive? If you don't you are limiting your choice of teaching jobs. Also, I would hate to have to carry my marking on to a bus. Staying late at school to get your marking done isn't always option so you might want to consider learning if you haven't got a license.

I'm a few weeks off from my practical.

bellaboo86 wrote: »

I also fail to see how you have wasted money on clothes. If you are set on a career in teaching then you need smart clothes so you will have ample opportunity to wear your purchases even if it isn't straight away. Alternatively take the clothes back and get a refund.
What is it your wanting to make a claim about? I'm not sure you have any grounds for one really.

I can't take the clothes back, I bought them months ago, it took that long for the school to sort out the DBS and get me in. I won't be doing the PGCE/ITT/SCIT until September 2017 so I won't need the formal gear until then, unless I can secure a placement from October, which there is no guarantee of.

Darren08

FutureGirl wrote: »

Your claim for the £65 for the clothing will fail. You state in your OP that you've lost the chance of placement 'until October' - so you would have had to buy the clothing then anyway, so it isn't a waste, and therefore you've not lost anything financially.

I can't see anything for you to claim for.

There's absolutely no guarantee that I will get a formal SEP placement. From January 2016-present, there have been no local SEP placements within a workable distance. The nearest was the one I originally booked - which was still a considerable distance. The next closest was a 40 minute train journey away, with a 90 minute walk from the station. Not practical at all. There's also no guarantee that formal attire will be mandatory at other schools, they might accept smart-cas.


I see the lost time and the clothes as being what I can claim for, as I am out of pocket because of both.

Darren08

Andypandyboy wrote: »

This is why there are organised and regulated placements.

If you had gone with the first one all of the onus to organise and sort out the detail would have been taken from you. You would also have been in a school that was approved and vetted for such placements. Vetting covers reliability, supervising staff, breadth of exposure to curriculum etc.

With regard to the clothes, just save them for when you do go on placement. A voluntary agreement with the school is not binding so you have no redress I am afraid.

I get what you're saying, but I spent over an hour on the phone with the SEP guys at the Department for Education. They told me to arrange a private visit because the 'local' SEP placements were all so far away. I did it with their encouragement, that's why I asked the school if they would sign the SEP paperwork, which they agreed to do also.

Darren08

Also, one other thing to consider is that the school told me that SKIT/ITT courses are first come, first served. The UCAS applications open in October and, for my subject, fill up within weeks apparently.


So, come October, I will be at a disadvantage because I will not have the minimum 10 days of observations which are requirements for entries to most teaching degrees/courses now. My application will not include experience/observations. You have to have 10 days minimum, within the last 3 years prior to applying.

missbiggles1

Darren08 wrote: »

Bit rude. Why would it be stupid when the school offered me the 10 day placement and agreed to sign all of the SEP forms?





I'm a few weeks off from my practical.





I can't take the clothes back, I bought them months ago, it took that long for the school to sort out the DBS and get me in. I won't be doing the PGCE/ITT/SCIT until September 2017 so I won't need the formal gear until then, unless I can secure a placement from October, which there is no guarantee of.

Then they'll just sit in your wardrobe until you need them, surely?

Andypandyboy

Perhaps, but I assume they thought you would realise doing that had inherent risks.

Schools are rapidly changing workplaces and that means that when circumstances change; new HOD, sickness, Ofsted pending etc, they often cannot make good on informal agreements.

I think you are just going to have to chalk (!) this one down to experience and let it go. Suing a school in the local area is really not a good move, your reputation will precede you if you apply for jobs locally. Teachers talk....

Take a deep breath and move on!

Darren08

Possibly, but then again I might lose weight by then, it is four months away and I am on a diet :P. The clothes would have worked for this ten week placement. In another 16 weeks I might be a stone or more lighter.