The Board of Management and Staff of Castletownshend National School are willing to provide opportunities of work experience for students from the wider school community. This includes students on Transition Year Programmes, students from Colleges of Education. The central objective of this policy is to ensure that the good name of Castletownshend National School is preserved and that the welfare of the children in the school is primary at all times.

Rationale

Castletownshend National  School recognises its obligation to share best educational practice with those seeking to gain experience in a school setting and will host students in accordance with the capacity of the school to accommodate such students and in accordance with the willingness and availability of teachers to accommodate them at any particular time. However, the accommodation of student teachers or work experience students is ultimately at the discretion of the principal. The Principal Teacher of the School, as an agent of the Board of Management is charged with the day to day running of the school. The Principal Teacher reserves the right to refuse or allow applicants a work experience placement in the school if she deems for whatever reason, that a work experience placement is not in the best interest of pupils, or the overall school community, at any particular time.

The following are the procedures under which this work experience can take place

·   Places will be given on a priority basis to former pupils of the school, and/or children of staff members.

·   Only one participant at a time will be accepted on a work experience programme, except in exceptional circumstances.  Priority will be given to Student Teachers from the Colleges of Education, therefore Transition Year Work Experience pupils may be refused if the school has already agreed to facilitate a Student teacher.

·   Applications for work experience should be made in writing, well in advance of the dates being requested. Students should specify details of the work experience being sought from the relevant school or college.

·   Students must be fully insured while in the school by their respective college or school; a letter to this effect should be provided to the Principal.

·   Persons who request a voluntary position in the school, for the purposes of building up work experience, must be Garda vetted in prior to commencing their placement. This requirement applies to persons undertaking long term placements, and/or those who will have unsupervised access to children. See DES Circular 0063/2010 for further information.

·   The Principal and staff will endeavour to ensure that the time spent in the school by the student is beneficial and a positive learning experience.

·   Students must at all times be respectful of all members of staff, Board of Management, parents and pupils. They should also be willing to follow the instruction/guidance of the Principal, Deputy Principal, Secretary or whichever staff member has been designated to supervise their duties.

·   Students are expected to co-operate with the general rules, procedures and organisational policies of the school; their actions, dress code and language while in the school must be exemplary and of a professional nature at all times.

·   Students will be provided with copies of policies which are deemed necessary and appropriate for their work within the school.

·   All matters pertaining to the staff, Board of Management, Parents Association, pupils or parents within the school community must be treated as strictly confidential.

·   Any breaches of discipline observed among the pupils must be reported to one of the teaching staff and not dealt with by the student themselves, except in the case of student teachers who should be familiar with the school’s Code of Behaviour and Child Protection Policies and will use the same form of discipline as the class teacher.

·   The pupils and staff will be expected to treat students on work experience programmes with respect at all times.

·   Supervisors of work experience students, including teaching practice supervisors, will be expected to adopt a positive and respectful attitude towards their student(s), in keeping with the school ethos of providing a positive learning and working environment.

This policy will be reviewed regularly  in light of experience and in light of new guidelines for teaching practice issued by the Colleges of Education. This policy was ratified at a meeting of the Board of Management in December  2014 and reviewed at a meeting of the board on 3rd April 2017.

Chairman:  ________              PrincipalTeacher: _______________________

         Mr. Gerard Murphy                                            Ms. Audrey Collins

Date: __________________-