National School of Education:
Professional Experience Placements

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Student obligations and information

• You should enrol in all relevant Professional Experience Units for your program for the whole year, and (for continuing students) to do so as soon as unit enrolments open in the previous year. Because securing placements relies on the willingness of schools/centres to provide placements, and extended communications from the Professional Experience Office to secure all those required, an early enrolment in placement units will ensure the greatest possible chance of receiving a placement in the "normal dates" provided above. Withdrawal from a placement unit due to personal circumstances is much easier for the Professional Experience Office to manage than a late enrolment.
• Securing placement dates requires considerable negotiation between the Professional Experience Office and individual schools/centres. Students who are unable to attend placement during the published dates must speak with their course advisor about an alternative program structure, and/or submit a Variation to Placement request. Variations to placement are usually only granted in exceptional circumstances.
• For the purposes of organising your personal commitments, if you are enrolled in the above-listed unit(s), unless advised otherwise, you must be available during the all the dates presented. This means that students should keep themselves free of other commitments for these dates plus an additional week following each placement block in case of make-up days or other unforeseen circumstances.
• Students involved in special programs (such as 'Embedded Teacher Formation Experience') may be undertaking placement at different times to the dates presented, and should consult with their Course Coordinator.
• Pre-service teachers participating in professional experience programs are subject to the same requirements, attendance, professional commitments and professional expectations in the course of the day as regular staff members.
• The professional experience program is a full time responsibility and as such the pre-service teacher is expected to be punctual and observe the same hours of attendance as the educators at the service in which they are placed. Unless a variation to placement applies, your placement requires you to attend for whole days (as defined by the school/centre). In schools the day should be expected to commence at no later than 8:30am and conclude no earlier than 4:30pm. In early childhood settings the rostered shift may commence at 6:45am or may conclude at 6:30pm.
• Unless a variation to placement applies, a block placement requires you to attend for each and every day of the placement
• If you were to withdraw from the placement unit at any time prior to the placement commencing you must notify the Professional Experience Office, as it is possible that a placement has already been secured for you
• Situations such as withdrawal from the unit after the placement has commenced, illness or other circumstance effecting your attendance are described in the relevant Unit Guidebook
• Dates presented should only be considered broadly indicative for other years - students must consult the Course Enrolment Guides each year for accurate enrolment advice and links to Professional Experience dates.