Placements and careers

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Gain confidence AND develop your skills

Our placements are more than just work experience, you'll work in organisations on live projects that have real impact on children's lives.

Placements offer you an experience that is not only essential to your learning but that will give you crucial insight into what it's really like working in your chosen career. From honing your teaching skills in a wide range of schools, to working for charities and social enterprises, our placements will give you the skills that set you apart in a competitive job market.

We also offer outstanding support to look after your wellbeing and to build your career, helping to develop your professional skills from week one, with sessions on digital identities, networking, entrepreneurialism and interview skills.

Enhancing employability

PGCE Primary Education (5-11): Raquel tells us about her placement experiences

500+

As well as working with more than 500 schools, we have partnerships with nurseries, social enterprises and primary sector businesses.

What type of placement can I do?

Whether you're training to be a teacher or exploring other careers where you'll supporting children in education settings, a placement is an excellent opportunity for you to gain practical experience.

We deliver a range of education-based programmes that do not result in Qualified Teacher Status but equip our graduates to go on to careers in the wider children and community workforces.

Our students tell us that the degree provides them with a deep understanding theory and policy and their placements gives them the opportunity to explore different aspects of practice, to gain work based references to add to their CV, to get hands on experience and check if this is the right career for them and to develop those vital professional networks that open the door to graduate employment.

"It can be a nervous time, starting a placement. Starting something new can be a big thing but it is an incredibly worthwhile experience."

Hannah BA (Hons) Teaching and Education

Read Hannah's story

Placement FAQs

Our students select placements from a wide range a sectors covering most professions working with children, young people and families from schools to prisons, from hospitals to small community based organisations.

Students select their placement based upon their career choice and where they live. Our degrees offer a wide range of potential routes into post graduate professions. Your course team and placement specialists will support you to access your placement. If you are unsure of the type of placement, we have a bank of existing placements you can look through and contact and discuss what they can offer.

Time on your placement can vary depending upon your degree from a couple of weeks to a month or you could even choose to go on placement for a day per week over the year. Your placement experiences will be tailored around you.

Your placement will provide you with an onsite supervisor to help you settle in, support and guide you.

If you're training to teach, you'll get hands on experience working in one of our partner schools.

You'll spend at least 120 days on placement with a dedicated mentor, giving you lots of time and support to build your confidence and skills. For many of our students this is the most exciting and rewarding part of their training experience, working with children and really making a real impact from day one.

What to expect from your teaching placement

Dedicated mentoring

You’ll have a dedicated mentor on your placement. Our mentors have experience working with trainees and often will have been trainees themselves, so they understand your needs and the requirements of the course. They are there to guide you in the process and support you as you develop into an experienced educator.
Regular feedback

As part of your placement you be planning and delivering lessons and activities to the children you’re working with. The mentor will provide you with regular, constructive feedback to help you adapt your skills and style.
Keep in touch meetings

As well as your Personal Tutor who can help with all aspects of your course, you’ll also have a dedicated Link Tutor who is there to support you specifically while on your placement. Your Link Tutor can be contacted at any time to answer questions and provide guidance and will also aim to visit you in person to give you some one-to-one feedback and support.
Networking opportunities

During your placement you’ll build close networks with colleagues and other education professionals you work with. Lots of our students go on to full-time roles at their placement schools or continue to benefit from mentoring and support from the relationships they’ve built.
Support along the way

Stepping into the workplace can feel a little overwhelming for some people but we’re never far away no matter where your placement is. We want to make sure you have the best possible experience on your placement, so as well as your Personal Tutor and your Link Tutor who can answer questions and provide crucial advice, we also have an experienced Pastoral Team who can help you to look after you physical and mental wellbeing.

Teaching placement FAQs

Find out everything you can about your chosen school. You’ll be taking on a big responsibility as a trainee teacher so it’s helpful to know as much as you can about the school you’ll be working in.

We recommend doing as much research as possible, here’s some things you could do to get prepared:

Get in touch with the school to introduce yourself once your placement is confirmed. Ask about things like dress code or what you need to bring along for your first day
Arrange a visit with the school to get to know some of the teaching staff and the environment you’ll be working in
Find out about policies and procedures, it might be helpful to request some information about safeguarding in the school
Learn about the children you’ll be teaching – speak to the school to find out what age range you’ll be teaching and what stage they are at. It can also be helpful to know if there are any children in your class with special educational needs or a disability

No, our Placements team have lots of established relationships with schools in the local area. The team are responsible for finding and allocating all placements.

A normal school day runs from around 08:30 to 3:30 but can vary depending on your school. We’d recommend that you aim to get into work for around 08:00 so you have plenty of time to get your classroom organised and set up for the day ahead. You might find that you’re required to stay late from time to time to help with a parents’ evening or after school clubs. Our students really enjoy getting involved with extra-curricular activities and your school will usually encourage it.

Our Placement team will find a placement that’s suitable and within a travel time of 90 minutes. We will make sure you’re comfortable with the location and any travel requirements.

Your mentor and other colleagues at the school will be there to supervise and support you when you need it but as your skills grow there will be times you go solo. This will all depend on your progress and how you have been observed along the way but, as you develop as a confident teacher your mentor will use their judgement to decide how much supervision you require. You’ll still continue to have regular observations and feedback throughout your placement.

Partner with us

inspire the next generation of teachers

Join the Leeds Beckett Schools Teacher Education Partnership and support a trainee through their Initial Teacher Education in your setting. Our trainees develop their theoretical knowledge with us and their learning is informed by the very latest research and the expertise of our supportive teaching staff.

Become a mentor