Placement host: Southwell Minster

How long was the placement for?

"One semester, eight days."

Tell us a little about Southwell Minster…

"Southwell Minster is a beautiful medieval Cathedral dating from the 1100s, with fine Norman and gothic architecture. The ‘Leaves of Southwell’, in the Chapter House, are world famous.

The education department hosts school visits, family fun days and adult learning sessions throughout the year. Southwell Minster is the cathedral church for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham."

What made you want to offer a work placement?

What kind of work was the placement student doing for you?

"Helping with school visits and administrative tasks. Students had the chance to plan and deliver activities."

What outcomes were you looking for from their work?

"We want them to be part of our little team and to contribute their skills to our work, to be willing to learn and have a go. With such limited time they need to get stuck in quickly!"

Was the project a success?

What did the student personally bring to the project, in your view?

"Freshness, enthusiasm, youth. Our volunteer team love having them around."

Would you recommend hosting a placement student? 

"Yes I would recommend it. It is hard work for the hosts to find appropriate and meaningful work for them, as the placement is relatively short – but worth it for the student to gain valuable experience."

Any advice for other placement hosts?

"My advice would be:

• Be very prepared well in advance and get the support of your colleagues so that the responsibility is shared.
• Interview the student and meet them in person. The university is very organised about this.
• In the weeks before they start, create a list of administrative tasks, resources, preparation etc so that, when they have some non-directed time, they can get on.
• Set up a small desk/area for the student in your office, which helps them to feel at home and useful.
• Invite them in for an induction/health and safety morning in advance – this will help with orientation and maximise their work potential. Find out what their skills and interests are and try to play to these.
• Have some flexibility regarding student availability – their timetables can be a headache! For most students it takes them a while to get here, so we need them to come for full days, but our last student only had one full day without lectures each week, which wasn’t a good day for us. Make sure the university knows your best days or any potential pitfalls in advance."

Anything else you would like to add?

"Young people very much need and appreciate these opportunities and if we can possibly make it happen for them, we should do everything we can to support them.

However, these are professional placements, so perhaps ask them to sign a ‘contract’ with you setting out your expectations regarding punctuality, productivity, and accountability, to make sure both host and students get as much from the placement as possible."

Photo credit: Southwell Minster