Conditions of placement
Conditions of placement allocations
These are the essential conditions that all students need to know and adhere to with regard to placement allocations.
Provision of information
The information that you provide in the Placement Information fields in the My Details section of InPlace must be accurate and valid for the upcoming placements in that year. If there are any changes to this information you are required to inform the Professional Experience Office (PEO) as soon as possible. Your address information must be kept up to date in WES at all times.
Conflict of interest
A Conflict of Interest occurs when you are placed at a site where:
- your children attend
- you are employed in any capacity *
- your spouse/partner or a member of your family is employed
- an extended family member with whom you have a close relationship works* In some instances you MAY be approved to complete up to 50% of your placement at your place of employment. This needs to be authorised through the Professional Experience Office.
If any of the above happens to be the case with your allocated placement site, please immediately contact PEO to discuss.
Please list the names of the agencies in your InPlace profile where such potential conflict of interest may arise.
Placement allocation
- We may allocate you to a placement in the same school or sector for multiple placements.
- We may allocate you to placements in a variety of socio-cultural settings.
- You must attend the school/centre where we have placed you.
- You are expected to start each day at the normal start time that all professionals start in that setting.
- You must undertake your placements in line with scheduled placement dates, or alternative dates as advised by the Professional Experience Office.
- You are not permitted to swap your placement with a friend or colleague.
Placement variations
- Placement variations (eg: dates and locations) will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and are only approved for extenuating circumstances. Note: work commitments and related matters will not be considered as a case for placement variation.
- Variations to placement must be lodged at least 6 weeks prior to commencement of the scheduled placement.
- The Variation form (for requesting changes to the dates) and the supporting Notification of Extenuating Circumstances or Special Needs form are available from the Forms page.
You should also notify the Professional Experience Office to make arrangements if you need to:
- make-up days from a previous placement
- do two placement units concurrently
Contact hours
Students are required to complete a full day at a school/agency for their day to count towards their overall professional experience requirement. Please see details below:
- Curriculum days are counted towards your number of days, as any aspect of work in which a pre-service teacher is engaged in the teaching and learning process for students counts towards professional experience.
- School camps & sports days count as contact hours. However, as per Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) requirements, only full days of supervised camp count towards the required number of supervised teaching practice days. Single half days will not count, and are not cumulative.
- Parent-teacher interviews are counted. However, if you attend a Parent-teacher interview on the same day that you attend a placement during regular school hours, this will only count as a one day toward your placement requirement, not two days.
- Half days are not counted. Students must complete a full day at a school/agency for their day to count towards their overall professional experience requirement.
- When a public holiday falls within your placement period you must make up the missed day to meet the required number of days for VIT registration. You will need to liaise with your Organiser of Teaching Practice (OTP) and/or Mentor to negotiate a time to make up any missed days. You will also need to email the Professional Experience Office with the details of the arrangements, as we need to maintain an accurate record of the total number of placement days you have completed.
Observation of your placement
The key person who observes your practice in your school or Centre is the mentor teacher. In most circumstances, Monash staff do not visit you while you are on placement. . In most circumstances, Monash staff do not visit you while you are on placement. There may be instances when you could find a Monash staff member will observe you at your placement if a mentor has raised concerns about your ability to complete your placement satisfactorily.
Missing a day
You are expected to complete all of the days required within the placement period. If you are unable to attend placement due to illness or other extenuating circumstances you must:
- phone the school/centre first thing in the morning (by 8:30am) to tell them of your absence
- Notify us of your absence via ask.monash (by 9am).Note: You must get a medical certificate (or statutory declaration) if you are away for two days or more and provide this to the PEO and your mentor.
- liaise with the Organiser of Teaching Practice (OTP) and/or Mentor Teacher at the school/centre to negotiate a time to make up any missed days
- Notify the Professional Experience Office via ask.monash of the make-up day(s) arrangements.
Please note:
You must complete the required number of days even if you have a medical certificate.
You must complete a minimum number of placement days in order to be eligible for course completion and professional registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).
Injury
If you injure yourself during placement it is important that you follow the safety procedures and report any injuries or near misses immediately to your supervisor at the school/centre you are placed at. They will ensure you are given the medical attention you need.
The following reports must then be completed for all incidents that occur during placement:
- an incident report from the placement organisation.
- A Monash University incident report using the Safety And Risk Analysis Hub (S.A.R.A.H)
Insurance
Monash University Student Insurance
While you are on placement, you are covered by Monash University Student Insurance. See Insurance information for students.
Students are encouraged to ensure that they have an ambulance cover.
Codes of conduct
Please download and read these codes of conduct before your placement:
Monash University Code of Conduct (Child Safe Standards) (pdf)
The Victorian Teaching Profession Code of Conduct - download PDF from this page
Travel
Students are expected to travel to their allocated placement location independently either via public or private transport. Students who use taxicabs to travel to and from placement will not be reimbursed by the University for the cost of doing this. If you are having genuine difficulty in travelling to your placement, please contact the Professional Experience Office for assistance, via ask.monash.
Finances
- You do not receive payment for undertaking professional placement.
- Reimbursement is not available for costs incurred.
- If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please see Financial Support webpage.
Inability to attend entire placement
You should notify the Professional Experience Office immediately via ask.monash if you:
- know that you will not be undertaking a placement for any placement unit in which you are enrolled. (For example: taking intermission)
- If you decide to discontinue your course.
We will notify your school/agency and cancel your placement on your behalf.
Workplace agreement forms
Workplace agreement forms are sometimes required for Early Years placements. If you need a form, please contact the Professional Experience Office, via ask.monash.
Credit
We will consider applications for credit. However, you will need to provide:
- Evidence that you have completed supervised professional experience through placement reports that describe the nature of the placement you undertook and the number of days completed.
- Evidence that the experience for which you wish to gain recognition meets the Professional experience requirements, as prescribed by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).
For further information about the requirements, contact Admissions and Student Services.