Guidance on the Risk Management of Student Placements
1. Introduction
1.1
This guidance sets out the MMU framework for the sensible
management of the health, safety and welfare of students on placement;
and the risks arising from health and safety liabilities associated with
placements.
1.2
The prime purpose of any placement is to provide a learning and
development experience for the student. MMU has an Institutional Code
of Practice (ICP) for placement and work –based learning. The ICP
requires programme teams and departments have appropriate
procedures in place to provide placements of high quality that comply
with health and safety requirements. Health and safety needs to be an
integral, rather than a stand-alone part, of the whole process and
experience. This guidance should therefore be read in conjunction with
the ICP.
1.3
Following initial agreement ‘in principle’ to the placement, or in parallel
to this, the tripartite agreement should be signed by the placement
provider. The tripartite agreement is the pivotal document in the
placement process and sets out the University’s minimum requirements
with regard to the entirety of the placement. At this stage it is important
to discuss with the placement provider what the University expects from
them both in academic terms and in relation to health and safety.
1.4
A placement is an integral part of the student’s course and MMU has
the right to refuse to approve any placement on health and safety
grounds.
2. The definition of placement for the purposes of this guidance
2.1
This guidance applies to placements that are a period of university
approved work or vocational experience undertaken by an
undergraduate or postgraduate student whilst enrolled at the University.
This could either be as part of their academic studies, or as a period of
work or vocational experience that is organised or managed by the
University. The placement may be paid or unpaid and either in the UK or
abroad. Examples of placements include industrial placements,
sandwich placements, teaching assistantships, summer internships (e.g.
organised through the Careers and Employability Service), internal
internships (but not internships provided through the MMU Intern
Scheme for MMU graduates), and voluntary work.
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2.2
This guidance only applies to MMU students.
2.3
There are a few groups for which additional legal requirements apply and
where the general approach recommended in this guidance may not be
sufficient. These are:


Placement of students under the age of 18 since they are subject to
more rigorous risk assessment under the Management of Health and
Safety at Work Regulations;
Placements to which specific contractual or legislative requirements
apply, such as the placement of nursing students or teacher training.
In these cases you should liaise with the University Health and Safety
Manager.
2.4
Programme teams, academic departments or schools may find it helpful
to customise this general guidance to make it more applicable to a
particular course or programme. If you require assistance to do this you
should contact the Health and Safety Manager.
3. MMU risk management approach and process
3.1
The benefits of a taking a risk-based approach are that the requirements
for the lower risk placements are minimised, whilst resources are
concentrated on those placements likely to be higher risk. The
placement risk assessment and review process should start following
the ‘in principle’ approval of a placement, in line with the University’s ICP
for placement and work-based learning.
3.2
The following six health and safety factors applicable to all placements
should be considered in the MMU risk assessment and review process:
1.
Work
This relates to the activities that will be carried out by the student
during the placement, including hazards that the student may be
exposed to during the work activities. The level of appropriate
named supervision is of particular importance within this section.
2.
Travel and transportation
Travel can be a risk, this may not just involve travel during/or for
the placement activities but in some circumstances it may be
important to consider travel to and from the place of work.
3.
Location and/or region
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Location can have a significant bearing on the level of risk,
particularly if there is unfamiliarity with the country, the culture
(specifically around disability, gender or sexual orientation) or the
language. The level of risk will be dependent on the student’s
familiarity with a foreign country and their knowledge of the
language and culture. This may be as applicable to an overseas
student being placed in a UK organisation as a UK student being
placed in an overseas organisation.
4.
General/environmental health
This section is concerned with the environmental conditions,
accommodation and food/drink. These could include extremes of
temperature, endemic illnesses for which prophylactic treatment
is required and access to drinking water. It may also be important
to consider availability of medication or specific dietary
requirements for individual students.
5.
Individual student
Each student will have different needs due to their health
(including mental health), knowledge, skills and experience. In
some cases this may require specific adjustments to ensure the
student has an equitable experience on placement to other
students.
6.
Insurance limitations
Placements at MMU
Students undertaking work experience or placements at MMU will
be covered by MMU’s Public Liability or Employers’ Liability
Insurance, depending on the type of placement. MMU staff
members hosting the student have a duty of care to make sure:
 The student is supervised adequately
 A risk assessment has been filled out for the
placement/work experience student’s activities.
 Induction, safety and security is managed effectively and
risk is reduced.
If the student’s organisation requires proof of insurance from MMU
please contact the Insurance Officer on insurance1@mmu.ac.uk
Placements within in the UK but external to MMU
Other organisations providing placements for MMU students in
the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland excluding
the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) need to have their own
insurance cover in place as the student will be classed as an
employee during the time that he/she is on placement. This
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means confirmation that the student is covered under the
placement organisation’s employers’ liability policy and a copy of
their insurance certificate should be requested: Employers’
liability insurance – (£5m minimum and compulsory for
companies in the UK under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory
Insurance) Act 1969).
Placements Abroad (Outside the UK)
See Appendix 1
Students under the age of 16 on placement or completing work
experience at MMU
University staff, the student and the student’s organisation must
be aware that the insurers require the student to be constantly
supervised whilst on placement with MMU.
If a student is under 16 and has been accepted on a MMU
placement the Insurance Officer (insurance1@mmu.ac.uk) must
be sent email notification as soon as possible containing the
following information:






Name of student
Name of student’s school
Age of student
Dates of the placement
Details of what the student will be doing
Confirmation that a risk assessment is in place
4. Completing the risk management process
4.1
In carrying out a risk assessment consideration should be given to each
of the six factors set out in section 3 of this guide, in order to make an
informed decision whether the risks associated with the placement are
acceptable.
4.2
The risk assessment process:
Step 1– Assess the risks

A health and safety risk assessment should be carried out using
the Placement Risk Management Action Plan Guide and form
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(Appendices 2 and 3). The Guide to Risk Profiling document
(Appendix 4) should be referred to in order to help identify risks
and possible actions to reduce the risk . The assessment should
consider the risks described in paragraph 3.2. Each factor should
be given a rating of high, medium or low risk.

Using the plan enables you to collate relevant information in one
key document; it also helps identify areas to consider relating to
risks associated with the placement and apply a level of risk using
the ‘Guide to Risk Profiling’ document.

The action plan form can be adapted and departments, schools
and Services can add specific local additions.

Once completed the plan is a record of the actions required and
who is going to carry them out e.g. the student, the placement
provider or the University.

Once all the actions in the action plan have been completed, the
academic tutor needs to decide if the level of risk is at an
acceptable level. If not all identified actions have been completed,
or if the academic tutor does not think that the level of risk is
acceptable, then you should discuss the placement with the
Health and Safety manager/Advisor and Head of Department or
School. If, at this point, you deem the risks too high then you will
need to take the advice of your Dean and decide whether to
escalate a final approval decision to Secretariat.
Step 2 - Approval and Sign-off of the Placement Risk Management
Action Plan
Once completed, the action plan should be signed off by the Head of
School or their delegated nominee. The action plan should be kept along
with the tripartite agreement and any other key information relating to the
placement (e.g. information on insurance, risk assessments from the
placement provider and information on the activities to be undertaken).
Copies of the action plan should be retained within the School, and
shared with the student and placement provider.
Step 3 – Preparation for commencement of the placement
 Pre-placement visit

The academic tutor, having considered the level of risk
associated with the placement, should decide whether to
make a pre-placement visit or to carry out a visit during the
placement. Where possible and having considered the risk
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
placement providers can carry out assessments. It should be
noted that a visit could be combined with one that is carried
out as a requirement of the Institutional Code of Practice for
Placement and Work-Based Learning.
A pre-placement visit would only be necessary where the
placement offers a very high risk or where there are significant
concerns that would be easier to resolve through a visit. A visit
would look at the suitability of the placement from the levels of
supervision that are going to be available to the student; what
the student is going to be doing and the level of control
measures in place for these activities.
 Determine the process for raising concerns during the placement

A process for students or the placement provider to be able to
raise concerns should be developed locally in conjunction with
the Health and Safety Manager; this should cover academic
concerns, minor concerns about health and safety or other
personal issues that the University maybe help to resolve.

In the event that concerns cannot be resolved within the
School/Faculty or Service or in an emergency, there should
be a procedure for escalating the concern and in extreme
cases this should feed into the University’s Emergency
Management Plan.
 Student briefing
Prior to a placement commencing you should arrange for the
student to be given a full briefing which, in addition to academic
specific information should include at least:




Information specific to their placement - for example copies of
the Tripartite Agreement, any other contractual placement
paperwork and in some cases information from the placement
provider.
General health and safety issues - the complexity and level of
information will depend on the placement, where the
placement is to be held and the outcomes of the risk profiling
(which you should also include in the briefing). If you need any
assistance contact your health and safety manager/advisor.
Cultural issues – including personal safety, equality issues
such as gender/ sexuality/disabilities and any location-based
issues which could include health and travel.
What to do in an emergency - Key contacts at both at the
placement provider and the University; and the process for
raising any concerns – usually the placement coordinator
would be the first point of contact.
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
Insurance – covering the key points of what may be needed.
The way in which the briefing is delivered should be appropriate to the overall
level of risk of the placement. When sending large numbers of students to one
placement provider it may be worth organising a briefing with a representative
of the placement provider, to ensure all students get the same information.

Step 4 – Visits during the placement
Visits during the placement would usually be carried out by an academic tutor
as they are likely to involve an academic assessment within them; this would
also allow the student the opportunity to raise any concerns with regard to
health and safety. A visit may also be carried out if a significant concern is
raised by the student or placement provider and this cannot be resolved without
a visit. N.B. Any visit should only occur following agreement with the placement
provider.
Step 5 – Feedback and Review
Once the placement is over you should gain and collate feedback about both
the positive and negative aspects (particularly regarding health and safety) from
the student and placement provider which will support future placements to the
provider. You should record these with the action plan form. If you need any
assistance contact the Health and Safety Manager/advisor.
Josie Elson
Associate Director, Valuing and Engaging People
February 2013
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Chris Bolam
H&S Manager