We have received emails from beginning teachers about the variation in placement arrangements across schools during the next two days and the impact this may have on time available to work on Assignment 3 and ePortfolio.

We recognise that different schools have made different decisions regarding full or partial closure which has understandably led to some differences in the time available to beginning teachers outside of placement. We appreciate that this may feel challenging for those in schools that will remain open throughout.

Decisions about school opening and closing sit with individual schools, and beginning teachers are expected to follow the professional expectations of their placement school and the Teachers’ Standards. For this reason, we will not set a general expectation that beginning teachers should be released from placement to work on university assignments where schools remain open. Beginning teachers have a professional commitment to the school, the mentor and, more importantly, the children they teach. Schools have made various decisions in the interests of their children and beginning teachers must respect this professional commitment too.

That said, if beginning teachers are in school throughout, and as this is the last week, PPA and non-contact time may be devoted to Assignment 3 and ePortfolio. If the school is in agreement, this time can be spent at home. Beginning teachers should inform their tutors that they will be working from home.

If the school is closing, we recommend that beginning teachers forego any further PPA when the school reopens so they can focus on their classroom practice.

It is also important to remember that not all beginning teachers will be able to utilise closure time to work on their ePortfolios and A3, as they may have, for example, caring responsibilities.

We would encourage all beginning teachers to continue to manage their time as effectively as possible in working towards the published deadlines, which remain unchanged. If beginning teachers feel they have exceptional circumstances which are significantly affecting their ability to meet deadlines and they have supporting evidence, they should make use of the usual processes for requesting extensions. For further details, please follow this link: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/quality/assessment/special_considerations.page

We appreciate the professional approach beginning teachers continue to demonstrate during this period of unforeseen disruption.