things to know working for randstad student support.

We would like to welcome you to working with Randstad Student Support. The following information is to provide both students and support workers with some key guidance in relation to how support should operate.

Please note, the government has introduced significant changes for students funded by Student Finance England. As a result, Randstad is obligated to operate under the strict guidance of the Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). We have outlined below some important information that both students and support workers need to be aware of before support commences.

It is important that you read all the information below and contact your Randstad account specialist by phone or email should you have any questions.

Requesting additional hours

If a student requires additional hours of support, they must contact both their original needs assessor or assessment centre and their support provider.

Your needs assessor will review your allocation of hour based on the information provided by you and your support provider.

You can contact Randstad regarding additional hours using disabilitysupport@randstad.co.uk or 0161 247 88 00 and we will then liaise directly with your needs assessment centre.

Booking sessions

All sessions must be booked and confirmed with the student before attending. A booked session means that the date, type of support, time and location of support has been booked in advance. Randstad will send confirmation emails to both the student and support worker providing the full details of the support (please note that in some cases the university may provide this email if they arrange the support directly with you).

Confirming sessions

All booked sessions should be confirmed by Support Workers with students between one to seven days in advance of the session taking place.

Timesheets

It is essential that all timesheets submitted match the booked session. All booked sessions must now be added onto Randstad's online timesheet management system so that timesheets can be added. If the timesheet information such as the type of support, date or time does not match the booked session then it cannot be added as this falls outside of the original support agreed. Booked sessions will be added to OPUS by Randstad, the university or in some cases support workers. You will be informed as to how bookings should be managed.

Location of support

In most cases support will take place onsite at the university, under no circumstances should support take place in the student's home unless this has been arranged directly by Randstad or the university (and home based support is specified within the Needs Assessment Report).

One to one support such as specialist mentor and study skills must take place in a comfortable and confidential setting such as a booked room at the university.

Cancelling booked sessions (for students)

Should you need to or wish to cancel a booked session then you must provide at least 24 hours notice to your support worker. In the event that you are unable to provide notice or fail to attend a pre-arranged session due to illness or unforeseen circumstances, then this will be classed as a missed session (the missed session will include all support booked for that day). Please note that DSA funding will only cover a maximum of two missed sessions per student per term.

If a booked session is missed and you have not contacted your support worker or Randstad then attempts will be made to contact you in order to confirm that you do still wish to receive support. Future sessions cannot be booked until we have confirmed that you do still want support to continue.

Feedback 

Randstad Student Support is committed to continually reviewing and developing our services and your feedback can help us to do this! Whether you are a Student, support worker or institution, it would be great to know what you think about our services.

Surveys will be conducted each term, for students and institutions, however, feedback can be provided at any time through our website by clicking here. When leaving feedback, the website will ask for a name and email address, however, if you wish your feedback to be anonymous, please enter your name as ‘anonymous’ and email address as ‘anonymous@randstad.co.uk’ so that you are not identifiable.

Complaints process 

All complaints received will be acknowledged within three working days. A senior member of the Randstad team will investigate the complaint and a written response will be sent within 14 working days. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint then you can request that it is reviewed again and a response will be provided within 14 working days.

If you would like to raise a complaint then please contact your Randstad account specialist in the first instance. You can also raise a complaint through the Randstad website under the contact us page. Click here to see our complaints process. If you require our complaints policy in an alternative accessible format then please contact us on 0161 247 8800 or email studentsupport@randstad.co.uk to inform us of your request.

Alternatively if you would like to seek external assistance and advice we would recommend contacting these two governing bodies:



Student Loans Company via 0300 100 0601 or customer_complaints@slc.co.uk.

Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) via 020 7009 2100 or info@rec.uk.com

Handbooks

Both student handbook and support worker handbook (HEI Induction) can be found below. Handbooks will be customised where appropriate to include additional processes and information relevant to the academic institution.

Students - please click here to download the student handbook.



Support workers - please ensure you read the relevant Support Worker handbook prior to meeting with the student for the first time. There is a handbook for each institution and these handbooks can be applied to any student studying at the relevant institution. Please click here to download the relevant handbook for your institution.

Should you have any issues locating the relevant support worker handbook please do not hesitate to request it from your account specialist at Randstad. You may be invited to attend an onsite induction at the relevant HEI as well as viewing the handbook.

The purpose of Non Medical Helper (NMH) roles

The objective for all NMH support roles is to help students facilitate all aspects of their studies, enabling them to become independent learners, achieve their full academic potential and to help them become ready for their chosen career.

In order for students to gain the maximum benefit from support it is important that there is a clear understanding of the expectations of NMH roles. Support Workers must only provide support as specified within the job description and they must maintain the boundaries of the role at all times.

Click here to see job descriptions that provide an expectation of what each role will provide. Please note, these job descriptions are taken from Student Finance England’s DSA Guidance. In some cases there may be variations to roles and job descriptions, especially where the academic institution is funding the support. If this is the case then the relevant job description will be shared with you.

Learning outcomes

For students funded by Student Finance England post 26th April 2016, it is a requirement that each student has set Learning Outcomes for support roles they receive. As the Government will no longer be funding Band 1 & 2 support roles this means that any specialist Band 3 & 4 support must include Learning Outcomes. These will be set goals/objectives that the support should help achieve.

Support workers and students must agree their learning outcomes when support first starts to take place, they will then be reviewed every three months (or once per term). It is important that your Randstad Account Specialist is sent the agreed learning outcomes so they can be documented for review.

OPUS – submitting and authorisation of timesheets

OPUS is an online timesheet and funding management system designed for the sole purpose of managing NMH support. Guidance in relation to how Support Workers can submit timesheets and how students can authorise timesheets will be sent to you from your Randstad Account Specialist. If you have any questions regarding OPUS or timesheets then please contact your Randstad Account Specialist.

Lone working

The HSW Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to identify hazards associated with lone working, assess the risks involved, and put measures in place to avoid or control the risks.

In preparation for student support taking place in the home, a framework has been created to outline how the work placements will be controlled and managed and the procedures that will be put into place to control the risks associated with lone working.

The work placement involves a Randstad Appointed worker visiting a persons home to assist them with their educational studies. A lone worker is a person who is engaged in solo work activities, or activities where contact with colleagues will be irregular or infrequent.

Randstad SWS Lone Working Policy



Randstad Risk Assessment Form.

If you have any other queries on lone working please contact Randstad.