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Once you have logged into ARC Student Profiles, you will see a screen like this one:

Click on the link to start entering information into your student profile

If you have completed the profile form previously, the last answers you entered will have been saved for you, and the dialogue boxes will have been pre-populated. If this is the case for you, please ensure that you check the information carefully and update it as needed.

When you have started the profile you will see a menu screen similar to this one

You can view your placement details at the top of the box; please let the placement team know if there are any errors in this information.

Placement Location and travel

Once you are ready to complete the form, click on the links, starting with “Placement Location and Travel” and work through entering your information. You will notice that there are some boxes to type in information and others that give you a limited choice. Please be detailed but clear in your answers. Once you have worked through the page, click the save button at the bottom right of the page.

You can now use the menu at the top of the page to move to the next screen,

Work Experience

As soon as you have saved the first work experience record, the system will add another for you underneath. You can continue to add and complete work experience records until you have added all of your relevant information. Please ensure that you complete all sections of the record and remember to save as you go along.

No one will see the information you type into your Student Profile until you click the ‘submit’ button at the end of the process, so you can make short notes here and add more detail before you send it to your tutor for approval.

Your shadowing experience is one type of experience you should talk about here as you will have gained knowledge of statutory tasks. A succinct way of capturing your past experience is using the STAR and CAR models: STAR example Situation: As a care-home worker, I learned many residents had dementia. Task: My task was to promote social engagement. Action: I enrolled on a non-verbal communication skills course. Result: This led to improved communication with a quarter of my clients. CAR example Challenge: I dealt with a range of challenging behaviours as a bar person working night shifts in a city pub. Action: I implemented a new ‘last orders’ process, giving customers more notice when they were required to leave. Result: This diffused tensions, leading to fewer incidents.

After you have saved your work experience information, you can move to the next tab

Previous Placements

Previous placements will have been added automatically by ARC – if you have not yet had a placement, this section will remain empty. For any previous placements you have had, you need to describe the role and reflect on the learning opportunities provided.

Try to think about: – what kinds of people you were working with – what projects were you involved with, and whether any work was specifically delegated to you? – What skills did you pick up that you had not developed before? – What systems did you learn? Remember to click the save button regularly.

Learning Needs

You will need to start this section by selecting your preference for your placement

you will then need to move on to complete each of the boxes.

Please explain why you have made this choice. Avoid well-worn phrases such as ‘I am passionate about working with young children as I have always been interested in this group.’ An alternative might be, ‘As you can see, I have previously worked with adults in supported housing environments for eight years, then completed a three-month placement in an adult-focused learning disabilities team. These were valuable experiences, but I now want to expand my skill set and related knowledge. I would like to become a child care social worker when I qualify.’ You can include your learning objectives here, but remember your 100-day placement will be a statutory team or organisation heavy on statutory functions. Be careful not to choose learning objectives which point only to private, voluntary or independent sector organisations, as these are restricted to year 2 (level 5) placements.

What practical experience will you bring to this placement? Please refer to specific roles & tasks – examples might include – conducting client assessments and honing my assessment skills. – A working knowledge of the Liquid Logic records system. – social skills, including active listening and establishing trusting relationships – experience of person-centred care, – partnership working – reflective practice.

What skills and knowledge do you bring, and how have you kept them up to date? – use specific examples, such as ‘Levels 4 and 5 of the social work programme gave me with a strong theoretical foundation. Through completing coursework and placements, I gained knowledge in child development, child protection, and safeguarding. I developed a range of transferable skills relevant to many settings

Again – remember to save your work regularly!

Disabilities

In this section, you need to disclose if you consider yourself to have a disability, underlying health condition or any learning needs that may require additional support and outline any reasonable adjustments that have been agreed through the placements team. If you do need reasonable adjustments for your placement, you will need to complete a Health Abilities Passport (HAP) – you can discuss this with the placements team.

Personal Extenuating Circumstances

This section is for you to provide any personal extenuating circumstances you would like to be taken into account before you are offered a placement.

If mentioning caring responsibilities here, please be specific about geography and emphasise what you can do rather than cannot do. For example, I have two children, ages four and two, who I will drop off at the childminder in the Longlevens area of Gloucester at 08:00. I need to collect them by 17:30 at the latest and would be grateful for some flexibility. Although I cannot work later than 17:00 on a regular basis, I could complete two later shifts each month with advanced warning.

Relationships with Agencies

This section is for you to share information about relationships with agencies that we will need to be aware of when allocating your placement. Many of the elements on this page would be considered a conflict of interest, so please be clear and detailed in your answers, but do not put individual names in this section.

Disclosures

This section is for you to provide any information or disclosures which either directly or indirectly relate to safeguarding.

You must be clear and honest in all of these answers. Failure to disclose something here may result in placements being refused or withdrawn. You must disclose all relevant information here, even if you have previously disclosed it elsewhere.