Case Summaries

The student was not able to start their second placement on time because of their mental health condition. The placement provider terminated the placement because the student had missed the mandatory induction sessions and it said it wasn’t possible to arrange alternative sessions. The provider temporarily withdrew the student while it tried to arrange another placement. The student complained but the provider did not uphold their complaint.

The student complained to us. We partly upheld the complaint (we decided it was Partly Justified). It was beyond the provider’s control that the placement provider didn’t offer alternative induction sessions. Finding placement opportunities was very difficult at the time because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the provider should have prioritised the student’s need for a placement, or at least guaranteed them a placement the following year, possibly exploring options with placement providers in other areas. The student had since withdrawn from their studies and so we recommended that the provider should offer them a partial refund of tuition fees, and some compensation for distress and inconvenience.