Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

As mentioned throughout the recruitment process, you are now on a bank of staff and a new placement will be offered as and when FSiE have a student who is best suited to you. Please keep your availability diary up to date on the Online Portal to help us with this.

The FSiE office is based in Folkestone, Kent – however, we offer our services throughout the whole of the UK.

Every work placement is different. However, Education Specialists are expected to travel at least up to an hour to a session location. The further you can travel; the more placements are likely to be offered to you.

FSiE cannot guarantee a set number of hours or a start date due to the nature of referrals. To be matched with a student, FSiE require a minimum of 2 days consistent availability every week.

FSiE’s Referrals or Education Teams will call you and talk to you about a new work placement, and the notice varies, however on average this is around 1 week. There may be opportunities for short notice cover work.

Other than your session planning, the work with students is mostly during term time and are during usual working hours.

• A de-escalation course called Safety Interventions. This course offers theory and practical training around de-escalation strategies.
• You have access to a TES Develop account which is an online training provider that specialises in safeguarding and education. You can access TES Develop here.
• FSiE has a termly online event where you are invited to join a companywide video call, where varying seminars, talks and training sessions are delivered.
• A vital part of the referral process is the IEEP (Impact, Engagement and Education Plan) which takes place for every new student to assess their needs, safeguarding concerns and risks. The IEEP also recommends the strategies an ES can use to work with the student, and sets the first set of targets. We are often looking for assessors in certain areas of the country. Please speak to the Referrals department if you have relevant experience and would like to be considered to attend IEEP training.

No, FSiE only require you to complete ‘Safeguarding Young People Level 2’ & ‘The Prevent Duty’ during your Induction. However, we will also ask you to complete ‘Child Protection Refresher’ training annually and may ask you to complete other courses as and when they are relevant to a placement.

It isn’t a requirement that you stay away for work, however it could mean FSiE can offer you other placements. Stay away placements can be from 1 night to 5 nights per week, hotel and travel is covered and there is also an incentive payment. (See section 2.1 of your BSESA for full details).

All new Education Specialists will have added their DBS Certificate to the Update Service when approved to work with FSiE. Every year you will have a 30-day period to keep your DBS Certificate on the Update Service and will be notified via email by the DBS and FSiE as a reminder. You will need to login to your DBS Portal and pay the Update Service cost, which can be claimed back through FSiE. If you do not keep your certificate updated, you will be required to apply for a new certificate.

As mentioned within your BSESA (see section 3) your quoted rate includes 12.07% holiday pay. This amount is deducted from your hourly rate and accumulated until the end of each placement, when it is paid in a lump sum. For longer placements the accrued holiday pay is paid at Christmas, Easter and the beginning of the summer holidays.

FSiE subscribes to an auto-enrolment pension scheme through NEST (National Employment Savings Trust). Once your monthly earning goes over a certain level you will be automatically enrolled onto the scheme and will be contacted directly by NEST. If you wish to opt out of the scheme you must wait until you’ve received your letter from NEST, and then contact them directly within 1 calendar month. If you contact them within that time any contributions will be refunded to you.

FSiE set your rate of pay after a face-to-face interview however we can send you a link to the rate of pay document, which shows you the detailed levels of pay to give you a good idea where you sit.

Travel is partly subsidised. Regarding driving in your car, FSiE will pay you for 45p per mile for every mile over 40 miles of travel within a day of sessions. If you were to travel on public transport, you would pay for the first £10 and FSiE will subsidise anything over that amount per day. Some transport would need to be pre-agreed, for example taxi fares. See Schedule 2 (p15) in your BSESA for more details.

This is outlined in section 3.2 of your BSESA.

Yes

FSiE match an Education Specialist to a student dependent on a list of different factors, all around the needs of the young person. It may be around the Special Educational Needs of the young person, the level of education they require, their age or their interests. They will also consider yours and the student’s availability and location.

Within the ES portal you will have access to all reports and information linked to your placement. You can also view the Education Reporting Cycle training video here.

FSiE require their Education Specialists to obtain engagement and education resources however FSiE have a variety of online resources at their disposal. You can access these via the ES Portal. Education Specialists can claim £15 per session on resources when discussed with their Education Coordinator. See ‘Example Placement Assignment Schedule’ (p.14) in your BSESA for more information.

You are required to let FSiE know as soon as possible that the student has not turned up. After waiting an agreed time with your Education Coordinator, you may be able to leave if FSiE cannot get hold of the student or have an update. You are still paid for the session.

No, but you are required to have a working phone with you at all times during a session in the case of an emergency. See Better Safe than Sorry Guidelines, section 3.1.

As an Education Specialist you will be given the initial targets from the Impact, Engagement and Education Plan for the student. Using these, along with the recommended strategies and resources from the IEEP, you will plan the sessions with your student.

A large number of provisions will require Maths and English to varying levels. However, every student is different, and this will be looked at dependent on the targets set in the IEEP.

Yes, FSiE have a Designated Safeguarding Officer, and two deputies, who you can call or contact with any safeguarding concerns on 0203 409 6410 – Option 0 (Zero). The DSL is Matt Goody and the Deputy DSLs are Gay Nyangon and Sorrell Dowling. The safeguarding team can also be reached on safeguarding@freshstartedu.co.uk, but please call in the case of urgent matters.