This module is studied by students who undertake a 12 month placement in a planning-related organisation. The placement year provides students with an opportunity to practice the knowledge and skills acquired during two years of the BSc City and Regional Planning. It is also a way of gaining practical knowledge and skills of planning in either the public or private sectors.

Placement opportunities are provided by a wide variety of employers and the work undertaken by students is often diverse. This module allows students to demonstrate how they have developed their planning knowledge over the 12 month period and how they can reflect upon and record their work experiences in a way that can be used in meeting the membership requirements of both the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and/or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

n respect of:

Knowledge and Understanding

• State the role of the planning system in managing change in the built environment and natural environment in both the short and longer term with reference to the planning policies of central government, local government and other institutions;
• Demonstrate knowledge of the political, institutional and organisational contest of planning practice by making recommendations on how the organisation may improve effectiveness in addressing an identified planning issue.
• Illustrate skills in research and appraisal, including data collection, investigation, analysis and assessing evidence by assisting in the determination of planning applications and other related applications, and/or the production of strategies, policies and plans related to the planning and management of the built and natural environment;
• Accurately define a practical issue or problem for investigation, study or research and devise a strategy for collecting, assessing, analysing and presenting relevant data and information.

In respect of:

Values and Attitudes

• Illustrate an appreciation and respect for equality of opportunity, social and cultural diversity, and the sustainable use of natural and human resources;
• Illustrate an appreciation and respect for the individual and collective rights that may be represented through and impacted upon by planning systems and decisions;
• Illustrate an appreciation and respect for the role of government and public participation in a democratic society and in the balancing of individual and collective rights and interests;
• Illustrate an appreciation and respect for the ethics of professional practice by relating the Royal Town Planning Institute’s and/or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Code of Professional Conduct to their own practical experience and continuing professional development needs;
• Illustrate an appreciation and respect for the protection of personal health and safety at work and the health and safety of others.

The learning outcomes of the module have been devised to accommodate the variety of organisations in which students are employed and the diversity of work undertaken. They are informed by RTPI guidance on the qualities associated with a professional planner and RICS guidance on the planning and development pathway.

Students will spend the majority of the year working at the placement provider’s offices. They will be supported throughout by an allocated placement tutor who will make at least one visit to their place of work in the Autumn semester and meet with their tutees during the return visit to University early in the Spring semester. This contact and support is supplemented by a whole-day return visit to University and other forms of electronic communications, e.g. email and Skype.

Through all the assessments students will be developing the following skills

• Being a reflective practitioner who is able to identify the skills and knowledge they are acquiring during their placement and the skills and knowledge that need further development.
• Development of a self-critical and challenging approach to their own planning practice and that of the organisations within which they work.
• Career planning through the development of a professional development plan.
• Presentation skills

Through the development and production of a work log students will demonstrate they can:

• Illustrate skills in communicating spatial and planning-related information to different audiences by presenting information to colleagues, other professionals and members of the public.
• Engage successfully in collaborative and multidisciplinary working through working as part of a team and relating information to professional groups other than planners;
• Exhibit skills of team-working by responding appropriately to colleagues’ requests and making clear one’s own demands on colleagues;
• Exhibit skills of effective self-management by setting and adhering to work priorities, making effective use of time and identifying opportunities for input from colleagues, other professionals and stakeholders;
• Manage and present information effectively using a range of different media and through the use of information technology.

Type of assessment

%

Contribution

Title

Duration
(if applicable)

Approx. date of Assessment

Professional development plan

10

PDP skills audit

1500 words

Autumn semester

Individual report and presentation

10

Professional ethics presentation and report

10 min presentation & 1000 word report

Spring semester

Professional Competence Statement

10

Professional Competence Statement

1500 words

Spring semester

Work log

60

Work experience log

9000 words

On-going with submission in July

Employer and Tutor report

10

Employer and Tutor assessment of placement

No word limit

July/August

The opportunity for reassessment in this module

Students are permitted to be reassessed in a module which they have failed, in line with the course regulations. The reassessment will usually take place during the summer.

Elements of the module will depend on the organisation providing the placement and the work that is undertaken by the student. In support of this sessions will be provided that enable students to develop skills in reflection, skills development and career planning.

Herbert, I. and Rothwell, A. 2005. Managing your placement. A skills-based approach. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cotterell, S (2003) Skills for Success: personal development planning handbook Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan (Chapter 7 – ‘The art of reflection)

Students will also find valuable information at the websites of the two professional bodies that accredit the course. This will include information on the RTPI code of conduct, competencies and skills, documenting practical experience for the assessment of professional competence, as well as other support materials.

Royal Town Planning Institute - www.rtpi.org.uk/join_the_rtpi/assessment_of_professional_competence/

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - www.rics.org/apc