We have recently said goodbye to a group of 4^th year Occupational Therapy students from Glasgow Caledonian University, it was great to get to know them and have them as part of our team for a short yet memorable placement experience at bOunceT! We had a total of 4 students within this placement group - 2 supervised by Callum (Occupational Therapy Lead) and 2 supervised by Francesca (Occupational Therapist) following the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) model of placement.

This group was particularly unique as Robyn and Angela completed their entire placement remotely - this was our very first 'fully virtual / online' placement! Despite not physically being in our office and therapeutic play room with families, their skills and input was so invaluable and they were able to 'test' out new ways of working that we think will become a permanent feature of our new normal!

However, sadly all good things must come to an end and before they left us, we wanted to get some feedback from them to see how their experience at bOunceT was and if they enjoyed working with us as much as we did with them!

Eilidh Hunter

"It really is a feel-good place to be on placement."

"Coming to bOunceT as a final Occupational Therapy student has been a fantastic learning opportunity. The team were so friendly! From day 1, I was made to feel welcomed and supported. Callum, Francesca, and the other OT staff are all very proactive in supporting students to meet their learning outcomes and will provide lots of brilliant learning opportunities in order to do this. All members of the team are very approachable."

"I got to meet so many wonderful service users and families. The best part about being on placement at bOunceT is the opportunity to really be creative about the different projects going on within the organisation. There are a few so you’ll never be stuck for work! The team really value input and feedback from students, so it’s a brilliant place to be for developing those important autonomous practitioner skills. Come into this placement with an open and creative mind and you’ll get on grand. Also, the Lidl bakery brownies are class so be sure to get them at lunch!!"

Amy Sharp

"My overall experience at bOunceT has now made me feel more prepared and confident within myself to transition from student to qualified OT practitioner."

"bOunceT is a diverse and creative service which aims to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities through meaningful play, a concept which is only briefly taught at university. I have had a range of practice education placements over the last 4 years, in both clinical and community settings. I was delighted to gain experience in a social enterprise company and learn more about the OT role in this setting. I have been able learn more about the importance of play as an occupation, whilst seeing first hand the benefits the bOunceT environment has on service users and their families."

"Having been involved in the occupational therapy process with a range of service users, it has enabled to develop my own interpersonal and professional skills. I have been able to enhance my communication skills, both verbal and non verbal communication, which allowed me to successfully build positive therapeutic relationships with service users and families."

"bOunceT has allowed me to be more creative in my role as a student OT and work collaboratively with the team to meet the needs of families. I have become more confident working in LD which is an area of practice that I had never worked in before."

Robyn Carla Graham & Angela Mileham

"We have been lucky enough to spend the last 9 weeks as part of the team at bOunceT. This organisation provides a wonderful service to people with additional support needs, their families’ and carers. We both did our placement remotely, which was a challenging yet rewarding experience."

"Through tutorials, interactions with team members, training and other learning opportunities we have developed skills and knowledge that will be invaluable as we now progress to working as occupational therapists. Despite doing our placement remotely, we were treated and supported as if we were in the office with the team. We’d like to thank Callum and all the staff at bOunceT for providing an inclusive environment that has allowed us to thrive and grow as professionals!"

Can we support you next?

Are you a student, or lecturer, looking to contact bOunceT to organise a student placement? Contact one of the team here!

Also, to hear from our other students on placement, or those who have been on placement with us previously, check out:

• Student Placement's - bOunceT website
• Blogs by previous students (bOunceT buddies)!
  e.g. How I’ve been adhering to RCOT and HCPC guidelines throughout my placement ; GIRFEC (Getting It Right for Every Child) at bOunceT

Our current partners for student placements (OT & Psychology)

England (Remote/Virtual)

Scotland (Remote/Virtual & On Site)