BackOverview: The Placements contacts database

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In a nutshell

The Placements contacts database is a Unifrog-wide database of people who are interested in hosting students for:

• In person work placements
• In person work placements lasting 20 days or more
• Virtual placements
• Apprenticeships
• Other opportunities (like assemblies or mentoring)

There are more than 40,000 people on the database already, with more joining every day.

How do teachers access the database?

The database is a view of the Manage page called ‘Placements contacts’. 

Only teachers who are Editors or Placement coordinators can access the database. See which of your colleagues have been assigned these roles on the Teachers page in Help. Also on this page, Editors can add and remove these roles from teachers.

Once viewing the database, apply filters and sorting options to find the right contacts for particular students and opportunities. For example, you can filter by the organisation sector, and the distance from your school/college.

We show a maximum of 200 contacts on the page at a time; to show new contacts, try adjusting the sorting and filtering options.

Why do only teachers are Editors have access to the placements contacts database? Because we don't want employers in the database to be messaged by multiple teachers at a single school or college (the employers might then want to opt out of being on the database!), and we think this would be more likely if all teachers had access to the database.

Can teachers download the database?

Teachers can't download the whole database, but a teacher can download a spreadsheet of employers who have previously hosted students at their own school/college. 

To do this: 

1. Go to the Advanced view of the Manage page
2. Click the ‘download’ button in the footer
3. Within the section for Placements downloads, select the option ‘CSV of placements contacts (only includes people that have hosted students at your school)’

Which contacts can a school/college can see in the placements contacts database?

• UK schools
  
  Schools/colleges see all the people who have hosted their own students, and all the people interested in hosting students for virtual placements. 
  
  For in person placements, Apprenticeships and Other opportunities, for contacts who haven't hosted one of their own students before, teachers only see ones that are within 30 miles of their school/college.
   
• International schools
  
  Schools see all the people who have hosted their own students, and all the people in their country interested in hosting any sort of placement.

What can a teacher can see for each placements contact?

Clicking on a contact’s name from Placements contacts view of the Manage page brings up a contact’s profile and contact details. You can see information about their work, their availability, and details of previous placements they have hosted.

How do teachers contact employers in the database?

A teacher can see the work email address and phone number of employers in the database. Teachers can either email or phone an employer themselves, or pass the employer's email or phone number to a student, for the student to contact. 

While Unifrog has an internal messaging system for teacher to student communication, Unifrog does not have an internal messaging system for teacher to employer, or student to employer communication - instead this communication has to be done by email or by phone. 

The team at Unifrog keep track of how popular particular employers in the contacts  database are, and we can temporarily hide employers from the database to avoid them getting contacted too much! 

How employers get added to and leave the database
 

• How employers get added to the database
  
  There are two ways employers get added to the database:
   
  • By opting in themselves: When someone hosts a student for a placement, they can opt in to the database. They are asked this in the Employer initial form and the Employer review form.
     
  • By being added by a partner employer: Unifrog partner employers can add their colleagues manually to the database.
     
• How employers get removed from the database
  
  There are two ways employers get removed from the database:
   
  • By opting out themselves: A contact in the database can decide to leave it at any time by clicking on a link in one of the automated emails the system sends them. 
     
  • After getting flagged by a teacher or someone else: A teacher can report that a contact should be removed from the database by using the ‘Report an issue’ function on the contact’s profile. This alerts the Unifrog staff, who can remove the contact. If someone else who is not a teacher flags a contact in the placements contacts database to Unifrog staff, we can also remove the contact.

Can an employer opt to host students from one school but not others?

In the Employer review form, the employer is asked:

Would you be happy to host another placement student at the same school/college?

And:

Do you want to be part of the Unifrog placements database?

Here's how their answers affect where the contact then appears:

• Even if they say ‘No’ to both questions, they will appear in Downloads on the Advanced view of the Manage page in the CSV downloads for placements that have happened at your school/college.
   
• If they say that they would be happy to host another placement at your school/college, in the Downloads on the Advanced view of the Manage page, they will appear in the CSV download ‘CSV of placements contacts (only includes people that have hosted students at your school)’
   

• They will only appear on the Placements contacts page on Manage if they say yes to being part of the Unifrog placements database.

   

What to do if there is a problem with a contact in the database

If a teacher discovers there is any sort of issue with a contact (for example the contact wants to leave the database, or there is a safety issue) the teacher can flag it to the Unifrog team by using the ‘Report an issue’ function on the contact’s profile. This alerts the Unifrog staff, who can take action. A teacher can also email us at wex@unifrog.org.