Hardley School Enterprise & Technology

Hardley School Enterprise & Technology

BTEC Level 3 Public Services Unit 36: Employment in the Uniformed Public Services

Enterprise & Technology

BTEC Level 3 Public Services

Assignment Briefing Document

Unit 36:

Employment in the Uniformed Public Services

(5 credits)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LEARNERS

1.  Your teacher(s) will tell you how long you have to complete the assignment and the access you may have to resources.

2.  Read the Assignment carefully and make sure that you understand the work you should hand in and what is required of you. If you are uncertain, discuss it with your teacher(s).

3.  The ASSIGNMENT requires you to work by yourself and to produce original work. You should not share your work with any other learners. For example, if you produce an illustration diagram electronically, you should not give it to another learner. Similarly, you should not accept and use such information from others. You are required to sign that the work submitted is your own.

4.  If you work in a group at any stage, you must present your own responses to each task for assessment.

5.  Information taken from sources for research, e.g. Internet and textbooks, must be identified and not presented as your own work. You should list the sources used.

6.  Some tasks may require Observation Records/Witness Statements. Your teacher(s) will organise for these to be completed and you must attach these to your submitted work.

7.  In presenting your final work, you should not include draft work or reference materials such as handouts, notes and leaflets, unless the tasks specifically ask you to do so.

8.  Presentation of your work:

·  Check that you have completed all tasks.

·  Label work with the appropriate task/sub task number.

·  Present tasks in the correct order.

·  Label each page with your name and page number.

·  Submit all electronic materials in paper format

·  Clearly label video or audiotapes submitted as part of your assignment.

·  All papers should be securely bound.

·  The completed ASSIGNMENT should NOT be presented in plastic envelopes, a box file or a lever arch file.

BTEC Level 3 Public Services

Unit 36:

Employment in the Uniformed Public Services

(5 credits)

This unit aims to provide you with an understanding of employment opportunities in the uniformed Public Services. This unit will enable you to develop your knowledge of the main roles and conditions of service and your understanding of their main responsibilities.

This unit will give you the opportunity to find out more about our public services. It will allow you to make the correct career choice based on the knowledge you will gain.

You will discover that the uniformed public services have a central function within a modern society and that they provide structure and support to the values of a modern democratic society.

You will also look at how the public services have changed over recent years to reflect multicultural society and response to political and economic changes.

You will investigate public services, exploring the variety of organisational roles and responsibilities and accountabilities to the public, and to others. You will also explore the range of different job opportunities within the services, investigating the kind of work that public services employees do on a day-to-day basis. In addition to this you will look at the conditions of service and training services offer. You will gain an insight into the benefits of working in these services as well as their implications.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit you will:

1.  Know the main roles of different uniformed public services

2.  Understand the main responsibilities of different uniformed public services

3.  Understand the different employment opportunities available in the uniformed public services

4.  Know the conditions of service for different public service jobs.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT TASKS

Assignment 1: Career Advice

Scenario

You belong to an organisation which runs a careers advisory service for people in their last year of secondary school. You constantly get complaints from careers teachers in schools, and young people who come into your office, that there is not enough information available on careers in the uniformed public services. Your department has been asked to produce an information pack that will outline the roles, purposes and responsibilities of two contrasting services.

Task 1: Purpose, Roles and Responsibilities

Part a)

You have been asked to produce an information pack for two contrasting services; within this pack you must detail the purpose, roles and responsibilities of each service. You are required to gather information on how these topics relate to your two chosen uniformed public services, print it off and keep a copy.

Purposes:

·  Organisational objectives

·  Mission statements

·  Legislation (i.e. Fire Service Act1997/2002, Police Act 2004)

Roles:

·  Dealing with accidents and emergencies

·  Routine work

·  Peace-keeping activities

·  Other roles (anti-terrorist and anti-smuggling roles)

·  Defence roles

·  Humanitarian work

·  Disaster relief

·  Conflict

·  Working in prisons

·  Transporting prisoners

·  Patrolling coast

·  Operating CCTV

·  Working in local communities

Responsibilities:

·  Accountability – (legal, professional and political)

·  Performance indicators – (what they are, examples of, effect on work)

·  Response to change

·  Diversity

·  Responsibility to the public – (Value for money, spending tax payers money wisely)

This task will provide evidence for P1 & P2

Task 1: Purpose, Roles and Responsibilities

Part b)

To secure the Merit grade (M1) you are required to explain the role, purpose and responsibilities of your two named services. This is not a repeat of the pass criteria but expansion on this. You should show evidence of a deeper understanding of the services. This could include finding statistics on performance targets and analysing these, as well as carrying out research to find out what the main priorities and objectives for the service are and commenting on these. This information is likely to be available on the organisation’s website in the form of strategic plans and annual reports. You can also include quotes of any service representatives you may meet.

This task will provide evidence for M1

Task 1: Purpose, Roles and Responsibilities

Part c)

To secure the D1 criteria you are required to evaluate ONE of your chosen services. You are required to show judgment on their roles, purpose and responsibilities. You should discuss how well they may or may not achieve these. You should refer to the wider implication of the roles, purpose and responsibilities of one your chosen service. It is important that you use evidence to support your judgements and conclusions.

This task will provide evidence for D1

Presentation Guidelines

You must ensure that your booklet is completed individually. It must be written in your own words. It must be word processed and include an introduction that explains its purpose. You may wish to include diagrams, photographs, data in graph form and quotations from people you have talked to, to enhance your booklet.

Grading Criteria

To achieve a pass, you must: / To achieve a merit, you must: / To achieve a distinction, you must:
P1: Outline the main purpose and roles of two contrasting uniformed public services
P2: Discuss the main responsibilities of two contrasting uniformed public services / M1: Explain the role, purpose and responsibilities of two contrasting uniformed public services /

D1: Evaluate the role, purpose and responsibilities of a chosen uniformed public service

Deadline:

Assignment 3: Conditions of Service

Scenario

As part of your role for the careers advisory service you often receive letters from would-be applicants asking about pay and conditions of a variety of public services. You have been asked to produce TWO handouts / leaflets to provide these people with the answers to their enquiries.

Task: Leaflet / Handout

You must produce TWO leaflets that explain the conditions of service for TWO different job roles within two contrasting uniformed public services. Your leaflets / handouts must include the following information:

·  Salary Structure

·  Holiday entitlement

·  Benefits – i.e. gym use, accommodation, private medical insurance etc

·  Retirement age

·  Pension arrangements

·  Sick pay

·  Maternity/paternity provisions

·  Postings

·  Shift patterns

·  Contracted hours

·  Access to on-going training

·  Education

This task will provide evidence for P4

Presentation Guidelines

You must ensure that your leaflets are written in your own words. It is recommended that you use DTP software such as MS Publisher. You should include images, headings and colour to make the leaflets eye-catching and authentic.

Grading Criteria

To achieve a pass, you must: / To achieve a merit, you must: / To achieve a distinction, you must:
P4: Describe the current conditions of service for two jobs within two contrasting uniformed public services /

N/A

/

N/A

Deadline:

Assignment 3:

Employment Opportunities in the Uniformed Public Services

Scenario

As part of your role for the careers advisory service you have been asked to provide information for year 11 students about the employment opportunities in the uniformed public services. To do this you are required to work in pairs to produce a display to be used at a careers evening.

Task 1: Wall Display

You must work in pairs to produce a wall display that outlines the range and the type of work available within the public services. You must include examples from the emergency services, the armed forces and other uniformed public services. i.e. The Coast Guard. Your display should cover the following:

The Range of Employment in the Uniformed Public Services

·  Different operational jobs i.e. ambulance service, patient transport services, technician and

·  paramedic

·  Civilian support roles i.e. police control room operators, scenes of crime officers, community

·  support officers

·  Management and administrative roles

·  Part-time opportunities i.e. Special constables, Retained fire fighters, the Royal Navy Reserve, and the Territorial Army

The Type of Public service work:

·  Range of emergency and routine work undertaken

·  Daily work routine

·  Administrative work

·  Work with other public services

·  Community work

·  Implications of working in the public services on a personal level

·  Positive and negative aspects of working in the services

·  Examples of recent peacekeeping activities and humanitarian work

·  Roles at major incidents

·  Examples of activities in recent conflicts

This task will provide evidence for P3

To secure the merit criteria (M2) you need to fully explain the work involved in a chosen public service job role. It is recommended you include quotes from service representatives and your research.

This will provide evidence for M2

Presentation Guidelines

In your pairs must work together to produce the wall display with each person contributing equally. The finished display will be placed on the classroom wall, and a photograph of your display will be put into your portfolio. You may wish to include diagrams, photographs, data in graph form and quotations from people you have talked to.

Grading Criteria

To achieve a pass, you must: / To achieve a merit, you must: / To achieve a distinction, you must:
P3: Outline the different
employment opportunities
available in the uniformed
public services / M2: Explain the work of a chosen job in the uniformed services /

N / A

Deadline:

Assignment’s tasks / Assessment Criteria
Assignment 1 /

P1, P2, M1 & D1

Assignment 2 / P4
Assignment 3 / P3 & M2

Deadline for Unit 36:

Unit Resource List

The following websites may provide valuable information for you and your work with this unit.

Websites

The Army www.army.mod.uk

Careers advice www.careersadvice.direct.gov.uk

Careers advice – Connexions www.connexions-direct.com/

Careers in the prison service www.hmprisonservicegov.uk/careersandjobs/

Direct Gov www.direct.gov.uk

Public service jobs www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/JobsAndCareers/DG_400311

Emergency services (Home Office) www.homeofficegov.uk/new_indexs/emerge_serv.htm

Fire Service www.fireservice.co.uk

Fire Service Recruitment

www.opdm.gov.uk/stellent/groups_odpmfire/documents/divisionhomepage/039372.hcsp

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs www.hmrc.gov.uk

Jobs in the public sector www.jobsinpublicsector.co.uk/

Public service jobs www.jobsgopublic.com/

Royal Air Force www.raf.mod.uk

Royal Navy/Royal Marines www.royal-navy.mod.uk

Textbooks

Cullingworth N – BTEC First Public Services, Second Edition (Nelson Thornes, 2006) ISBN 0748783903

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