The period at the end of the school year was busy and the documentation provided for teachers turned out to be too detailed to fulfil their immediate needs. Employers were often unclear about what was expected of placements, and saw little opportunity to negotiate the purposes with the teachers. Most of these problems would disappear if arrangements were made, say, six months before placement. In those cases where it was possible for employer and teacher to come to clear and agreed objectives in advance, the perceived gains for the teacher were greatest. For 1989, TPS has argued that substantial improvements in the briefing procedures and general preparations for the placements were achieved.
School holidays are inconvenient for firms since many of their staff take leave then.
On the teachers' side, those involved in the 1988 scheme were enthusiasts, but suggested that the majority of their colleagues would not be prepared to sacrifice part of their summer holiday without remuneration. And, in particular, married women with children had some difficulty with domestic arrangements outwith the school terms. The 1988 pilot scheme chose to make each placement for two weeks. Those who had a more focused purpose, such as a piece of curriculum development, found the time too short. If the placement was essentially work-shadowing, the strain on the person shadowed precluded it continuing for more than a few days.