315 hours.
Every student.
Already sourced.
Trailstones gives FE colleges a verified local network of charity placement hosts — with briefs written, coordinators named, and safeguarding in place. Ready for your students to walk into.
315 hours of industry placement, per student, per programme. Providers are responsible for sourcing it.
THE CHALLENGE
Finding the hours is where it breaks down.
Sixty T-Level students across three subjects. That's over 18,000 hours of placement capacity to source every year — hosts to find, briefs to write, safeguarding to verify, check-ins to schedule, hours to log.
Trailstones handles the sourcing and the admin. We maintain a verified network of local charity hosts — each with a named coordinator, a scoped brief, and safeguarding already in place.
DfE T-Level delivery guidanceWHAT TRAILSTONES HANDLES
FROM THE DfE DELIVERY GUIDANCE
"Four Media, Broadcast and Production T Level students work with a local charity to produce a short documentary. The charity supervises and conducts regular check-ins to ensure the project meets their brief and students present their final documentary to the charity's senior team."
DfE T-Level Industry Placement Delivery Guidance, January 2025
Scoped project. Charity brief. Check-ins. Final presentation.
This is how the DfE describes a valid T-Level placement — and it's exactly the Trailstones model.
Read the full DfE guidanceSUBJECT COVERAGE
Subjects we support
| SUBJECT | WHAT STUDENTS BRING |
|---|---|
|
Digital — Data Analytics |
Data analysis, digital project management, business process improvement |
|
Digital — Software Development |
Coding, application development, digital tool building |
|
Digital — Support and Security |
IT support, network infrastructure, cybersecurity |
|
Media, Broadcast and Production |
Photography, video, content production, design |
|
Management and Administration |
Operations, event management, business admin, project coordination |
|
Health DBS required |
Community health, patient-adjacent support |
REMOTE FLEXIBILITY — FROM JANUARY 2025
20% of any placement can be remote. For Digital T-Levels, up to 50%.
Smaller charities — including many in our network — can legitimately host Digital and Creative students without requiring full office infrastructure.
Source: DfE T-Level Industry Placement Delivery Guidance, January 2025
HOW IT SCALES
Start small. Scale fast.
Not every charity can commit to a full 315-hour placement straight away. Trailstones builds the relationship first.
STAGE 1
Short Trailstones project
3–4 weeks · minimal coordinator time
- Scoped brief, two check-ins, verified reference
- Proves the relationship before either side commits
- Counts toward Gatsby Benchmark 6 evidence
STAGE 2
Full T-Level industry placement
315 hours · structured supervision
- Charity already knows how Trailstones works — low friction start
- Named coordinator, scheduled check-ins, logged hours
- Evidence exportable for ESFA and Ofsted
Short project → proven host → full placement in Year 2.
315
hours per student, per programme
45
approximate placement days per student
20+
T-Level subjects across England
50%
of Digital placements can be remote
HOW IT WORKS
Four steps from brief to evidence pack
Tell us your subjects and cohort size
We map your students to verified charity hosts that match the subject requirements.
We handle sourcing, briefs, and vetting
Every host has a named coordinator, a scoped brief, and safeguarding confirmed before day one.
Students complete their hours
Structured check-ins, logged hours, final review — tracked in the Trailstones platform.
Export the evidence pack
Placement hours, employer references, and completion records — ready for T-Level admin, Ofsted, and ESFA.
Talk to your T-Level team.
We work directly with T-Level Coordinators and Heads of Industry Partnerships. Tell us your subjects and student numbers and we'll show you what's available in your area.