Social Work placements
As on all social work qualifying courses, and in accordance with Social Work England guidelines, students spend a substantial part of the course in practice placements.
The aim of placements is to allow students to learn and develop both skills and a value-base for their work. Social Work England’s standards of proficiency for social work are based on the principle that a social worker trains and qualifies with a broad experience and understanding of the profession and therefore we seek to ensure that all students experience some breadth and variety in their placements.
Social Work England recommends that students should have different learning experiences in their first and last placement and this will mean different placement settings and different service user groups. Prior to commencing your placement you will be required to complete a DBS disclosure.
The first placement commences in the second term for a period of 70 days. You will be on placement four days a week, returning to the University during term time on a Thursday. The second placement takes place in the first term of the second year for a period of 100 days returning to the University during term time on a Monday.
Type of placement
Practice placements will vary in terms of the settings, the service user groups you will work with, and the social work methods required.
Agency
Placements may, for example, be in statutory children and families or adult care teams, voluntary and independent sector organisations, or specialist mental health services.
Service user group
You could be working with a range of different service user groups. These may include older people, offenders, children, young people, women, families, people experiencing mental distress, people with learning disabilities, homeless people, or asylum seekers.
Social work methods
The social work methods used during the placement may also vary. These may include group work, family work, community work, individual counselling, task-centred work, cognitive behavioural approaches, or empowerment approaches.
Placement location
Placements might be in urban (inner city, outer suburb), small town or rural areas. Although we can't guarantee placement location, we aim to minimise travel for students and we take into account students' individual circumstances. All eligible postgraduate students may be entitled to a placement travel allowance.
My first placement was with Second Step, I had not previously worked with adults who experience mental distress, the placement provided me with many different learning opportunities and was able to build on and develop my social work skills during the placement.
The placement in the Referral and Assessment Team gave me more opportunity to put the methods and theories learnt in university into practice. The biggest aspect of learning, therefore, was gaining knowledge and experience of the variety of issues that children and families face and how best to support or intervene in these circumstances. The second placement allowed me to develop my identity as a social worker and I began to feel more of a sense of professional integrity.