Introducing students to an agency setting: university and field staff jointly evaluate students readiness for practice.

Maura Daly. Projects Manager, Circle. Supporting families in Scotland. Ruth Forbes. Social Work Tutor. University of Edinburgh

Session plan Context Aspiration Structure Features Development Benefits Practice teachers’ voice. The student voice.

Context A new honours degree in social work as core, required qualification. ‘Development of the students' skills and abilities in practice is based on the fact that practice is a setting for learning, a way of learning and an essential part of the learning that students must complete’. (Standards in Social Work Education 2003) ‘Students must prepare for social work contact and involvement’ (Standard 1). Providers of social work education must: ‘Make sure that all students undergo assessed preparation for direct practice to make sure that they are safe to carry out practice learning in a service delivery setting. This preparation must include the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of the experience of service users and the role of social workers’. (SiSWE 2003)

Aspirations Early engagement with practice Developing students’ contribution to each other’s learning. To facilitate the transition into practice. To prepare students and to inform university of students’ readiness. Dual process promoting students’ development. Partnership between university and practice. Effective use of limited practice learning resources.

Structure Embedded within the Learning for Practice course – year 3 UG, year 1 PG. In groups: small communities of learning. 15 days, at end of semester 1 Linked to 6 different agencies, statutory and voluntary.

Features Create agency and community profile. Not intended to involve direct practice. Return to university last day of each week Students follow programme which can include observations, group discussions, professional inputs, service user input, shadowing. Practice teacher evaluation Produce film depicting learning.

Developments to date We’ve learnt to mix the groups, broaden learning. Managing the student tendency to compare. Highlighting of key personal issues. Strengthening of bridge between university and practice. Notable improvement in assessed academic assignment.

Benefits for students learning Manages the transition between university and practice. Creates an immediate experience in relation to the complexities of practice dilemmas. Challenges values in reality of practice context. Opportunities for inter-professional learning. Assists integration and application of learning.

Benefits to assessment of students’ readiness Unearths vulnerabilities before a commitment to practicum. Indicates issues requiring attention prior to practicum. Highlights very practical aspects of professional engagement. Informs readiness for practice assessment which includes attendance, academic performance, adherence to SSSC Code of Practice.

Practicum Practice Teachers’ views of the 15 Days Introduction to a Practice Setting. ‘Issues requiring attention were identified which allowed my work with the student to be more focused right from the start’. ‘It is particularly useful for less confident students to get a ‘dummy run’ at managing the potential overwhelming nature of the beginning stages of the practicum’. ‘Develops students’ confidence.’ ‘You can see students grow and change during the 15 days’. ‘Gives students a better sense of the shape of a practicum; what supervision might entail’. ‘Anxiety about the practicum is reduced as a result of the 15 days experience’.

Students’ views of the 15 days Introduction to a Practice Setting ‘I now definitively know that I want to be a social worker. Before the 15 days, I had doubts whether I had made the right career choice.’ ‘Watching social workers do their job made all the theory come to life’. ‘I found this experience helped me to reconcile the theories which we learned within the university, with day to day practice’. ‘I need to work on my time-keeping and reflective writing’. ‘I hadn’t realised it would be so exhausting. I will need to manage my energy levels better when I move into the practicum’.