Last year we launched our resource Social work student placements in the third sector which is a practical resource to support everyone involved in social work student education to make the most of third sector placements. The resource draws on the experiences and perspectives of third sector organisations, students, recently qualified workers, practice educators and social work education coordinators to offer practical prompts for action and collaboration.
Next Chapter Scotland agreed to be a learning partner to test out the tool in their student placement practice and we have some learning to share after our first workshop with the team in November.
It was brilliant to see two first placement social work students involved in the workshop along with team members from a variety of roles and see that everyone was able to make their contribution.
Guided by an Appreciative Inquiry approach, we agreed the question to explore in the session together - 'building on the good, how do we at Next Chapter Scotland make the most of social work student placements, for everyone involved?' We got things going by asking the team to share their individual experiences of the ‘best of’ being involved in something or involving people in something (in life or work) - this was with the aim that these experiences will help to ground the practical developmental work of hosting students on placement. Some of the messages that people shared include:
- Learning from each other
- The good feeling of being part of something without pressure to ‘be’ a certain way
- Shared interests are points of connection no matter how different your lives might be
- Never feeling a burden for asking questions
- Acknowledging that it takes ongoing work to create and then nourish or maintain a supportive environment
Then, using thematic prompts from the resource, and thinking about the roles and contributions everyone has to make, the team identified development areas and reflection points to explore in growing their placement offer and experience. Some are longer term and others are for action now. Here are just a few examples:
Within the organisation:
- Developing student induction: getting the balance right for induction between providing resources for independent learning and where more content and guided support is needed for example - exploring discrimination within a justice context
- Reflecting on what it means for a student who doesn’t have lived experience of the justice system to come into a team where that lived experience is a strong element of collective team identity
- Growing team capacity so that one day someone could have a designated student support lead role within their day to day work - this is currently shared between a couple of team members
- Planning to increase what students can get involved in - eg. developing opportunities for student involvement with some of the newer organisational activities
Beyond the team
- Challenging perceptions held by some that social work is about paperwork
- Building on the ‘anything is possible’ attitude that the team shares and encouraging students to take that attitude with them
We really valued the enthusiasm and open approach to learning and sharing that colleagues brought into the session and we’re looking forward to our next workshop in the new year.
Here are reflections the Next Chapter Scotland team have shared:
'The workshop created a valuable space for us to reflect on what makes student placements work well in a lived-experience-led organisation. One key learning was the importance of fostering an environment where curiosity is welcomed, questions are encouraged and no one feels pressure to “perform” or already have the answers.
We also reflected on the need to support students who don’t have lived experience of the justice system to engage thoughtfully with a team where lived experience is central, particularly around language, power and stigma. Looking ahead, we’re keen to strengthen our induction offer, clarify opportunities for student involvement across our work and continue building sustainable internal support for placements.
We appreciated the reflective, collaborative approach and look forward to continuing this learning in future sessions.'
If your third sector organisation is planning on hosting a social work student placement in the new year you can check out our resource, and if you’ve used the resource please tell us how you’ve found it!
