After working on it for a year, our resource to support social work placements in third sector organisations is here! We are delighted to have reached this stage, and want to thank all of those who contributed their time, insights and perspectives to help us make the final resource. A particular thanks to People Know How for bringing the original idea to Iriss. You can read about their take on the project here: https://peopleknowhow.org/news/social-work-placements-looking-back-and-leaving-a-legacy/
You'll find the PDF version of the resource here: https://www.iriss.org.uk/resources/tools/student-placements-third-sector-organisations
Last week, we hosted in-person and online launch events to share the resource, and were delighted to welcome national and local third sector organisations; colleagues from universities in Scotland; and even professionals from other parts of the UK, interested in the work. Participants brought fresh ideas, a willingness to participate and enthusiasm for the topic area into the room. We have reaffirmed our sense that this resource is launching in a space where everyone involved is committed to making placements successful and valuable for students, and in turn for the people who are supported by social work. Thank you so much to everyone that made it along.
While we’ve considered the third sector perspective in this resource, it was clear to us when we started working in this area that there are many moving parts to a social work placement; and so we wanted to hear from universities and social work students too. We spoke with students and university colleagues during the project as well as having universities at the launch event and hosting an event at University of Dundee. So, if you’re from a university or even if you’re a social work student, this resource will be handy for you!
The resource looks great and I feel it captures the voices of all relevant parties. I am glad that you brought in the universities…
We were pleased that the inclusion of different voices both in building the resource, and in the final draft, was welcomed by participants at the launch events. Through hearing many perspectives, we came to think about student placements as being about building a strong coalition of actors around the student. We hope that future collaboration and relationship building will be supported by this resource.
We heard from third sector organisations that they don’t always know where to begin with building a placement. So we wanted the resource to provide a starting point for those organisations who are hosting student placements for the first time as well as support organisations to develop their current placement opportunities So, it was really encouraging for us to hear the following from a participant:
My first thoughts on the resource is to share it with my staff and engage with it as a pathway starting student placements with social work
It’s been brilliant to hear that people already have ideas of how they might use this resource in their workplaces and we’re pleased that people could identify areas of the student placements journey where they could apply guidance and tips from the resource:
The resource is excellent as a starting point - it lays out clear expectations and outcomes
Use the resource as a guide to make sure prep is done for social work students before placement
In the session we also talked about the student placement world more broadly, and some of the challenges and opportunities that are unfolding. We didn’t have the time to talk about all of them in depth, but we wanted to share them in the hope of inviting further discussion:
- The matching of student to placement process has to consider some of the specific challenges that a placement might have for an individual - can universities and placement providers work together more closely to make sure it’s a good fit?
- What are the opportunities for social workers to train as practice educators? How will recent changes that mean that only those with social work qualifications can train as practice educators impact on placements?
- Is there appetite and opportunity for third sector organisations to come together in a more formal network to collaborate on student placements and maybe even partner to offer holistic and robust learning opportunities?
- Can third sector organisations share some of the resources they have - like videos and podcasts - that capture the experiences, needs and lives of the people they support; to help bring the voices of people who receive support into the university classroom?
Given that there is so much to explore in this area, we are so pleased to be maintaining our work around social work student placements this year. We would welcome your thoughts about what you’d like to see next in this space, so please get in touch at hannah.martin@iriss.org.uk and louise.bowen@iriss.org.uk
We also want to hear how you’re using this resource; what’s helping you? Is there anything missing? Is there a top tip you have you’d like to share with the sector? Get in touch!
