Having been working on Voice and Visions for nearly six months, it is safe to say we have heard a lot about the third sector social work student placement world; from third sector representatives, link workers, practice educators and people in the university world. Thank you so much to those who have lent their experiences to this project so far.
But, we still have time for more! We are next meeting online on 23rd September, and we’d love to see you there. You can sign up here https://forms.office.com/e/8nnahMV4Q0.
From our conversations, it is evident that third sector organisations have valuable learning experiences to offer, and many are passionate about the opportunities they can provide social work students. We wanted to hear more about that value, really zoom in on what exactly students can expect to gain from a placement like this.
The sector is challenging, and it is often tempting, easier - and sometimes important! - to focus on what isn’t working to show us what needs to change. For example, we know from the SASW Social Work Placement Experience report that some students reported not having enough opportunity for learning in third sector organisation placements; or had placements that felt too far removed or unrelated to their social work training.
So, we invited third sector partners along to talk specifically about the value of the placements they, and the third sector more widely, offer; and we want to share what we’ve captured.
Time for relationship building
Relational work is such a key part of third sector activity, and despite the scarce resources, there is often more time for students to get to know the people they are working with, than is possible in the statutory sector. The pace of the third sector placement can allow students time for reflective practice, and the different types of engagement that people often have with third sector organisations in comparison to statutory teams, offer the opportunity to build their relationship based skills. This is key in converting knowledge to practice, and vice versa, and offer students much needed space to solidify their learning.
Deeper insight into a specific practice area
Third sector organisations in many cases work with a clearly defined group of supported people, for example newly arrived migrants, people who use drugs, or care experienced young people. Third sector placements provide students with an opportunity for a rich learning experience, focused on understanding the common challenges and circumstances that specific groups of supported people might encounter. This can support their formal qualification, through presenting real life opportunities to apply their theoretical learning.
Students can develop an understanding of the third sector
Student placements have a role to play in developing social workers’ understanding of the role that the third sector plays in the lives of individuals and communities; as well as giving them the opportunity to build a base of contacts within the sector. A lack of partnership between the third sector and statutory social work, and even siloed working, can disadvantage supported people. Building up professional connections is important to people within, and those supported by the social work profession. Equally, third sector organisations shared that they welcome the opportunity to learn more about social work from students, and welcome the fresh perspectives they can offer teams.
With the value of the third sector student placements set out, we’re turning our attention to the next stages: what are the considerations third sector organisations have when they are hosting student placements? Our next series of workshops will be focused on how organisations get ready to host a placement and looking more closely at the practicalities of this,with the opportunity for organisations to share their knowledge, resources and top tips of what works with each other. We hope that by exploring this in more detail we can build up more understanding of what’s needed to make placements successful for both students and host organisations.
We’re meeting again online on 23rd September, and we’d love to see you there. You can sign up here https://forms.office.com/e/8nnahMV4Q0 or get in touch with hannah.martin@iriss.org.uk or Louise.bowen@iriss.org.uk
