Social Work placements

In accordance with Social Work England requirements, 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 professional standards 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 have different learning experiences in their first and last placement and this will mean different placement settings and working with different groups of people. Prior to commencing your placement students will be required to complete a DBS disclosure.

The first placement commences in the second term for a period of 70 days. The second placement begins in the first term of the second year for a period of 100 days. During each placement, students will continue to access regular university-based learning and support.

Type of placement

Practice placements will vary in terms of the settings, the groups of people you will work with, and the social work methods required.

Agency

For example, placements may be in statutory children and families or adult social 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 work, solution-focused work, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural approaches, or strengths-based 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.

First year MSc Social Work student

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.

Second year MSc Social Work student