Lynne Rutter

‘Baptism of Fire’: The First Year in the Life of a Newly Qualified Social Worker

This paper describes research commissioned by Skills for Care South West to identify and track the learning and development needs of newly qualified social workers through their first year of employment. The perceptions of 22 newly qualified social workers based in statutory settings are reported concerning the effectiveness of the social work degree (England), their induction and probationary periods and their progress towards post-qualifying social work education as part of their continuing professional development. The perspectives of line managers, people who use services and carers are also discussed. Findings from the research suggest that the social work degree has been well received by most newly qualified social workers and highlights the perceived importance of a statutory placement for social work degree students. Key social work practice skills that require further development are identified and a rationale is presented for greater investment in the induction and probationary periods of newly qualified social workers.

InfoSkills: a holistic approach to on‐line user education

Creating successful learning environments depends on many factors. When developing “InfoSkills”, Bournemouth University’s Web‐based library tutorial, the aim was to create not only a generic, pedagogically sound product based on the post‐induction needs of our students, but one which also provided an added‐value package to link with, and work alongside, established practices and products. Consolidating the information skills learning experience and bringing into a more flexible environment worked to the students’ and our own advantage. We now have a product that successfully underpins the library’s and university’s learning and teaching aims, but one which can easily be extended and modified for usage for similar institutions.

Skills support for post-qualifying education : Tailoring programmes to meet student needs

Even though social work is now placed within an arena of evidence‐based and reflective practice, it appears that post‐qualifying practitioners are rarely enabled or empowered to achieve this. This paper will investigate pragmatic issues surrounding the problem rather than the long‐running debates about the appropriateness of evidence‐based practice or the academic robustness of such evidence. It will focus on two main areas—firstly knowledge of, and access to, sources of information; and secondly skills to find and use the sources effectively. Some of these issues have been recognised nationally and are being addressed in several initiatives providing improved dissemination of evidence and research skills training. However, it is imperative that the scale of the problem is not underestimated. In order to meet the information needs of post‐qualification candidates, the provision of skills support should encompass a range of user‐focused and embedded services, fostering ideals of continuing professional development and lifelong‐learning. The Post Qualifying Social Work (PQSW) programme at Bournemouth University has identified the wider forums of information required for practice and the depth of information illiteracy prevalent within the profession. It has responded with an holistic and tailored package of information skills training and support, providing basic knowledge, access routes, and skills.

‘They’ve got it!: Social work students’ understanding of service user and carer perspectives.

This paper considers some of the complexities of involving people who use social work services in qualifying education and some of the positive aspects of doing so. The paper reviews growing involvement and the importance of training courses and support for those who get involved drawing on evaluations.

Practice education: Where next?

Summary: The future of practice education in social work in England is under discussion. An integral part of this relates to those considered qualified and appropriate to assess student social workers and the qualification framework necessary to ensure their supply. A draft Practice Educator Framework for England was published in October 2009. Fifteen partnerships of employers and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) were invited to deliver pilot Practice Educator programmes to test out the draft framework. This paper reports the formative and final evaluations from these pilot sites and lays the foundation for considerations of the future development of practice education in England. The evaluation and the pilot were commissioned by Skills for Care and funded by the Social Work Development Partnership. In total, 321 candidates had been or were in the process of being recruited to these pilot sites; whilst 24 candidates withdrew from or deferred their studies. The findings from the evaluation indicated that the vast majority of pilot sites had accredited their programmes academically, many at Master’s degree level. Candidate feedback was predominantly positive; however, about one in eight candidates disagreed that their programme had provided them with sufficient mentoring support. A third of pilot sites have realised they do not have the numbers of stage 2 Practice Educators that qualifying placements may require. Strong partnerships between employers and HEIs and targeted funding will be needed to ensure that future programmes meet workforce development needs.