My role as a practice educator

What is a practice educator?

A practice educator is a social worker who supports, teaches and assesses a student whilst on placement. They are a mentor, teacher, assessor and supervisor and a consistent presence to ensure the student feels safe and secure whilst on their placement. Practice educators play an important role in safeguarding the future of social work as they ensure that those entering the profession have the skills and knowledge required to meet the professional standards.

For me, one of the key roles of a practice educator is to support the student to link social work theory to practice, building on their foundation of knowledge from their studies, previous roles and life experience. I share practice ‘wisdom’ from my own experience and help students to build a professional network to gain different perspectives and experience in different areas of social work.

My role is to offer open and honest feedback to support the student’s professional development and professional confidence. It’s a reflective space where the student can develop as a practitioner, identifying their own style of practice.

How I became a practice educator

I am passionate about supporting those at the start of a career. As a student I was fortunate to have had positive placement experiences and much of this was down to my practice educators. The role appealed to me as it offered the opportunity to share learning, develop academic assessor skills and support another person’s practice development.

This encouraged me to volunteer with a local university as a mentor when I started my social work career. As part of my career progression, I had the opportunity to complete the practice educator qualification.

I enjoy developing new relationships with each student and supporting them to gain the most from each placement. It also brings me the enjoyment of learning, whether that is refreshing my knowledge in certain areas, familiarising myself with new legislation or just the challenge of questions or reflections in supervision. It is a joint learning journey every time.

My day-to-day role

It’s my role to support the student to graduate with the values, skills and knowledge they will need so they can meet the professional standards, apply for registration with Social Work England and join the social work workforce. This is about working with the course provider, practice tutors, placement providers and employers to make sure the student gets the very best learning experience and start to their social work career. For example, signposting them to the right support and services.

Organisational skills are key for the practice educator role, as it is so busy and varied. Each student will bring different learning needs and it is important to respond to this, rather than having one approach to all.

I start my planning before the student starts their placement, to ensure all practical aspects are in place for their first day. The start of placement is a busy time, scheduling dates for meetings and reviews. Setting a good foundation with clear expectations, roles and responsibilities helps keep everything clear for all involved.

During their placement, I meet students weekly for supervision. I also liaise with the workplace supervisor to monitor progress and ensure any issues are picked up early. I must give verbal and written feedback, including reports and reviews. I also have to carry out direct observations, which includes gaining feedback from people who have had direct involvement with the student.

In instances where students may be having difficulties on their placement, or where concerns have been raised about the student, I will offer additional support. I prepare an end of placement report, including a recommendation as to whether the student has met the learning outcomes and passed the placement. The student's progress will have been discussed at each stage of the placement so the outcome should not be a surprise to anyone.

My skills as a practice educator

A student’s placement experience is a key part of their learning, and they need consistency and reliability from a practice educator. You must have a genuine interest in the development of others and be organised and committed. You need to be professionally confident to answer plenty of questions, be open when you don’t know the answers, and have difficult conversations.

Students need constructive feedback and accurate and up to date information, which is where having a strong professional network is good for support and learning. You also need to be able to adapt and be creative, as not everyone learns in the same way or at the same pace.

The role of a practice educator can be a powerful one. I like to think that done well the impact can positively last throughout a person’s whole career.

Read Social Work England’s new approach to social work education and training and take part in its consultation on readiness for professional practice by Friday 7 October 2022.