Lighting the Way: Supporting the growth of health-based social work through effective assessment of practice-based learning | Member Blog

In this blog, member Lisa Brett condenses key lessons learned from her consultancy work in supporting the growth of social work in different sectors, focusing primarily on social work in health settings.

Lisa Brett is a member of BASW’s Social Work in Health Organisations Thematic Group. Lisa is an Independent Consultant specialising in Social Work CPD, a Social Work England Registrant Inspector, ASYE Assessor and former Senior Lecturer and Module Lead for Practice Education.  

Views expressed within this blog are the member's own personal views. 

In this blog, I have condensed key lessons learned from my consultancy work in supporting the growth of social work in different sectors. My aim is to open the many benefits to the profession of increasing the presence and professional identity of social work, attracting available funding for supporting pre- and post-qualification, and increasing workforce stability. 

This blog focuses on social work in health-based services, although many aspects of this learning can be (and have been) successfully applied to other areas of social work. We will explore some of the challenges facing the sector in accessing Social Work Apprenticeships, focusing on the provision of ‘statutory task social work placements’ (often referred to as ‘Final’ placements), meeting the requirements of Social Work England. I will provide a practice-based case study of innovative approaches to widening access to Social Work Degree Apprenticeships, delivered at the University of Hertfordshire.   

As always, I am happy to receive comments, suggestions or feedback on any aspect of the blog. 

The Case for Change - Horizon Scanning 

Social Work Apprenticeships place a greater requirement on universities to develop effective partnerships and innovative approaches to support employers. The potential opportunities that Social Work Apprenticeships provide are clear: employers have increased access to funding and the potential to improve staff retention, optimise talent management and improve recruitment; while universities have an opportunity to provide Social Work Education that meets the needs of the Health Sector. With opportunity comes challenge, however. The challenges facing employers and many universities are less visible, requiring specific knowledge of the sector and innovative strategies to support growth and promote inclusivity.

Changing minds

In my experience of placement development, if we are to support the growth of Social Work Apprenticeships in health-based social work, we have a task to change minds. We need to challenge the myths that surround the provision of social work placements that, like many myths, are based on misunderstanding.  

Myth - “Student Social Workers must be provided with a ‘Statutory Task’ (or ‘final’) placement in a local authority.”  This view is commonly held and is a powerful blocker to growth. Let’s consider: 

Fact - The Social Work England Practice Placement Guidance provides a definition of ‘statutory task’ placements. This guidance acknowledges the potential for statutory task placements in agencies outside of local authorities - if they meet certain conditions.  

If we do not tackle the myths that surround the provision of social work placements, we run the risk of taking an overly exclusive view of social work that is, in the main, restricted to local authorities. We also limit opportunities for growth in social work based in health services. 

The Way Forward 

In some areas, health services are often restricted to providing 70-day ‘first’ placements when, given the close proximity to statutory social work, many meet the criteria for final 100-day placements. Therefore, an opportunity to stimulate growth is lost. What is needed is an assessment process to support application of the SWE Guidance. Completing this task lights the way to creating placements and supports supervision and assessment of learning, and boosts confidence in the placement’s quality assurance process. 

Trail Blazer - The University of Hertfordshire Case Study 

For the task of changing minds, nothing speaks louder than sharing success stories. My current consultancy work created a pilot aiming to widen access to Social Work Degree Apprenticeships beyond local authorities and instead, place them within a wide range of sectors. Working with Hertfordshire University, Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) and Cygnet Hospital Stevenage, our innovative approach focused on mental health. Key aspects of the approach involved providing practical support on the application of Social Work England Guidance and developing a new and original Statutory Task Assessment proforma to facilitate the process. The results speak for themselves: increased provision of Social Work Degree Apprenticeships in a wide range of sectors and service areas.

The successes of the pilot showcase the potential for growing the presence and professional identity of social work in mental health services in the NHS and private sector. Stage 2 of the pilot will be exploring the growth of Social Work Degree Apprenticeships across many areas of service in the NHS and with a range of health-based partners.   

The Essential Elements of Creating New Statutory Task Placements 

‘Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment’

The creation of a Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment provides a consistent method of assessing how practice placements meet the Social Work England criteria for the provision of a statutory task placement. It also provides the basis for the planning, evaluation and review of new statutory task placements, tasking universities to integrate the assessment into existing quality assurance of practice placements and associated documentation. 

Role specific assessment

The key to a successful Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment is identifying an appropriate role in the agency that is closely linked to safeguarding and offers clear examples of high-risk decision -making.  

Translating criteria into practice

Employers can often require support and guidance on how the application of SWE Guidance translates into practice-based learning and how this relates to the completion of the Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment.   

Set of Statutory Tasks

The completion of a summary activity identifying a set of statutory tasks provides the Learning Team with 10-12 learning objectives clearly mapped to the SWE criteria. This activity is enhanced by allocating timescales. 

Quality assurance process

The completion of the ‘Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment’ needs to be an integral part of the wider placement’s quality assurance process, supporting the planning of new placements, placement audits and the ongoing evaluation of placement quality.   

Transparency 

The Statutory Task Sufficiency Assessment needs to be accessible and the document shared with the entire learning team, informing students/ apprentices, tutor, Practice Educator and Mentor, on the range of learning required. 

  • Found this interesting? Email brettlj39@gmail.com for more information, guidance or to receive free blogs direct to your inbox.