Practice Education in Social Work
Practice educators play a central role in the education of new social workers, offering guidance and assessing students’ first-hand experiences within the practice setting.
Our training courses
We run two related training courses for registered social workers who wish to gain the necessary qualification to work as practice educators:
- Practice Education in Social Work: Stage 1 - equips a practice educator to support and assess students on-site for their first placement (70 days).
- Practice Education in Social Work: Stage 2 - equips a practice educator to support and assess students on their final placement (100 days), and as an off-site practice educator.
Applicants need to have at least two years’ post qualifying experience in order to commence the course. The skills taught on this course are designed to allow you to meet the ‘Practice Educator Professional Standards’, which are held by the British Association of Social Workers.
While you are training, a fully qualified (PE2) and experienced practice educator ('Practice Educator Mentor') needs to be involved to support you, to ensure the quality of the placement and to contribute to the assessment of the student. With these arrangements in place, you can take responsibility during your training for a student social worker in a placement.
Application and contacts
We welcome applications from the entire Yorkshire and Humberside region and beyond. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Julie Harriss: sw-practice-education@york.ac.uk.