Information for Voluntary Agency Staff

Partnership Agencies

The Edinburgh and Lothians Voluntary Organisations’ Practice Teaching Partnership is a federation of organisations, which have a commitment to quality, person-centred practice and innovative approaches. There are currently 43 agencies within the partnership and their work ranges across physical disability, learning disability, mental health, domestic violence, alcohol and drug issues, HIV and AIDS, minority ethnic communities, advocacy initiatives, criminal justice and services for young people.

How Does my Organisation Join the Partnership?

If you work in a Voluntary Organisation within Edinburgh and the Lothians and you would be interested in developing practice-learning opportunities for Social Work students, please contact us at the PTU. There is a requirement to sign up to a Partnership Equal Opportunities policy and to use common complaints procedures and monitoring and evaluation processes (specifically for students).

Practice Teaching

Some agencies have accredited Practice Teachers amongst their own staff group, others are able to host student placements with “Long arm” practice teaching input from the PTU. “Long arm” Practice Teaching involves working with students and Link Supervisors in host agencies. This involves preparation work with the Link Supervisor, negotiating appropriate areas of work and managing the placement. Practice Teachers meet with students for formal supervision for a minimum of 1½ hours each week. They have responsibility for direct teaching, support, monitoring of practice and assessment of the student’s progress. Ultimately, making a PASS or FAIL recommendation to the assessment board at the end of the placement is the responsibility of the practice teacher after receiving feedback from agency staff and service users.

Library Resources

A library of social work texts and journals is available to all Partnership practice teachers, link supervisors and students on placement. There is also a bank of training materials and some technical equipment (audio and video) for teaching and presentation purposes.

Quality Assurance

The Partnership has a Monitoring and Evaluation sub-board, which examines feedback on every placement and offers guidance where changes are required. The re-Accreditation sub-board reviews the status of practice teachers. Both of these sub-boards are comprised of senior practitioners of Partnership Agencies.

How do I Become a Practice Teacher?

You must have a professional qualification in Social Work or a related professional discipline and a minimum of 2 years experience in the field before applying to a Practice Teacher Training programme. Courses are currently run for those selected onto the course and result in the Practice Teaching Award, which leads to agency accreditation as a practice teacher. As part of the process, new Practice Teachers seeking the Award undertake a placement with a student whilst being supported and assessed by a Practice Assessor, who is an experienced Practice Teacher.

Practice Assessing

One of the Unit Practice Teachers will take on Practice Assessor responsibilities if a staff member from a partnership agency undertakes the Practice Teaching Award. This is a necessary part of the award and the Practice Assessor acts as both consultant/mentor and makes the assessment of competence, which goes as a recommendation to the awarding body.

How do I Become a Link Supervisor?

Link Supervisors are usually experienced members of staff who are interested in practice learning within their agency. Some people take on a Link Supervision role with a view to undertaking Practice Teacher Accreditation at a later date. Link Supervision gives you the experience of working with students without full responsibility for the placement or for assessment of the student. If you are interested in becoming a Link Supervisor, you should discuss this with your line manager before contacting Anna at the PTU.

Consultancy

PTU staff offer consultancy to agencies, which are considering either offering placements to social work students or sponsoring a staff member on to qualifying training or supporting a staff member to undertake the Practice Teaching Award.

Some Useful Links:

• Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC): www.sssc.uk.com
• Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE): www.sieswe.org
• Scottish Practice Learning Project: www.splp.uk.com