Personal Reflections of Social Work Education in the Context of the Social Work Task Force

Abstract

Following the death of ‘Baby P’, the UK Government set up a Social Work Task Force that reported in 2009. This made 15 recommendations, including five relating to the initial training of social workers at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This article considers the gap that exists between those HEIs and Local Authority employers from the perspective of someone who has spent 25 years working as a Local Authority social worker and manager, but who has recently moved to head up a social work department in an English university. Consideration is given to the provision of placements and that it is difficult to ‘fail’ social work students, particularly their practice learning components. Reference to experiential learning is discussed as being helpful to provide a theoretical connection to practice. The call is made for much closer partnership working between HEIs and Local Authority employers to start to bridge the gap.