Practice Education Network for Social Work (PENSW): Evaluation of an online resource

Abstract

The Practice Education Network for Social Work (PENSW) is an online resource for networking and sharing knowledge and information that is accessed by all the professionals and partner agencies involved in providing social work placements and supervising social work students at the University of Suffolk (UOS) in the United Kingdom (UK). This research explored the ease with which such networks can be set up, and offers an evaluation from network members. Given limited national resources and the need to provide more localised resources; this evaluation demonstrates the importance of providing an easily accessible virtual space for organisations and professionals to access resources, network, and share best practice. The findings suggest that all social work training programmes should consider providing a localised network to support the social work placement process by ensuring that supervisors of social work students have access to necessary documentation, research, and information so that they can effectively fulfil their roles, and stay connected to the programme provider and other professionals involved in social work student practice placements.Keywords: social work placements; supervision; networking; resources; information sharing; practice education.