DA6093 - Level 6 Placement

To prepare for the final practice placement, apprentices will concentrate on developing core skills to enable them to implement professional social work practice and prepare to demonstrate PCFs and their practice-based application of the professional standards set out by Social Work England. Specialist simulation and seminars will enable a detailed consideration of safeguarding practice in contemporary social work. This module incorporates both preparation for practice learning and 100 days practice learning. Apprentices will reflect on their learning, professional identity and develop an increasing ability to collaborate effectively with people who use care and support services and other stakeholders. The emphasis is on moving from understanding to application, collaboration and action. Apprentices will be supported to become an effective and self-confident practitioner delivering high standards of practice with service users, carers and a wide range of stakeholders.

Development of practice-based skills will form part of the teaching and learning strategy: this learning will then be applied and demonstrated in the practice learning opportunity. The focus is not only on the placement, but on experiential learning and personal development for the social work profession as it is now and how it might look in the future.
Apprentices will be able to learn in a wide variety of ways on this module. Simulation and role play activities will form the basis of this teaching, which will be supported by relevant lectures, delivered by academic staff, registered social work practitioners and Educators by Experience. Within these, apprentices will experience a range of teaching strategies, including seminar work, online sessions with colleagues in other countries to explore the international context of social work practice and some directed learning and experiential learning activities.
The 100 placement days attached to this module will offer the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills as a qualifying social work practitioner with people who use care and support services and other professionals in practice settings. Teaching and learning provided by the Practice Educator within placements will include practical experience, feedback from direct observations, individual supervision, discussion, written work, reading and reflection.

The placement Recall Days (of which there are two) will explore the role of social workers focusing on the skills and theory required to work in the context of the agency within which they are placed. Apprentices will be assisted to understand the links between the work they are undertaking and ecological social work, working with communities, and our role in times of crisis and disaster.

Apprentices will be offered formative feedback from peers and seminar leaders during workshop sessions. In the practice learning opportunity, formative feedback will be provided by the Practice Educator, people who use care and support services and other social work practitioners. Apprentices will receive in-depth support from the placement team through detailed feedback on their written reports and placement documentation. This support is to enable apprentices to reflect upon, identify and develop their learning needs whilst encouraging best practice in academic reading and writing which in turn will contribute to enhanced proficiency in English reading and writing.

The module will be assessed by summative assignments which will focus on professional judgment and decision making and a Practice Educator Pass/Fail recommendation of the apprentice's ability to work to the Professional Capabilities Framework at final placement level (BASW, 2018) at the end of last placement level.

Sensitive topics are publicised within the scheme of work and are made available to apprentices in advance. This enables apprentices to prepare and seek tutorial support prior to the session if required. Tutors will use personal tutorial time to discuss the appropriateness of making peer disclosures in relevant and safe settings.

Apprentices will be supported to critically explore social work practice through a series of themed simulation and case study workshops. The sessions are delivered by a combination of academics, practitioners/employers and by people that use services. The sessions adopt an experiential and discussion-based approach to learning therefore the workshops will be interactive.
Learning will also be supported by small group activities, directed reading and research activities, as well as themed seminars, and tutorials. The learning strategy will utilise video, simulation and up to date case reviews. Apprentices will be supported to develop their reflective writing skills during the workshops. Support will include feedback from module tutors during small group seminars and guidance tutorials with a Personal Tutor. Additionally, apprentices will receive in-depth support from academic staff through detailed feedback following formative assignment in preparation for the summative assessed work.

There are opportunities for small group work sessions with peers so that peer-to-peer support is fostered throughout the module. Good group work is a key component for development as a social work professional and apprentices will have the opportunity to contribute to group discussions and present to small seminar groups too.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding (K&U):
K&U –

At the end of the module apprentices will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding (KU):
1. Critically appraise the complex nature of social work assessment and decision making within relevant legal and policy frameworks, applying the best available evidence to practice.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Demonstrate the ability to form and sustain effective transformational relationships with service users and other key stakeholders.
3.Demonstrate the critical ability to make evidence-based judgements to inform decision making in situations of complexity and uncertainty.
.4. Understand the role of reflective supervision and how to maximise its benefit for practice.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Demonstrate a reflexive understanding of the apprentice's own personal contribution to social work intervention and the process of managing change.

Formative task:

Formative assessment:
Apprentices will complete a series of structured formative tasks during the practice placement. Using examples from the apprentice’s own practice, they will make links to the professional evidence base for practice and consider with the Practice Educator how knowledge, skills and values have developed. Verbal feedback on placement formative tasks will be provided by the Practice Educator.

(MLO 1,2,3,4,5)


How will feedback be provided.
Via formal and informal supervision, the practice educator will provide feedback.

Feedback will be provided via seminars and personal tutorial sessions.

Summative Assessment:

Summative Assessment consists of
three components

1) An individual VIVA focused on skills utilised in managing complex social work practice, marked out of 100%.
2) The development of a complete Degree Apprentice Practice Learning Document (DAPLD) evidencing the end of final placement Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF), Social Work Professional Standards (SWEPS) and the apprenticeship standards
(knowledge, skills, and behaviours), which is linked to attendance of and learning from 100 placement days. Pass/Fail

3) The DAPLD will incorporate two reflective narratives based on the 100-day practice opportunity of 1000 words each, these accounts will be verified by the Practice Educator and will be marked by the module team out of 100%

DA4088, DA4089, DA4091, DA4092, DA4093, DA5108, DA5109, D5111, DA5112

DA6092, DA6094

The Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) is a supporting structure that helps both aspiring and qualified social workers think about the skills, knowledge, and values they use in their practice. The Framework identifies what is expected at all stages of a social worker’s career, from entry level into training to the most advanced level. There are a range of personal qualities that all social workers require, and an awareness of social context and the impact these can haveare essential prerequisites for undertaking training to be a professional social worker.
The learning opportunities this module provides will equip apprentices to demonstrate capability in practicing at final placement level Social Work England (SWE) Professional Standards (2019). The knowledge and skills developed will enable apprentices to achieve best outcomes as a social worker across a range of organisational contexts. This module will build on the modules previously completed at Levels 4 and 5. It will focus on the practical application of assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation in complex social work contexts to prepare apprentices to undertake direct work with people who use care and support services. Once an apprentice has successfully completed the BSc (Hons) Integrated Degree Apprenticeship Social Work programme, apprentices will be eligible to apply for registration as a qualified social worker with Social Work England.
To prepare for the final practice placement and working life, the teaching will concentrate on developing core skills to implement professional social work practice within a statutory framework. Specialist workshops will facilitate a detailed consideration of safeguarding practice in contemporary social work.

The 100 placement days attached to this module will offers the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills as qualifying social work practitioners with service users, carers and other professionals in practice settings. To provide a broader and more holistic perspective, skills days will also look at social work practice on a broader scale, such as international social work, ecological social work, and crisis and disaster work and community work.