The supervision of undergraduate social work students on placement is fundamental to their development as 50% of the BSc (Hons) social work degree in the UK comprises practice learning, which is widely acknowledged as the signature pedagogy of the profession. In Northern Ireland practice learning opportunities are supervised by practice teachers. To ensure a consistent quality and supply of practice teachers a Master's programme offering approximately 35 places per year is delivered at Ulster University. The trainee practice teachers had to navigate working on the front line through the COVID 19 pandemic, post graduate study and the professional supervision and assessment of undergraduate social work students on placement. This article presents evidence from a small scale qualitative study evaluating the practice teaching programme conducted with 22 trainee practice teachers.Respondents were asked to complete a semi structured online survey. The evaluation sought their perceptions regarding the duality of their unique experience as a gatekeeper to the profession and student managing the unprecedented challenges of assessing the competence of social work students on placement. Several themes emerged including assessing competence, the student experience and support from the practice assessor. A further outcome was the creation of a Peer Learning Bubble Model.

Service user and carer involvement in social work education is a mandatory requirement in the UK. The role of service users, carers and survivors in Northern Ireland is fundamental to shaping social work students understanding of the unique life histories and experiences of others and acknowledging service user perspectives through the lens of experts by experience.This paper outlines the organic approach the authors adopted in developing and co-producing the Shared Stories Narrative Model for supporting service users, carers and survivors to participate in the direct teaching within the undergraduate social work degree at a university in Northern Ireland. The model is the product of extensive engagement with a group of young people who have experience of social work involvement. The model will be explained and applied to a case example. Reflections from the young people (experts by experience) and social work students are included. This paper seeks to demonstrate how the Shared Stories Narrative Model can be considered an effective framework for supporting meaningful service user involvement in social work education.

This article is developed from a presentation given at the 12th International practice teaching conference in Oxford (2018). The authors share their experiences as academics and practice educators of using digital storytelling with social work students in Northern Ireland. Storytelling took place at two distinct points of the students’ learning journey before and after placement. Undergraduate social work students (n=40) in their first semester of year one teaching participated in classroom based digital storytelling with the first author. Placement students created digital stories at two key points during their placements, at the beginning (1st – 3rd week of placement) and at the end (16th – 18th week of placement).  Several themes emerged including; self-evaluation and reflection, producing and receiving feedback and team work. This collaborative article offers a basis for practice development and professional discussions across disciplines on the use of digital storytelling with students studying for a professional qualification.

This article is developed from a presentation given at the 12th International practice teaching conference in Oxford (2018). The authors share their experiences as academics and practice educators of using digital storytelling with social work students in Northern Ireland. Storytelling took place at two distinct points of the students’ learning journey before and after placement. Undergraduate social work students (n=40) in their first semester of year one teaching participated in classroom based digital storytelling with the first author. Placement students created digital stories at two key points during their placements, at the beginning (first to third week of placement) and at the end (16th to 18th week of placement). Several themes emerged including; self-evaluation and reflection, producing and receiving feedback and team work. This collaborative article offers a basis for practice development and professional discussions across disciplines on the use of digital storytelling with students studying for a professional qualification.