Practice Education (Social Work)

This course is aimed at qualified and registered Social Workers, who wish to develop and assess the professional practice of students whilst out on placement. Social Workers undertaking the course should have at least two years of post-qualifying experience on application and be supported by their employer to host a social work student for the duration of a full practice placement.

Month of entry

September

Mode of study

Part time

Location

Keele University campus

Subject area

Medicine, Social work

Fees for 2025/26 academic year

UK - Part time £1,600 per year

Duration of study

Modular, 1 Year

Apply now

Why study Practice Education (Social Work) at Keele University?

Britain's best university, as ranked by students (Student Crowd University Awards, 2022)

Join a close-knit postgraduate community

insert-a start insert-a end

Course structure

The course aims to provide candidates with a solid introduction to practice education within social work. Candidates will be prepared to undertake the Practice Educator role within a social work student’s placement, working either as an on-site practice educator, or off-site alongside a work based supervisor. The course is designed to meet the Practice Educator standards for both stage 1 and stage 2 of the Practice Educator Professional Standards.

Topics you will explore include:

•   Planning and managing learning opportunities within a placement for a social work student
•   Supervising a student in practice
•   Making judgements and assessments on a social work students' level of professional capability
•   Assessing social work students and others, against the domains and indicators of the Professional
Capabilities Framework for Social Work
•   Preparing reports about social work students which meet professional requirements
•   Applying your knowledge about the ethical issues in practice education
•   Meeting stages 1 and 2 of the Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS)

The Mentor (Assessor) Role

Each candidate on this programme requires an assessor who will observe their supervisory practice on two or more occasions, work with them to design a learning plan, and appraise the quality of the candidates work with a social work student, mapped against the domains of the Practice Educator Professional Standards and values.

Assessors should be registered social workers, who have achieved a stage 2 Practice Education qualification themselves, and had experience of working in the practice educator role with at least 5 other students or learners.

Modules

The module details given below are indicative, they are intended to provide you with an idea of the range of subjects that are taught to our current students. The modules that will be available for you to study in future years are prone to change as we regularly review our teaching to ensure that it is up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods, as well as student voice. The information presented is therefore not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules available in any given year.

Next steps

insert-b start insert-b end

Entry requirements

The following section details our typical entry requirements for this course for a range of UK and international qualifications. If you don't see your qualifications listed, please contact us to find out if we can accept your qualifications.

You must have at least two years post-qualifying Social Work experience and be a registered Social Worker.

As a stand alone module, you should have one of the following:

First degree at 2:2 or above
Professional qualification equivalent to first degree at 2:2 or above
Substantial professional experience

English language requirements

All of our courses require an English language qualification or test. For most students, this requirement can be met with a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please see our English Language guidance pages for further details, including English language test information for international students. For those students who require an English language test, this course requires a test from .

References

Normally, you will need to provide at least one academic reference to support your application unless you have been out of study longer than two years. If it has been more than two years since you last studied on a degree-level programme, you will normally need to provide an employment reference instead. For more information about Academic References, please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages.

Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose

Please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages for guidance on what to include in your personal statement.

Recognition of Prior Learning

The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process which enables applicants to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired in the past through formal study or work and life experiences.

RPL can also be requested for admission onto the start of a programme in lieu of the admission requirements. For more information, see our Recognition of Prior Learning web pages.

General information

The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the typical offer which would be made to candidates, along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate's application.

insert-c start insert-c end

insert-d start insert-d end

insert-e start insert-e end

Teaching, learning and assessment

Teaching

The course comprises 70 hours of scheduled teaching over a 10 day programme, with additional tutorial support, and peer learning conference. There is an expectation of approximately 130 hours of guided independent study and a further 100 hours, which will be completing work with and for a social work student. This will generate the evidence that a candidate has met the requirements of the Practice Educator Professional Standards.

Due to the large geographical spread of candidates undertaking the course, which helps to enrich the peer learning experience, the course is mostly taught remotely via Teams with a small number of campus based days at the start and through the course.

Assessment

Formative Assignment: 1000 – Portfolio component 1 – developing a learning curriculum. This is given constructive feedback, aimed at easing candidates back into academic study, and a revised version developed from the feedback given is then incorporated into the candidate’s final assessed portfolio.

Summative Assessment is in the form of a portfolio which comprises:

Developing a learning curriculum (1000 words)
What makes good supervision (500 words)
Reflection on observations of Supervision and learning from this. (1000 words)
Critique of an exemplar practice learning report (1000 words)
Developing the learning of Others - (1000 words)
Conference Presentation with commentary (15 minutes/ 1500 word commentary)
Mentor Report

You can and should aim to complete elements of your portfolio at your own pace as the course progresses, rather than having one large assignment to complete at the end of the course.

Next steps

insert-f start

Keele Postgraduate Association

Keele University is one of a handful of universities in the UK to have a dedicated students' union for postgraduate students. A fully registered charity, Keele Postgraduate Association serves as a focal point for the social life and welfare needs of all postgraduate students during their time at Keele.

KPA interior

Hugely popular, the KPA Clubhouse (near Horwood Hall) provides a dedicated postgraduate social space and bar on campus, where you can grab a bite to eat and drink, sit quietly and read a book, or switch off from academic life at one of the many regular events organised throughout the year. The KPA also helps to host a variety of conferences, as well as other academic and career sessions, to give you and your fellow postgraduates the opportunities to come together to discuss your research, and develop your skills and networks.

insert-f end insert-g start insert-g end insert-h start insert-h end

Visit us Enquire about this course Programme specifications

Book to visit us