This document summarizes a presentation given at the 2012 SCI conference in Kilkenny, Ireland on the history and current state of social care education. It discusses how courses originated in the 1970s to train residential child care workers and are now bachelor's degrees. Placements are critical but challenging to administer due to pressures on students, institutions, and agencies. The presentation also describes one institution's approach to placements, including supporting students, agencies, and supervisors, and ongoing efforts to meet standards while addressing challenges in resources, supervision, and developing professional identity.

1. SCI conference
Kilkenny
March 2012
Margaret Gilmore, IT Sligo

2. A look back…
 Current courses have origin in Kilkenny one year
course (1970-1980)
 Original demand was to train workers in residential
child care settings
 Courses were mostly 2 or 3 year National
Cert./Diploma (now levels 6 & 7)
 Small classes, mix of theoretical and practical
 Short placements e.g. 2 weeks x 2 yearly

3. Now and towards the future …
• Current courses at BA levels 7 or 8, available
countrywide
• Prepare students for social care work in a wide
context, both residential and community settings
• BA level 7 is the professional qualification for social
care practitioners

4. Placement Standards set by -
 Minimum of 800 hours specified by HETAC (2010)
 Draft standards from Coru (May 2010) with
registration coming shortly
 IASCE
 Placement Policy document (2011)
 Practice Placement Manual available to IASCE
members (2009, 2nd ed.) or colleges using their own
manuals
 Supervision course available since 2006

5. In practice, what happens?
 Students have time and financial pressures
 Institutes may have difficulty with allocating
resources to placements
 Placement agencies are under pressures of staffing,
inspections, financial shortfalls
 Many agencies have closed
 Shortage of relevant Social Care settings with
appropriate supervision

6. Importance of Placement
 Placement is vital to ensure that students can
experience real life situations
 Apply theory to practice
 Experience best practice
 Test their own aptitude for Social Care
 Develop their identity as Social Care Professionals
 Get feedback from supervisor and work colleagues

7. Importance of Placement
 For the profession -
 Students bring enthusiasm, questions, energy,
insights
 Professionals give and gain new perspectives into
theory and/or practice
 Closer links between workplace and courses
 Supervision course, other collaborations
 Meeting with visiting tutors
 Professional identity re-inforced
 Mirrored by formation of Social Care Ireland from
IASCW, IASCE and RMA

8. So – how to raise/retain
standards?
• Course boards / Head of Department ensuring
centrality of placement in documentation and
resource allocation
• Acknowledge placement as vital in each student’s
learning
• Mentoring of students before, during and after
placement
• Supporting supervisors –pre-arranged supportive
tripartite visits, offering supervision course, clear
documents, available to discuss issues

9. One Institute’s approach
 Overview
2)Students
3)Agencies
4)Visiting Tutors
 Regular review of practice

10. One Institute’s approach
 At IT Sligo we have
 Placement Committee as sub-committee of Course
Board
 Placement co-ordinator (lecturing staff member)
 Time allowance for visiting tutors
 Active membership of IASCE, using meetings to check
best practice, using placement subcommittee as
required
 Supervision course run regularly

11. One Institute’s approach
1) Students
 work within Placement Committee policies -
 Submit placement request plus CV
 Attend mandatory placement preparation classes
 Meet placement co-ordinator as required
 Attend for interview / preliminary visit
 Sign IASCE principles and agree to IASCE placement
policies
 Pass mandatory pre-placement essay before being
allowed to go on placement

12. One Institute’s approach
1) Students
– Complete 30 hours per week x 13 weeks in semester 4
and again in semester 6 (each worth 30 ECTS)
– Keep a learning journal
– Complete Placement portfolio comprising 3 projects
– Participate in 2 tripartite meetings
– Participate in Placement Review and give a
presentation to peers & staff

13. One Institute’s approach
2) Agency
– Is matched to student by placement co-ordinator
– Formal request for placement by letter stating
parameters / guidelines / learning objectives
– Plus Practice Placement Manual and invitation to
Supervision Course
– Sign Placement Contract with student
– Provide weekly supervision meetings with student
– Participate in tripartite meetings
– Complete the final report on placement

14. One Institute’s approach
3) Visiting Tutor
 Is a member of staff lecturing on SC programme (job
description is agreed)
 Completes an induction before visiting placements
 Is automatically a member of Placement Committee
which has drawn up Placement Policies document
 Visits each student twice during placement
 Participates in Placement Review
 Marks visits and placement portfolio

15. Critical Review
1) Students – like the support, find the associated work
challenging but overall worthwhile
2) Agencies – appreciate the visits and collaboration
with the Institute; use the opportunity for relevant
feedback / advice
3) Visiting Tutors – find the experience helps them in
continuing professional development; takes major
commitment to fulfil role
4) Institute – benefits from PR aspect, collaboration
with Social Care professionals, international contacts
etc.

16. Challenges remaining at IT Sligo
 How can we implement the IASCE Placement Policy
guidelines e.g. on pre-placement screening?
 Re-inforce that
 Placement is earned, not a student’s right
 Only 2 attempts allowed for placement
 Service users / agencies must be considered
 We need to devise a system to ensure students are
alerted to possible difficulties and supported in
overcoming them: pre-placement portfolio of
placement readiness

17. Personal Development Profiling
(PDP) and Placement Readiness
 PDP is already established for students
 May be adapted to fulfil IASCE Placement Policy on
placement readiness
 Will require more time input alongside Placement
Preparation classes
 Pilot to begin 2012

18. Other Challenges
 Are we offering enough support to students
and agencies?
 Feedback is positive but e.g.
 Should we use social media?
 Should we make more use of Moodle?
 Should we use webinars?

19. Other Challenges
 Range of experience
 Social Care covers all ages and vulnerable
groups
 Currently we use 2 placement settings/student
 Transferable skills v. situation-specific skills:
 Should we increase placement hours?
 Should we encourage volunteering?
 Can we adequately monitor international
placements?
 Should we develop specialisms in undergraduate
course?

20. Other Challenges
• Conforming to Coru and HETAC standards
• Recessionary times
• Developing an identity as a Social Care Professional
• Developing strong, pro-active professionals who can
cope with the wide demands of Social Care as a career
• Developing self-care to prevent burnout
• Preparing students for Registration

21. Summary
 Taking stock and heading forward ....
 Importance of placements in educating future
generations of social care professionals
 Upholding standards
 One college’s approach & challenges remaining -
All comments and feedback are welcome

22. References
 IASCE: Supervision course
 IASCE: Practice Placement Manual (2009)
 IASCE: Practice placement policy guidelines, available
at
http://socialcareireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IA
 Share P. & Lalor K. (eds) Applied Social Care, 2nd ed.
Gill & Macmillan, Dublin

23. References 2
 HETAC standards:
http://www.hetac.ie/docs/B.2.9-5.5_Awards_Standards_So
 CORU (HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
PROFESSIONALS COUNCIL) DRAFT STANDARDS
FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING Version 6 May
2010

24. Discussion – Where to now?