Opportunities to ‘reinvent the idea of social work’: using student SWOT analyses of school-based placements

Social work students undertaking their placements in non-traditional settings, such as schools, is not new. However, with the pandemic (Covid-19), and subsequent impact on placements, an innovative and creative approach was called for. This approach was the Social Workers in Schools (SWIS) project. This also correlated with the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and the Family Safeguarding Model of social work practice. Following three successive, and successful years, an evaluation of the project was needed to capture the students’ experiences in addition to identifying what worked and what areas needed to be developed further. This paper draws on one element of the evaluation where students were invited into the university and participated in a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. The paper presents how the potential benefits outweigh the challenges and how the weaknesses and threats could, potentially, be reframed to strengths and opportunities. The paper provides an outline of the areas for further development and emphasises the importance of interprofessional and collaborative working for social workers and social work students.