Noticing ‘them things that may have gone amiss otherwise’: exploring social work placements in schools in England

Schools play a crucial in the lives of children, families and communities and are increasingly used by social work programmes in England for practice learning. This qualitative study involved in-depth semi structured interviews with ten social work students who had undertaken at least one placement in a school in England. The aim of this study was to understand social work students' experiences of placements in schools and to explore the benefits and challenges associated with school-based placements. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, manually coded and analyzed for broad themes. The findings indicate a lack of clarity about the roles and tasks expected of student social workers in schools and highlights some benefits for children and families. Implications for social work education and practice are identified.