PVI Student Placements
Gold or Dross?
Jo Tulloch, June 2011
The Context

Need to improve SW education / training

Increasing use of PVI placements – “vast
range”

No research found on fit between SW
training and PVI sector placements
The Issues

PVI agencies may have different:
aims
 professional approaches to their work
 understanding of the social work role &
 motivation for taking students
than statutory social work agencies.

Does this matter?
First, the problems





Motivation = labour & funds to meet capacity
deficit
Limited awareness of SW role & placement
requirements
Different approach to supervision
Challenge to find student workload with
sufficient SW content
Difficulty in managing struggling students
Then, the Value of PVI Placements

Innovative & creative ways of working

Supportive relationships with clients

Use theory-based counselling skills

Strong focus on valuing diversity

Group work & community analysis

Initiative & an open approach to problem-solving & risk

Flexible organisational structure & accountability

Commitment to individual clients & holistic practice
Research Pilot
Hypothesis: PVA placements have
valuable pros for SW training & cons that
need to be addressed
 Aim: to confirm or disprove that these
are widespread issues needing further
research
 Outcome: if hypothesis confirmed, pass
on to academic team to follow through
