Ensuring students are adequately prepared to undertake practice is a topic of national and international interest in social work education. This project seeks to further develop knowledge in this area by undertaking empirical research into student perceptions of the effectiveness of teaching and assessment approaches to preparation for practice. The study develops previous research already undertaken with students during their first practice learning opportunity by tracking the same cohort into their final practice experience before they qualify as social workers (Wilson & Kelly, 2008). The main aim of the research is to identify ways in which teaching, learning and support might be improved in order to enhance the student learning experience throughout the social work education programme. Key messages from the research will be disseminated through a learning and teaching guide and workshops with social work educators and other stakeholders across the UK.

This case study describes how we developed an interprofessional PGCert/PGDip/ MA: Education (Professional Practice Learning) as a pathway in the Integrated Masters Programme, Faculty of Education at University of Plymouth. The pathway has been accredited at GSCC PQ Higher Specialist Level and Advanced Level has been applied for. The pathway is open to anyone involved in supporting and/or assessing adults in their professional practice learning and would be of interest, for example, to social workers, clinical psychologists, health professionals and teachers.

This case study outlines an initiative between the University of Edinburgh and local social service agencies in which a pre-practice opportunity has been devised to develop students' awareness of service provision and to evaluate their readiness for practice.

This case study describes how a practice assessment tool was developed and introduced for further and advanced pqsw courses in child and adolescent mental health at Anglia Ruskin University. The aim was to develop a useful tool that offers social workers a structured, evidence-based learning experience to improve practice with troubled young people.

This package has been created to help social work students prepare for "live" practice learning opportunities by exploring the nature of good practice. The multimedia approach adopted by this package places students in a wood, they are expected to navigate their way around seven trees that help them explore issues of: self-knowledge knowing and learning becoming and being a professional communicating collaboration and conflict making decisions and evaluating and reflecting The wood the students navigate has been designed to re-create situations, dilemmas and responses that can occur in live practice learning opportunities, the aim is to help the students (as explorers) consider the nature of good practice and to rehearse it.