Practice Educator Training Landscape: A National Scoping Review

Gregory, Mark, Huegler, Nathalie, Barran, Charlotte, Brook, Richard and Ngobese Sampson, Mthoko (2025) Practice Educator Training Landscape: A National Scoping Review. Centre for Research on Children and Families, UEA.

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Abstract

Executive summary This report outlines the findings from a national scoping review of practice educator training in the United Kingdom (UK), with a particular focus on provision in England. The practice education system in England is complex. Previous research on practice education has shown an appetite for greater recognition of the practice educator role (Cook et al., 2024), including the prospect of the role being annotated on the Social Work England register. Social Work England is currently reviewing its role in relation to practice education, and better understanding the current landscape of practice educator training forms part of this work. This review was funded by Social Work England as part of its ongoing work on practice education. The review was carried out by a research team from the University of East Anglia’s (UEA) School of Social Work and Centre for Research on Children and Families. Aims of the review The overarching aim of the review was to provide a comprehensive picture of the provision of practice educator training. Within this, a number of further aims were identified: • To provide an overview of existing practice educator training courses in England, to include information such as: o Entry requirements and selection criteria o Mode of delivery o Costs of the course o Academic level and number of credits awarded o Course duration o Course content • To explore similarities and differences in the provision of training between and across the regions of England, including identifying non-accredited practice educator training routes • To establish what models are used for practice educator training in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, and to explore the role of the regulator in practice educator training in these nations • To understand the relationship between practice educator training and career progression for social workers, including information on how practice educator training does (or does not) contribute towards achieving post-qualifying awards Methods The review was carried out between late March and June 2025. The following methods were used to gather information for the review: • A rapid review of the existing empirical literature related to practice educator training • A desk-based analysis of existing practice educator training courses in England • A desk-based analysis of the provision of practice educator training in the other nations of the United Kingdom • Focus groups with practice educators, course providers, and practice education leads from across the regions of England Key findings In total, information was gathered from 54 higher education institutions (HEIs) involved in practice educator training, and 72 individuals participated in the focus groups. Drawing together the accumulated data from the desk-based research and focus groups, the following key findings were identified: • While content and entry requirements for practice educator training courses are largely similar across England, there are diverse approaches to how learning is delivered • There are a range of HEI accredited courses available which provide academic credits towards a qualification, along with non-accredited courses not leading to a formal qualification delivered by local authorities or HEIs in partnership with local authorities • There is variability in course duration and mode of delivery • There is also variability in whether providers offer a single combined course covering the 2 levels of the Practice Educator Professional Standard (PEPS) (the current training standards for practice educators, currently owned by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW)), or offer separate courses for each stage of the PEPS • Regional partnerships are an important part of the delivery of practice educator training, ensuring that local needs are met and sufficiency of practice educators and practice placements is maintained • Variation of delivery and differing local approaches to providing practice educator training could mean inconsistency and a lack of quality assurance in the provision of practice educator training • The other nations of the UK have greater input from the regulator into the approval and quality assurance of practice educator training and, in some cases, clearer post-qualifying pathways that incorporate practice educator training • Practice educator training plays an important role in social workers’ career development, providing opportunities to move up into senior/advanced practitioner or management roles, to move internally to practice development roles, or to move into social work education • There is an appetite for greater standardisation and quality assurance of practice educator training in England, but there is little consensus about what this should look like • Stakeholders are concerned about the impact of greater regulation of practice educator training on workload and feel it could disincentivise social workers from becoming practice educators • There are, however, useful models from within England, and learning to be taken from the other UK nations that can helpfully inform future delivery of practice educator training in England

Item Type:	Book
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Social Work
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	18 Nov 2025 15:30
Last Modified:	18 Nov 2025 15:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101058
DOI:	10.13140/RG.2.2.21652.56964

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