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A third way: Off-team practice educators in social work education

Goldsmith, Vanessa
; 
Rimmer, Emma
; 
Rive, Matthew
; 
Buck, Gillian
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Affiliation
University of Chester; Edge Hill University; University of Manchester
EPub Date
Publication Date
2025-09-18
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Health and Social Care
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Abstract
In Social Work, Practice Educators (PEs) are termed ‘on-site’ or ‘off-site’ depending on whether they work in the same location as the student they are supporting, or are ‘physically located away from the learners practice area’. Here, we trial and examine a third model: ‘off-team’ practice education. An off-team PE works in the same local authority (LA) as the student but in a different team, providing some familiarity and distance. We hypothesized that this model could be more favorable to LAs, providing some advantages of off-site and on-site models. Using focus groups, we explored student and PE experiences of the off-team model and compared them with experiences of the on-site model. We found that off team education offers a viable pathway for supporting students, but there are differences to recognize to maximize advantages and mitigate disadvantages. The significance of our study for practice education lies in its exploration of the potentials and limitations of the off-team model, particularly regarding supervision, assessment, and the development of professional relationships. We conclude by offering reflections on how educators might more effectively operationalize both on-site and off-team models to maximize their respective strengths.
Citation
Goldsmith, V., Rimmer, E., Rive, M., & Buck, G. (2025). A third way: Off-team practice educators in social work education. Social Work Education, vol(issue), pages. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2025.2563175
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Journal
Social Work Education
Research Unit
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10034/629646
DOI
10.1080/02615479.2025.2563175
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PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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ISSN
0261-5479
EISSN
1470-1227
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Sponsors
This work was supported by the Cheshire and Merseyside Social Work Teaching Partnership.
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https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02615479.2025.2563175
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