Practice Education (Social Work)
This course is aimed at qualified and registered Social Workers, who wish to develop and assess the professional practice of students whilst out on placement. Social Workers undertaking the course should have at least two years of post-qualifying experience on application and be supported by their employer to host a social work student for the duration of a full practice placement.
Month of entry
- September
Mode of study
- Part time
Fees for 2026/27 academic year
-
UK - Part time £1,600 per year
Duration of study
- Modular, 1 Year
This course is no longer accepting applications from international students for the 2025/26 academic year.
Why study Practice Education (Social Work) at Keele University?
Course summary
Originally developed in 2015 by the North West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership to offer a combined route to attain qualification of both stage 1 and stage 2 of the Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS), within one academic year, this course has since been reviewed and amended to incorporate the revisions to the PEPS in 2019.
Practice Educators have responsibility for the teaching and assessment of social work students who are on placement in service delivery agencies. This module will prepare participants to undertake the role of Practice Educator in accordance with the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS).
You will explore:
- An overview of current themes in social work education
- Approaches to adult learning
- Designing a learning curriculum and offering learning opportunities
- Teaching critical reflection in practice
- Teaching how to relate social work theory to contemporary practice
- Good practice in supervision
- Assessing through direct observation
- Working with struggling students
- Working with students with a diverse range of needs
- Undertaking holistic assessment against a set of defined standards (PCF)
- Providing constructive feedback
Course structure
This course meets Practice Educator standards for both stage 1 and stage 2 of the PEPS, and by completing this module, candidates will be able to support and assess students and social workers in-training as on or off-site practice educator.
Topics you will explore include:
- Planning and managing learning opportunities within a placement for a social work student
- Supervising a student in practice
- Making judgements and assessments on a social work students' level of professional capability
- Assessing social work students and others, against the domains and indicators of the Professional Capabilities Framework for Social Work
- Preparing reports about social work students which meet professional requirements
- Applying your knowledge about the ethical issues in practice education
- Meeting stages 1 and 2 of the Practice Educator Professional Standards (PEPS)
The Mentor (Assessor) Role
Each candidate on this programme requires an assessor who will observe their supervisory practice on two or more occasions, work with them to design a learning plan, and appraise the quality of the candidates work with a social work student, mapped against the domains of the Practice Educator Professional Standards and values.
Assessors should be registered social workers, who have achieved a stage 2 Practice Education qualification themselves, and had experience of working in the practice educator role with at least 5 other students or learners.
Modules
The module details given below are indicative, they are intended to provide you with an idea of the range of subjects that are taught to our current students. The modules that will be available for you to study in future years are prone to change as we regularly review our teaching to ensure that it is up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods, as well as student voice. The information presented is therefore not intended to be construed and/or relied upon as a definitive list of the modules available in any given year.
Entry requirements
The following section details our typical entry requirements for this course for a range of UK and international qualifications. If you don't see your qualifications listed, please contact us to find out if we can accept your qualifications.
You must have at least two years post-qualifying Social Work experience and be a registered Social Worker.
As a stand alone module, you should have one of the following:
- First degree at 2:2 or above
- Professional qualification equivalent to first degree at 2:2 or above
- Substantial professional experience
English language requirements
All of our courses require an English language qualification or test. For most students, this requirement can be met with a 4 or C in GCSE English. Please see our English Language guidance pages for further details, including English language test information for international students. For those students who require an English language test, this course requires a test from .
References
Normally, you will need to provide at least one academic reference to support your application unless you have been out of study longer than two years. If it has been more than two years since you last studied on a degree-level programme, you will normally need to provide an employment reference instead. For more information about Academic References, please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages.
Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose
Please see our Postgraduate how to apply web pages for guidance on what to include in your personal statement.
Recognition of Prior Learning
The Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a process which enables applicants to receive recognition and formal credit for learning acquired in the past through formal study or work and life experiences.
RPL can also be requested for admission onto the start of a programme in lieu of the admission requirements. For more information, see our Recognition of Prior Learning web pages.
General information
The entry grades outlined in this section indicate the typical offer which would be made to candidates, along with any subject specific requirements. This is for general information only. Keele University reserves the right to vary offer conditions depending upon a candidate's application. For international students, find out how we work with approved agents as part of our admissions process.
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Postgraduate funding and scholarships
Funding
Whether you're continuing from undergraduate study or returning to education, our dedicated financial support team is here to help.
Please note, if your course offers a January start date, the January 2026 start date falls in the 2025/26 academic year. Please see the tuition fees archive for the 2025/26 fees.
Planning your funding
It's important to plan carefully for your funding before you start your course. Please be aware that not all postgraduate courses and not all students are eligible for the UK government postgraduate loans and, in some cases, you would be expected to source alternative funding yourself. If you need support researching your funding options, please contact our financial support team.
Scholarships
We are committed to rewarding excellence and potential. Please visit our bursaries and scholarships webpages for more information.
For continuing students, fees will increase annually by RPIX, with a maximum cap of 5% per year.
Additional costs
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching
The course comprises 70 hours of active learning, including 7 days of live teaching, with additional tutorial support and use of pre-recorded and asynchronous resources.
The module will be delivered in person on Keele Campus, however, a hybrid option has been introduced for this iteration at the request of employers that are sponsoring Trainee Practice Educators to undertake this module. Therefore, a link to join sessions remotely online via MS Teams will also be made available.
There will also be some pre-recorded materials. Pre-recorded sessions will have an accompanying question and answer session/tutorial in order to support Trainee Practice Educators with embedding learning from this. The module will have a dedicated MS Teams channel that can be used to share resources and communicate with staff and peers.
Assessment
Formative Assignment: 1000 – Portfolio component 1 – developing a learning curriculum. This is given constructive feedback, aimed at easing candidates back into academic study, and a revised version developed from the feedback given is then incorporated into the candidate’s final assessed portfolio.
Summative Assessment is in the form of a portfolio which comprises:
- Academic Portfolio
- 15-minute Presentation
- Practice Portfolio of evidence, including a report from the Practice Educator's Assessor
