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Student Placements

The number of social work students electing to complete their placements at The Fed has dramatically increased since 2005. We receive approximately 8 requests for placements annually and have increased the number we offer to 4 per year on average. Placements may be available across the full range of The Fed's services with our Adult Social Work Team, Children and Families Team, Time For You Carers' Project and Volunteers' Project.

Staff and Policy Development Manager Pauline Black who is responsible for managing our student placements explains how her own experience as a student has led to this. Pauline says.

In 2002 after a number of years working at The Fed I decided to undertake my Diploma in Social Work at college. Luckily I had a really good Practice Teacher who supported me very well during my placement but many of my fellow students struggled through their placements due to a lack of support. This made me think about the importance of the role of the Practice Teacher in nurturing future social workers when they are “learning on the job”.
And with The Fed's support I went on to obtain my Practice Teacher's Award and then I contacted all the universities and colleges in the area that run social work courses to make them aware of The Fed as a potential provider of placements. That paid off and we immediately were able to take on two students.
As there are practical restrictions, such as desk space, on the number of students we can accommodate at any one time, I approached other Jewish social care organisations in Manchester, with the idea of offering placements in partnership with them. I suggested that they would provide the setting for the placement, which I would then manage. At the end of 2006 I was delighted to take on my first “off-site” students who had been placed in a residential and nursing home, as part of a pilot partnership between The Fed and The Heathlands Village. This is very much in line with The Fed's strategic goal of collaborative working with other Jewish organisations.

Why come to The Fed for your student placement?

Because

  • you will be well-supported by a committed practice teacher
  • we can offer varied placements with a range of different client groups
  • we can provide work that will help you meet your key roles and which fits in well with course requirements
  • we offer the opportunity of carrying out statutory work in a voluntary sector setting
  • we offer the chance of working with a specific ethnic/religious minority group
  • we offer excellent working conditions.

The Fed receives tremendous feedback from our students - in fact sometimes they just cannot bear to leave us! As at the beginning of 2007 four of our permanent members of staff came to The Fed originally as students, three now employed as social workers and one as a Principal Manager. Of course the availability of permanent positions is fairly infrequent.

Sara Ogden-Thomson, a member of our Adult and Older People Team was working in the Mental Health field when she decided for personal development reasons to qualify as a social worker though she had no intention of changing her career. She came to the Fed on her social work placement, attracted by the opportunity of working within a specific ethnic and religious group and of experiencing social work in a voluntary agency setting. Sara knew quite a bit about the Jewish way of life but was keen to learn more. She so enjoyed her placement at The Fed that when a full-time post came up just as she qualified she decided to apply.

I was struck by the enthusiasm and commitment of all the staff at The Fed – the desire to effect change. I felt 'Here are a group of people who share my values' and knew that this was where I wanted to stay. I particularly enjoy the fact that I although I work exclusively with Jewish people they come from diverse backgrounds, culturally, religiously and economically. Also through working with a number of Holocaust survivors I have developed close links with the Association of Jewish Refugees.

Another of our students-turned Fed Social Workers is Ruth Silverman. She came to The Fed as a student in November 2001 at the same time as being employed as a support worker for adults with learning difficulties. This was an area of personal interest as she has an adult son who is learning disabled. Ruth's course tutor at Stockport College suggested that The Fed might be a good place for her to gain experience in working with a different client group i.e. older people. She says of her placement,

The work wasn't easy. The Fed is very busy. But I immediately found it a very welcoming place and the staff were really natural and supportive. I noticed how much colleagues shared ideas, experience and problems together. During my placement I was made redundant. I was so upset, but then luckily a job came up at The Fed which I applied for successfully and have never looked back!

What's in it for The Fed ?

What people may not realise is that the universities and colleges pay The Fed for each student we take and the income this generates currently almost entirely offsets our annual staff training budget. Staff are our most important and costly resource. The Fed places great importance on their ongoing training, which is vital to ensure that each member of our staff achieves his or her potential. We owe it to the people we support and to those who fund our work to get the very best out of them. We owe it to our staff to allow them as much opportunity as possible to continue to develop themselves professionally