What is a ‘Placement'?

As part of your studies in the Bachelor of Social Work you are required to complete two field education placements. These occur in first Trimester of third year and in second Trimester of fourth year.  Each is for a total of 70 days, as required by the AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers).  Each of your placements must explore a different field of practice and at least one placement must be in direct service delivery, i.e. face to face work with service users. 

Placements are allocated according to students' learning goals and availability of placement opportunities.  You will commence your placement under the supervision of an appropriately qualified agency staff member.  Refer to the Field Education manual for more comprehensive information about the policies and procedures in relation to field education placements. 

If you have any concerns in relation to planning for your placements please consult with the field education staff, particularly if you wish to discuss anything which you feel may impact on your placement learning i.e. disability, police checks or personal issues.  Students need to take responsibility for organising their personal lives to accommodate placement requirements. Experience has shown us that students who begin planning early make a smooth transition into placement.

Planning ahead

Undertaking placement requires that you make room in your life to meet the 14 week commitment, common issues are:

• income
• work commitments
• family commitments
• travel & accommodation
• health issues or disabilities
• agency requirements

With careful planning, well ahead of time, difficulties should be avoided.

Prepare a ‘wish list' of things you hope to learn and a brief resume of your relevant experience to present when you go to your pre-placement interview.

Rural Placement Requirement
The Bachelor of Social Work at Deakin has a rural focus and therefore one of the two placements must either be undertaken in a rural location or have a rural focus with an agency servicing clients from rural locations (such as a project or research placement). 

Financial Planning

Students are not paid whilst on placement with an agency and, in fact, may even incur additional expenses. It is essential to plan early for this period. For those employed and/or supporting children it may be necessary to re-negotiate current arrangements for the period or seek an alternative form of income support. Placements may be conducted part time however the minimum is three days per week. You will need to think about:

Students requesting approval for a placement in the place of work must submit a completed proposal addressing the following criteria for consideration:

• Students must submit their written request outlining such circumstances directly to the Field Education Coordinator for approval.
• The formal request must be supported by a written proposal for the placement, signed by both the student and agency supervisor, which should address the following points:

• Identifying how far you can travel from home
• Travel/petrol &/or accommodation expenses?
• Appropriate clothing required?
• Child care costs?
• Obtaining a driver's licence?
• Obtaining access to a vehicle with full comprehensive insurance?
• Obtaining alternative income support for the period
• Obtaining additional support from Centrelink for expenses incurred while completing a compulsory unit of study*
• Negotiating leave from paid employment

Students in receipt of Centrelink benefits may qualify for additional support (fares reimbursement) due to the compulsory nature of placements in the Bachelor of Social Work.

Students should access the Rural Resources folder on the Social Work DSO site for information about grants and scholarships for students undertaking rural placements.

Research Your Placement Choices:
Having decided on your preferred field/s of practice it is advisable to do some research. This is just as important for on-campus students as it is for those at a distance who will be identifying opportunities for local placements. Find out as much as you can about agencies that service the area you are interested in. In addition to the services they provide see if you can find out about their policies and procedures, their philosophies and aims and objectives. Ask for copies of annual reports or other relevant public documents.  Find out what other agencies they have links with. Ask around, visit local services and talk to social workers!

Human Service organisations require staff and students to undergo police checks, and have a driver's license as a minimum standard.  Many require a Working with Children check as well i.e. Centrelink.  Many services also require students to have certain inoculations or even speak additional languages. You may be required to dress differently; staff at a hospital or centrelink office would be expected to dress more formally than workers in a youth service! The more you can find out the better prepared and more confident you will feel.

Once this sort of information has been gathered you are in a good position to have a look at your own situation:

• What basic skills will I need?
• What criteria do I need to meet?
• What skills must I develop?
• What other issues should I be aware of e.g. travel, financial?
• What commitments must I re-organise?
• Where can I get assistance/support?