Commission for research into the supervision and assessment of practice learning: models of practice education and the role of the practice educator

Social Work England are committed to learning about social work and understanding the profession and people's experiences. We want to make a unique contribution to the evolution of regulation, inform our work as the new specialist regulator and provide a detailed picture of social work in England. Research forms a key aspect of this goal.

The objective of this tender exercise/procurement is to undertake a research study into the supervision and assessment of practice learning, including but not limited to the role of the practice educator in qualifying and post-qualifying social work education in England. From this piece of research, we want to understand:

• the experiences, including attitudes, perceptions and barriers, of social workers who undertake the supervision and assessment of practice learning;

*what motivates social workers to qualify as practice educators, or to continue as practice educators, and the barriers to recruiting and retaining social workers to undertake this role; *perceptions of existing standards and training requirements in relation to practice education and the role of the practice educator in England across pre-registration and post-qualifying education; *what lessons we can learn from existing models of supervision and assessment of practice learning from education providers and employers across England ;

*what lessons we can learn from existing research into practice education, supervision and assessment of practice learning in England;

*how to develop our approach to regulating social workers who undertake the supervision and assessment of practice learning;

**Please note - our maximum budget for this procurement/contract is £50,000.00 (inc. VAT)

**IMPORTANT - The word count for Non-price/Quality Question 2 is confirmed at 1500 words max. (there was a discrepancy between two sections of the Invitation to Tender that stated both 1250/1500 words)**