Valuing Lived Experience in Post-Qualifying Social Work Training

Valuing Lived Experience in Post-Qualifying Social Work Training: Supporting the Development of Newly Qualified Social Workers (NQSWs).

The West Midlands Social Work Teaching Partnership invites you to this free online event where we will share the learning from an innovative project funded by the Department for Education. The event will feature a key-note speech on Co-Production from Peter Beresford (Co-Chair of Shaping our Lives, long-term mental health service user and academic), and live illustration with visual minutes which will be shared with attendees after the event.

We will share key messages about co-production arising from the project and examples of how people with lived experience can bring value to social work training and organisations, beyond simply sharing their stories. This event will provide relevant learning to anyone working in a social work setting, including frontline workers, senior managers and directors, and anyone with an interest is welcome to book via the website.

Background to the Project:

The value that people with lived experience can bring to all areas of social work is widely recognised, but although there is a statutory requirement for people with lived experience to contribute to the teaching and admissions of social work students, there is no such requirement beyond the qualifying stage. Working together with people with lived experience of social work, the West Midlands Teaching Partnership was successful in securing funding for a project to support the training and development of newly qualified social workers.  The project has been co-led by David Gowar, a person with lived experience of social work, and Dr Peter Unwin from the University of Worcester. Together they devised a programme of training to be delivered by people with lived experience to newly qualified social workers in Walsall Children’s Services. Training sessions included Gender Identity awareness, the experiences of gypsy/Roma/traveller communities, Learning from Care Experienced Children and Young People, and Domestic/Interpersonal Violence.

If you have any specific access requirements, please let us know so we can accommodate these.

Running Order

9:15: Guests arrive

9:30: Welcomes and introduction to the project (David Gowar and Peter Unwin)

9:45: Keynote presentation and discussion - Peter Beresford, Co-Chair of Shaping our Lives

10:45: Break

11:00 -12:00 Sharing the learning from the project (The Project Team and Walsall Council)

12:00 – Conference Close