Split placement development under the professional capabilities framework in the United Kingdom

The Professional Capabilities Framework has presented some considerable challenges for Social Work courses across the UK in respect to the structure of placements. Particularly for degree programmes, the shift towards two longer placements has raised capacity issues at a time of reduced statutory placements able to host final year students. This has of course been exacerbated by the current political climate of local authority cuts. This paper examines the pros and cons of the use of final year placement split between the voluntary, independent and private (VIP) and statutory sectors to attempt to overcome challenges including capacity issues. Having reviewed the relevant literature, this paper conducts a preliminary survey of models of split placements currently being used throughout the United Kingdom and suggests points of future research. Findings suggest that final year split placements divided between the VIP sector and a statutory setting are not in widespread use at the moment. However, different models of split placement are being discussed and piloted at a local level by Social Work programmes needing to find creative solutions. There is a desire for higher education institutions to share information in order to save time and share good practice