First Local Authority Placement – Learning the Basics

This practice highlight focuses on my first social work placement in a local authority children’s team. It was the first time I saw how assessments, visits and multi-agency work actually look and feel in day-to-day practice, beyond lectures and textbooks.

All examples are anonymised and details have been changed to protect confidentiality.

Placement setting

The placement was in a busy children’s services team covering a mixed urban area. The team worked with children in need, children on child protection plans and, at times, children who were looked after away from home.

As a student I was not responsible for cases on my own, but I was increasingly involved in visits, recording and meetings alongside my practice educator and other workers.

Learning objectives

Going into the placement, my main aims were to:

1. Understand how social workers gather information and complete assessments in real families’ homes
2. Observe different communication styles with children, parents and carers
3. Learn how social workers work alongside schools, health and other agencies
4. Build confidence using the case recording system and local procedures
5. Begin to apply theory, legislation and values in live situations, not just in essays

These aims helped to guide supervision sessions and the types of tasks I was given.

Key experiences

Some of the most important learning experiences included:

• Shadowing home visits and seeing how social workers balanced warmth with curiosity and clear boundaries
• Observing child in need and child protection meetings and noticing how information was shared and decisions were made
• Writing up visit notes and short pieces of assessment, then receiving feedback on clarity, tone and analysis
• Sitting in on strategy discussions and seeing how risk was considered with police, health and other professionals
• Taking part in direct work with children using simple tools, games and drawings to help them express feelings

These experiences began to turn theory into something more concrete and practical.

Skills developed

By the end of the placement I had grown in several areas.

• Communication: asking clearer questions, listening more actively and explaining my role more confidently
• Recording: writing more balanced notes that included both strengths and worries, as well as my own analysis
• Planning: breaking tasks down into manageable steps and understanding how visits, meetings and recording fit together
• Professional curiosity: feeling more able to notice when something did not sit right and bring this to supervision
• Self-reflection: thinking about how my own experiences and feelings might influence my responses in practice

There was still a lot to learn, but the placement gave me a solid foundation.

Challenges and how I managed them

The placement was not always easy. I found some aspects particularly challenging:

• Feeling overwhelmed by the volume of information and the pace of the work
• Worrying about asking too many questions or slowing colleagues down
• Hearing difficult stories and not always knowing how to process the emotional impact
• Learning to use a complex recording system while also trying to focus on the human side of the work

Supportive supervision, informal chats with colleagues and regular reflection helped me manage these challenges. It was reassuring to learn that many workers had felt the same way when they first started.

Impact on my later practice

This first placement continues to influence how I practise now.

It helped me to:

• See the importance of preparation before visits and meetings
• Understand how much families notice about our body language, tone and reliability
• Appreciate the value of good recording, not just for the organisation but for children and families who may one day read their files
• Recognise that social work is truly a team effort, not something done alone

Later placements and my ASYE year built on this foundation, but this first local authority experience is where many of the basics really started to make sense.

Looking back

Looking back, this placement was a steep learning curve, but it confirmed for me that social work was the right path. It gave me a first real picture of what the work involves, beyond headlines and assumptions, and showed me both the demands and the quiet rewards of being alongside children and families in difficult times.