Step Up: the first and second cohorts compared Findings from an employer-based. accelerated training route in social work in England

In England several initiatives are underway in social work education, among which are changes to application and training processes, and the development of shorter employment-based post-graduate qualifying routes. Here trainees are placed with social work employers (local authorities), receive substantial funding compared to other students, and local authority staff are closely engaged with higher education providers. This article presents and analyses the views of the first and second cohorts of trainees undertaking the Step Up to Social Work programme. Data were collected by online survey, administered at four time points. The overall response rate at each of the four points was high; ranging from 64 per cent to 78 per cent for Cohort 1 and 77 per cent to 83 per cent for Cohort 2. Comparison of data across cohorts revealed satisfaction with the training and the Step Up initiative but levels of satisfaction were increased among Cohort 2, which may be attributable to changes made following the first cohort’s experiences. The findings from this comparison of trainees may usefully inform other studies and provision of employment-based routes in social work education and the satisfaction levels achieved may be ones to which other programmes may wish to aspire.