Michael Wood

I applied for the Consultant Social Worker role with Frontline in Newcastle because I wanted to be part of this innovative approach to training future social workers. I’ve been qualified for 10 years and really enjoyed all of the opportunities that I had as a Senior Practitioner, supporting practitioners in their ASYE. As a practice educator, I have had some challenges and really wanted to develop my skills in supporting the learning and development of students. Although it wasn’t a prerequisite, I had already studied systemic practice at foundation level; the approaches used in systemic practice resonated with me and I wanted the opportunity to put these into practice.

I’ve been in my role for six months now and I would have to say that the highlights for me have been seeing the participants develop in their thinking, skills, and confidence within such a short space of time. Also the unit meetings with the participants have been a great experience; giving them a safe space to explore their thinking in relation to families, provide helpful challenge to each other, whilst also supporting them to link the theories they learn to practice with families.