The government, local authorities and academic institutions in the United Kingdom all positively support the involvement of service users in social work practice and education. Based upon research undertaken for a Master's dissertation, this article argues for such an inclusive approach. The author works for the Training and Development Services of an English Social and Caring Services department, which delivers a Diploma in Social Work course in collaboration with the local university college. This course began to incorporate service users' views in the assessment of students on practice placements in the mid-1990s. This was a helpful development, although areas of ambiguity and difficulty became apparent, as did a lack of clarity and consistency in the implementation of the process. A qualitative survey of the views of practice teachers was conducted by meansof semi-structured interviews, which focussed on the main principles, issues and practical implications of service user involvement in the assessment of DipSW students. The article offers a summary of the findings of the survey, and a critical discussion of the main issues and difficulties that emerged. Some recommendations are made for the course that the author is associated with, although they would probably apply to most DipSW courses in the United Kingdom. The author is male, white and British.

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In the UK, graduate level training for Social Workers became compulsory in 2003. Assessed practice had been a valued aspect of social work training in the UK and was given even greater emphasis on the new degree. There was, however, limited guidelines regarding the assessment role, which is carried out by specifically trained practitioners. This article reviews the development and implementation of a new course, designed to provide good quality assessors for the new degree. A significant aspect is the partnership working between a Local Authority and University and this is fully explored.