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This article is based on findings of research into how social work students begin to develop expertise in professional judgement during their practice placements and what enables, facilitates and supports them to do so. The research sought to understand the ‘authentic professional learning’ that took place for social work students who were at the point of qualification.  The findings indicate that the optimal environment for the development of the skill of professional judgement is one in which there is the presence and positive inter-relationship of three domains of learning: professional responsibility, the facilitation of the professional voice and learner agency. The role of the practice educator was pivotal to this development but the findings go beyond merely re-articulating the positivity of the student/educator relationship to illuminating what it was about the practice educators’ pedagogical approach that facilitated the development of the skill of professional judgement. This article has a particular focus on implications for practice educators and others who support professional work-based learning. The research indicates the benefits of adopting an autonomy-support approach and the article provides ideas for how this might be incorporated into practice placements.

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This paper draws on case study research which explored the support needs of those involved in social work practice learning in an English local authority. Data was collected through questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with 27 practice educators, students and team managers. Although issues relating to failing students were not intended as the primary focus of the research, this theme dominates the findings from practice educators and team managers. Practice educators cited problematic placements as a key factor in their decision not to continue in the role.A significant contributory factor in the negative impact of the failing experience is the participants’ dissatisfaction with the attitude and approach of the students’ universities. Particularly striking is the perception that universities present an obstruction to a fail decision resulting in students being passed who possibly should not do so. This paper considers whether the different institutional perceptions of the social work student and the organisations’ role in relation to them could be at the root of these difficulties in collaboration and fuel the ‘failure to fail’ debate.