Practice Educator of the Year

https://vimeo.com/193552419

A practice educator for almost a decade, and with Cafcass since 2010, Dan’s personal commitment to sharing knowledge, via the opportunities he offers his students, was evident in his nomination.

Within Cafcass, he has sought to improve the breadth and depth of students’ experiences by a number of methods. These have included recruiting other practitioners to co-work cases with them, and setting up an exchange programme with Leeds council managers so that students can gain knowledge both of the local authority setting and court proceedings.

Beyond this, colleagues point to his consideration and skill when it comes to tailoring placements to individuals’ needs, ensuring their practice gets the maximum benefit. Several of Dan’s former students credit him as forming the main practical foundation of their social work knowledge – something that didn’t escape the judges’ attention.

As well his extensive child protection experience, Dan has long been involved in extra-curricular voluntary work promoting family-based care with the charity SFAC (Substitute Families for Abandoned Children), which has taken him all over the world. He has created a pathway for York University social work students to undertake placements in Uganda, to gain some understanding of how social work practice differs outside of England.