New College Durham pilot social work scheme

Social work students have been given the chance to work with residents as part of a new pilot scheme in County Durham.

Nine students from New College Durham took part in Mending the Gap, an eight-week pilot which saw them team up with parents at the Riverside Children’s Centre in South Shields.

Together they were able to learn about issues including stress management, professional values, and communication skills.

Mending the Gap was developed by an international network of lecturers and service users. It aims to bring social work students together with service users to help them learn more about each other’s roles.

Social work lecturer Helen Casey launched the pilot at New College Durham after attending a Mending the Gap conference in Sweden. She worked with Riverside Children’s Centre manager Dave Brindle to set up the initiative in South Shields.

The programme was is the first to be launched in the North East and will see participating parents go on to become trainers themselves.

Helen said: “It has been very exciting to develop the first gap mending programme in the region and to work with parents and students together.

“By making an equal commitment to learning together, a vast amount of information has been generated to improve students’ learning, professional practice and service provision to families.

“The success of the programme has been better than I could have imagined and it has been a valuable experience for our students.”

A Mending the Gap event, funded by the Higher Education Academy, will be hosted by New College Durham on July 22.