Evaluation of the Frontline Fast-Track Social Work Training Programme Pilot, 2016

<P>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</P><br>The <I>Evaluation of the Frontline Fast-Track Social Work Training Programme Pilot, 2016</I> study is a quasi-experiment involving simulated social work practice that was independently rated by assessors. The dataset includes information about participants’ educational backgrounds and other circumstances and self-evaluation by students, as well as the ratings of assessors.<br>
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Frontline is a fast-track social work training programme for England whose pilot phase runs from 2013-2017 with around 230 trainees in the first two cohorts. It is focused on statutory children’s social care in local authorities. It aims to attract graduates with strong academic records and excellent interpersonal skills and the training model is distinctive in being heavily practice-based, using a systemic model and two specific evidence-based practice approaches. The scheme has proved controversial amongst social work educators.<br>
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In 2014 the Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Cardiff University to undertake an independent evaluation of the Frontline scheme. The performance of Frontline participants was compared to social work students on mainstream programmes, based at several universities. The results of the evaluation have been published by the DfE.<br>
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Given the controversial nature of the scheme, the evaluation team believe it is important to share the simulated practice data. The data will allow researchers to replicate the analysis conducted for the DfE-funded evaluation. Since Frontline selected its participants from a large pool of applicants and with a higher minimum qualification threshold than mainstream programmes, there is likely to be some selection bias affecting the evaluation results. Non-random selection is also a common issue when assessing many other social interventions. To this end, the DfE-funded evaluation attempted to reduce these biases through matching. However, other researchers may wish to address this issue via other means using the same data.<br>
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Further information about the Frontline independent evaluation can be found on the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/frontline-pilot-independent-evaluation" target="_blank">gov.uk</a> webpages.<br>
<br><br><B>Main Topics</B>:<BR><br>The study covers the assessment of social work students from the Frontline training scheme and from mainstream university programmes and includes simulated social work practice with actors.