Vanessa Goldsmith
Senior Lecturer
Biography
Vanessa Goldsmith is a registered social worker and practice educator with a Practice Lead role at the University of Chester. Her passion lies in preparing students within the curriculum for practice and developing and maintaining quality practice placement experiences for students and practice educators. Vanessa is also passionate about developing and delivering quality training and support to social workers, practice educators, onsite supervisors and mentors in practice.
Teaching and Supervision
Vanessa supports the teaching and preparation of students for practice placements on the BA Social Work degree, as well as coordinating the matching and allocation of students’ placements and offering support throughout for students and practice educators. Vanessa also leads on the development and teaching of Practice Educator, On Site Supervisor and Mentor training and support through the Cheshire and Merseyside Social Work Teaching Partnership (CMSWTP) as a way of enhancing quality placement experiences for everyone involved.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Vanessa’s main interest lies in ensuring quality placement experiences for both students and placement providers as well as Practice Educator retention. She remains passionate about all aspects of Practice Education which is her main area of research interest. Vanessa has been involved in a joint research project funded through the Cheshire & Merseyside Teaching Partnership which compared two different models of Practice Education and assessing of final year students on placement.