Rationale: The presence of school social work in government schools varies across Australia. School social work is an innovative pathway for supporting children and young people’s psychosocial wellbeing and educational aspirations and provides a setting for social work field education. However, concerns have been raised regarding the effectiveness of supervision of social work students undertaking field education in Australian schools.

Background: There is evidence of a social work in schools across Australian states and territories, and specifically in New South Wales state schools from the 1970s and a contemporary presence in Victoria and Tasmania. Research to date has focused on the role of social work, with little mention of what is required for effective social work field education supervision in an Australian school setting. A systematic scoping review of the literature revealed only four contemporary sources relating to social work field education supervision in schools. This study develops an understanding of what is required for effective field education supervision in a state school setting in Australia.

Method: This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with six experienced social work field education supervisors in Australian schools. Participants were drawn from three Australian states, and from urban and regional locations. Reflective thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase framework (2006, 2019) revealed three main themes.

Results: Analysis revealed three main themes indicating for effective field education supervision, the following must be considered: (1) the school context, (2) the supervisor’s competence, and (3) supervisory teams in schools are complex.

Discussion: This study demonstrates that the school context for field education is unique and complex, that supervisors allocated to school placements should be experienced, and that there are a myriad of relationships to be navigated and maintained for effective social work student supervision in school-based field placements. Together, these themes highlight a knowledge base and skill set required by supervisors for effective field education supervision in school contexts.

Recommendations: To address the unique supervisory challenges, recommendations are provided for consolidating a knowledge base and skill set focused on school social work field education for current and future field education supervisors.

Introduction: Student-led clinics can provide health services to marginalised groups where service offerings are sparse or difficult to access, such as rural areas. Offering these services to children and young people can promote health and well-being by addressing the individual challenges and the social determinants of health. There is uncertainty, however, as to whether student-led clinics can meet Australian accreditation standards for health professionals completing degree programs.

Objective: This study aims to determine the capacity for health student placements in school-based student-led clinics to meet accreditation standards.

Design: A systematic scoping review was conducted based on Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the PRISMA-ScR statement.

Setting: Several databases were examined, including Ebsco (Academic Source and CINAHL), ProQuest (PsycINFO, ERIC) and grey literature sources along with a desktop review of accreditation standards across seven health disciplines. Two independent reviewers screened eligible studies.

Findings: The search retrieved 1037 records with 65 full-text papers assessed for eligibility. Eleven papers met the inclusion criteria. Based on the evidence, both nursing and exercise and sports science accreditation standards were best suited to student-led clinics.

Discussion: Although broad categories of work-integrated learning activities were applied, it appears feasible to expect accreditation standards for health disciplines at an Australian university to be a good fit for health student-led school based clinics.

Conclusion: Increasing health student placement opportunities within studentled clinics can improve the health and well-being of children and young people in regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas of Australia who may otherwise have limited access to allied health services.

Social and economic factors contribute to health and educational outcomes for children living in disadvantaged areas, particularly in rural and remote areas. Young people residing outside metropolitan areas are not attaining comparable educational outcomes as their city counterparts, including completion of secondary school and higher education. A brief review of literature reveals core themes which support the need for an effective social work program in the school setting, being: social inclusion, innovation of practice, and facilitation of community partnerships. This case study details how these three inter-related components became a collaborative project utilising one remote town as a case example. The project focuses on wellbeing of school students via direct practice, group work and whole school community engagement strategies. Collaborative and innovative programs through a sustainable field practicum can lead to university and service partnerships in rural settings. Results include an emerging research partnership between the university and local services to address local needs, and an innovative fieldwork program for social work students.