Faisal

I came to Leeds to study because it was one of the best universities at the time and still is. The University has a partnership with two councils which is Wakefield and Leeds and together they provided a really supportive network. As a Social Work student, I wanted to come somewhere where I’d be supported.

I wanted to become a Social Worker because from a young age I’ve always been helping family members and I always wanted a job where I felt I would be rewarded, not by money but by people and this job is perfect for that. There’s a lot of diversity in the job, the people you meet, the job you do.

The highlights of my three years at the University of Leeds were primarily the placements. There was a placement in the second year and final year, Leeds offered a diversity of placements. I did one in a voluntary sector, where it was very different from my other placement where I completed statutory and is more compulsory social work. Through both experiences, I got to learn a lot of new skills and got to apply the theory learned in university into practice. I developed people skills which prepared me to become a social worker and I think one thing I learned in doing these placements is that with social work you're continually learning.

The difference between a statutory and voluntary placement is statutory placement is compulsory social work, so this for example is work done by the local authority it can include child protection and mental health. Whereas voluntary and volunteer placements are mainly with charities such as Barnardo’s and St George’s Crypt.

My plans are to work within child protection.