Book excerpt: The Department of Health requires students on the social work degree to undertake at least 200 days in direct practice learning during their course. Practice learning often raises great anxieties for students, agencies and those who supervise and assess it. This book tackles those anxieties, explaining the ways the experience can deliver a unique learning opportunity for the student. It is ideal for students undertaking or about to undertake practice learning, student supervisors and practice assessors, as well as trainers and policymakers within social care agencies and healthcare professions where practice learning is also undertaken.