Tom Henri

Background

About Tom Henri

With 16 years of experience in teaching and learning within higher education, I currently focus on practice learning in social work at the University of Birmingham, where I teach across both the BA and MA Social Work programs. I am a registered social worker with Social Work England. In my teaching and leadership roles, I have been committed to promoting equity in student support, development, and assessment. It is well-documented that students with certain characteristics face greater challenges in higher education, and this is also true in social work. My department has made it a mission to address these inequities, and I have played a significant leadership role in these efforts. Our objective has been twofold: to tackle inequities as reflected in metrics like the awarding gap and National Student Survey results, and to ensure that all students, particularly those from minoritized backgrounds, have the support and resources they need to fully engage in the learning process. A key focus of my work has been identifying and addressing the structural barriers that hinder student participation and progression, particularly in the context of practice learning. The consequeces od placement failure and termination can be severe, potentially leading to students being removed from the programme and unable to pursue a career in social work. Unfortunately, UK data reveals that female students of colour are disproportionately affected by placement termination and failure. This has been an issue both nationally and at my institution. Over the past two years, I have dedicated myself to reducing placement failure rates, with a particular emphasis on supporting female students of colour, thereby improving outcomes and fostering a more inclusive and supportive learning environment.