Impactful social work project leads to Royal invite
ARU lecturer attends Royal Garden Party thanks to pioneering schools initiative
Dr Jenny Rafter at the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace
A pioneering project that sees social work students take up placements in schools to support pupils has led to an Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) academic being invited to a Royal Garden Party.
Dr Jenny Rafter, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of School for Social Work at ARU, attended the event at Buckingham Palace this week after receiving a nomination from the Department of Education.
The invitation follows the introduction of a new initiative in 2021 when ARU began sending Social Work students to placements in schools to help provide additional support for school communities.
In 2023 the project, called Social Work in Schools (SWIS), was shortlisted for the Social Worker of the Year Awards in the category of Supporting Children in Education. This nomination led to the project team being invited to a roundtable event with the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families, Isabelle Trowler.
In May 2025, 10 ARU Social Work students were invited to the Department of Education to discuss their impactful work, particularly around the issue of emotional school-based avoidance (ESBA). They were joined by two of the teachers who had supported the students on the school placements.
This roundtable led to the Department of Education nominating Dr Rafter to attend a Royal Garden Party, a prestigious, invitation-only event hosted and attended by His Majesty King Charles and Her Majesty Queen Camilla, in recognition of public service.
“Since 2021, we have now placed over 350 student social workers on school placements. In a context of high thresholds for support and of waiting lists, many of the children and young people supported by a social work student may have otherwise gone without support during this time.
“If each student social worker supported 10 children on their school placement, then it is estimated nearly 3,500 children have received additional support as a result of this project.
“The recognition from the Government of the work we are doing to help young people is something that makes us very proud, and I was delighted to attend the Royal Garden Party and have the chance to meet with others who are making a difference to young people. It was an amazing experience.”
Dr Jenny Rafter of ARU