The education “preferred provider” for students training as social workers across north-east London has been named today as the London Met University.

The North East London commissioners’ panel has signed a deal with the university for its social work courses which it said “best meet our needs for 2017”.

The status takes effect from today, in a “major coup” for the university’s social work curriculum.

“Teaching with this status strengthens the work we do,” senior lecturer Catherine Schumann said. “Students joining us this month will be taught by professionals who have experience in social work.”

Her department at the Holloway campus is now responsible for training practice educators for local authorities including Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

London Met’s Head of Social Work Dr Allister Butler said: “This is our commitment to developing the next cohort of practice educators who play a critical part of our practice-led social work provision.”

The course programme “particularly impressed” the commissioners with its approach as employers to meet the panel’s needs.