The poll of 280 social work students, conducted by BASW – The College of Social Work, also found that half of students said their work experience had been limited while 36 per cent said their placements were largely irrelevant to social work.
The General Social Care Council has previously called for higher education institutions to forge better links with social work employers to improve the quality of social work placements.
The latest survey from BASW showed that 89 per cent of respondents believe placements need to be better regulated.
More than a quarter of students didn’t have a social worker as a practice teacher and almost a quarter said their practice teacher had no time to supervise them.
Ruth Cartwright, England manager for the professional body, said: "It’s depressing that thousands of students aren’t supported but it’s not a surprise when you look at the problems in the profession – social work teams are so understaffed and stretched.
"But would student nurses be allowed to be supervised by people other than medical staff? Social workers go in to their working lives having already been let down by the system and once again it is the communities that need good social workers that are ultimately affected."
