A very brief introduction
Supervision is a professional and formal conversation between practice colleagues. It is not appraisal in the sense that one person is straightforwardly evaluating the performance of another, although it has strong elements of self-assessment and, when required, guidance. It is not a debate, although it is an exploration. It is not an argument, however it is enquiring, questioning and even probing. At the same time supervision can’t be counselling, it isn’t a form of therapy, so it obviously it not a forum for the amateur psychoanalyst (what might be thought of as a ‘psychbableist’) to roam the voids and hinterlands of their own or other people’s unconscious (if you buy into such a realm). Neither (perhaps at the other extreme) is supervision causal chatting, the airing of streams of consciousness, free-ranging speculation, chin wagging stabs in the dark about the nature of reality (time the universe and everything) or aimless gossip.
Within this very general definition of what supervision is (and is not) the practice can be refined in different ways according to aims and contexts, but essentially the work of supervision is focused on the interrogation of practice, which can take place no matter how much or how little experience one might have; it is not limited to those in training or structured education.
When all is said and done supervision concentrates on the development and perfecting of practice, the professional activity of the practitioner. Given this it is pragmatic, which does not preclude aims to support, but this is not starting from a deficit assumption about the supervisee; what is being supported is a postulation of asset – that the supervisee has it in them to maintain, refine, progress and/or better their practice delivery with appropriate supervision.
In short, the major outcome of supervision is the development of professional judgement as a foundation of innovation, sharpening, enhancing and improving the functioning of the supervisee and so the offer, capacity and operation of their organisation. It functions to generate the making of sound and responsible decisiona about how we approach and interact with other people’s children. As such it is a form of quality assurance, but that is not all it is.
This said, more generally supervision should promote learning, considered action and, within realistic boundaries, facilitate reflective practice, as distinct from stoking the imagination into fantasy, acceptance of bias, or overly subjective analysis of experience. The process is aimed at underpinning client safety, well-being and care, which allows for, forwards and confirms the effective and efficient achieving and/or realising of agency aims, professional objectives conduct and attitudes, desired outcomes, goals and purposes. Supervision grounds, informs, shapes consolidates and advances policy, while emphasizing ethical and moral service delivery.
The use of supervision
While supervision gives the task to the supervisee to develop their own conclusions and solutions, the supervisor has an underlying educational and advice function, especially in terms of the supervisee’s expectation of a duty of care and the expectation of a duty of care by the supervisee’s clients.
Usually supervision encompasses three provinces:
- Particular incidents, issues or cases
- Situations or contexts (physical workplace and networks, including frustrations with and emotional responses to the same)
- Career considerations.
The latter can encompass such areas as further training, conditions of work, career prospects and career aspirations, retirement, perceptions about how to manage and delegate work.
Sometimes two or all three of these provinces might be touched on in one supervision session. When supervision has an educational emphasis the direction of the encounter is (relatively) more clearly defined in relation to the above areas.
There is much more to supervision that this brief introduction allows, and if you want to think about the process a bit more please look at:
You can also contact Brian Belton and/or Sally Baxter, but as a parting thought, consider the following statements and choose which one you might entrust your child to:
All our staff receive regular monthly supervision, in line with the Munro Review of Child Protection. This is time devoted to confidential, focused guided reflection on the work with undertake with other people’s children. It’s part of our safeguarding, equalities, staff care and development policies, forwarding practice efficiency and effectiveness
St Brian’s, Belton in the Bog Youth Centre
We don’t bother all that supervision stuff – not ever sure what it is! We chat about the kids in the pub now and then – have a bit of a laugh sometimes, but you can over-think things. We are more instinctive. I mean, the difference between right and wrong us just common sense and there’s something about minding your own business
Lady Ada Posit Bollybobkin, Bridlimington South, Bigglesfield (beyond Bosconbewich) Young People’s well-being positive activity hub & Diversity in Coproduction Centre