Staff supervision should enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children and young people and to help children do the same. Supervision of staff practice supports staff members’ engagement in the home’s safeguarding culture so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of a child’s safety.

The process and timescales for supervising practice should be detailed, and appropriate records for home staff should be maintained. Home managers must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. This allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children and young people who have made a home with them.

Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional.

A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered per regulations.

It is good practice to note the content and outcomes of supervision sessions and ensure that both the person giving the supervision and the staff member have a copy of the record.

During this course, you will learn:

• The principles behind supervision models.
• Recognise and apply reflective supervision.
• Dynamic risk assessment during supervision.
• How to develop clear, focused, and reviewable plans and actions.
• To understand and apply the Reflective Cycle to the supervision of staff.
• How to be curious and explore sitting with different perspectives 
• To have access to evidence-based tools to support adequate supervision.
• How to put learning from the session into practice.