What is Supervision? The Views of Child and Family Social Workers and Supervisors in England

Abstract

The importance of supervision is largely taken for granted within social work. Yet it can often seem as if policy-based descriptions of what supervision ‘should be’ are disconnected from the realities of practice. In this study, we sought to understand the perspectives of social workers and supervisors about what supervision is and what it is for. Interviews were undertaken with social workers (n = 56) and supervisors (n = 10) in one authority in England between September 2018 and March 2019. We identified three functions of supervision – accountability, emotional support and providing a different perspective. Supervisors were expected to be constantly available for their staff yet had insufficient time to engage in what they considered to be reflective discussions. Supervision was considered to be primarily a mechanism for worker accountability, with support and education being much more ad-hoc functions. These findings suggest that while workers are not wholly negative about case management approaches to supervision, there is a pressing need to define reflection more clearly and articulate what it looks like in practice and how else, if not via supervision, it can be enabled within statutory services for children and families.

Keywords:

• qualitative research
• social work
• children
• families
• management
• reflection
• supervision

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the supervisors and social workers who took part in this research study, particularly given how busy they were already, and to the senior managers in the local authority who supported us. We are also grateful to the Department of Education for providing the funding for the study.

Disclsoure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Department for Education, London.

Notes on contributors

Charlotte Pitt

Charlotte Pitt is a qualified social worker in Youth Justice. Charlotte was previously a researcher at the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE), Cardiff University. Research and practice interests include supervision, child protection, looked after children and youth justice. Email: [email protected].

Samia Addis

Dr. Samia Addis is a Senior Public Health Researcher at the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Support Hub, Public Health Wales. Dr Addis is an experienced academic researcher in population and public health, health services and social care. Email: [email protected].

David Wilkins

Dr. David Wilkins is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work Practice and Assistance Director of the Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre (CASCADE), Cardiff University. Dr Wilkins’ practice experience mainly lies in the field of disability and child protection. His research interests focus on supervision and decision-making. Email: [email protected].