Safeguarding Supervision

Safeguarding supervision provides a framework for examining, from different perspectives, concerns regarding the welfare or safety of a child in a supportative environment

It is a structured and negotiated process involving two or more staff in which the supervisor is identified as having some expertise, which is used to facilitate a developmental or problem-solving process with the individuals or groups as supervisees regarding a work related issue (Morrison 2006)

It is a formal process of professional support and learning which enables practitioners to develop knowledge and competence, assume responsibility for their own practice and enhance the safety and protection of children in complex clinical situations.

High quality supervision is the cornerstone of effective safeguarding of children and young people and should be seen to operate effectively at all levels within the organisation (NSF p170 cited Morrison 2005 p 18)

Types of supervision include:

• Regular - planned face to face sessions
• Informal - is provided as needs arise and negotiated with the supervisor.
• Group - is a negotiated process whereby members come together in an agreed format to reflect on their work by pooling their skills, experience and knowledge in order to improve both individual and group capacities (Morrison 2010)

Child Protection supervision should only be undertaken by a supervisor who is experienced and knowledgeable in safeguarding children, and who has received training in supervision. Appropriate supervision training is also available, please see Training Section.

Supervision provides the following key benefits for organisations and staff:

• management - accountability for agency policies, procedures, practices and services
• educational - professional development of staff
• supportive - helping staff to recognise and deal with the stresses of work entailed
• mediatory - negotiating inside and outside the agency for resources or services
• assessment - assessing and evaluating competencies by focusing on staff performance
• Experienced consultants are available to develop with key staff supervision frameworks including:
  1. Policies and procedures
  2. Protocols
  3. Standards
  4. Strategy
  5. Contracts
  6. Offering supervision to key staff/groups
  7. Training
  8. Audit

Contents and costs to be negotiated; please contact: 07946 472417

Mentoring

In recent year's professional life in respect of safeguarding has been come more complex. For senior staff new to the safeguarding arena, particularly from a multi agency perspective may create its own expectations and stresses. Mentoring as identified by Hawkins & Smith (2006) requires a personal developmental journey by the practitioner, as well as an ongoing development of interpersonal change skills.

Mentoring offers practitioners opportunity for ongoing learning, development and change in individuals and wider systems. Mentoring is different to supervision and offers senior practitioners an external perspective to ensure quality of practice by providing 'off-line' help by one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work or thinking.

Mentoring consists of:

• entailing broader-ranging, longer term conversations
• dictated more by mentee's needs for future career development
• mentor uses their experience to guide mentee's professional development

An experienced consultant is able to offer mentoring to senior staff new to the safeguarding arena with individually tailored plans to meet their needs.

For further discussion please contact: 07946 472417