The vital role of social work supervision

As social workers we work with individuals and professionals who don’t always have a full understanding of what social work is and what it isn’t. Naturally, there will be differing perspectives and people will disagree with your professional judgement. Whilst it’s crucial we’re authentic in our interactions, we still must be aware of the impact that our language and behaviour has, and also remain non-judgemental. I’m human, so I don’t always get it right. Because I’m naturally reflective and a bit of an over thinker, this can be stressful and anxiety-provoking for me.

Supervision is an opportunity to have protected time with your manager to talk through the impact the work has on you personally, as well as exploring decision making and ensuring this is values-based and person-centred. It is essential for social workers' wellbeing and professional development, and most importantly, helps us to achieve the best outcomes for the people we work for. We can take time to consider what we’re doing, why and whether that’s working for the person we are working with from their perspective, and if not, consider whether there might be another way forward.

COVID-19 has forced us to reconsider our ways of working, from different working patterns, homeworking and how we maintain and develop positive relationships with our teams and the people we support. This isn’t easy and can feel isolating if there aren’t good support mechanisms in place. Supervision should be a safe place to talk about how the current situation is affecting people on a personal level, but also how relationships in teams and with individuals may be changing. Supervision is crucial to letting off steam and talking through challenges to help find solutions.

The pandemic has brought new legislation, policy and guidance across health and social care. To support this, the Chief Social Workers have introduced the Adults Social Care Ethical Framework to help guide social workers, so we all operate within the values and ethics of the profession. Supervision is an opportunity to critically reflect on how your organisation is responding to the challenges and how this in turn affects practice and the impact on the people and communities we support. Supervision is also a way of discovering what’s going well and why and celebrating this with others to develop good practice and better results for the people we work with.

Preparation for supervision is important. I find that it’s good to set aside a little time to consider what I want to talk about. This may be a situation or person you support, organisational updates or even a piece of research or literature you’ve read that’s resonated.

Supervision can take many forms and social workers could also establish peer supervision and support. There may be an experienced social worker in your team or organisation who may be able to facilitate this. You could also contact your principal social worker if you want to discuss the supervision arrangements within your organisation.

Social workers should ensure that they receive appropriate supervision and if they do not, respectfully request it from their supervisor or line manager. If supervision isn’t happening, I’d recommend considering asking why not. Supervision shouldn’t be the first thing to be discarded when things get busy or stressful. When we’re going through a time of enormous change and under additional pressures as we are now, supervision is even more important to ensure that your professional needs are met, and that practice is critically reflective and values based.