What is the purpose of supervision?

One-to-one supervision

The most common form of supervision is one-to-one supervision.

• This involves two people meeting for supervision discussions.
• The supervisor is usually the supervisee’s line manager but may be a senior practitioner or professional from another organisation.

Group supervision 

Group supervision can be used to complement one-to-one supervision or on its own.

• Group members take part in a structured process of discussion led by a practice supervisor or peer.
• It can be used for practice discussion and planning, exploring team dynamics or reflection on a specific theme. 
• Make-up of the group depends on the goals of supervision. Membership usually includes a team (including multi- agency teams) or a group of peers (e.g., newly qualified practitioners).

Adapted from Earle et al. (2017)

1. ‘a process by which one worker is given responsibility by the organisation to work with another in order to meet certain organisational professional and personal objectives which together promote the best outcomes for service users.’

(Morrison, 2005 in Earle et al. 2017, p.6)

2. ‘a regular, planned, accountable process, which must provide a supportive environment for reflecting on practice and making well informed decisions using professional judgement and discretion.’

(British Association of Social Workers, 2011, p.7)

3. ‘the relationship between supervisor and supervisee in which the responsibility and accountability for the development of competence, demeanor and ethical practice takes place. The supervisor is responsible for providing direction to the supervisee, who applies … theory, standardized knowledge, skills, competency, and applicational ethical contact in the practice setting.’

(Sewell, 2018, p. 253) 

If we take the view that each definition provides part of the answer, we get a more rounded picture about what supervision is. The reason for this is that supervision is complex: it has several different roles and functions.

Supervision can be thought of in different ways, often at the same time. For example, when we use the word ‘supervision’ we might be talking about a:

• meeting 

• relationship 

• reflective discussion 

• means of ensuring accountability 

• way of providing support and guidance 

• record of a discussion 

• risk management process 

• management auditing mechanism (Ballantyne, 2019).

The picture becomes more complicated because people may have different views about why supervision is important. For example:

• Practitioners may think that support is important.

• Organisations may find quality assurance to be the most useful. 

Take a moment to reflect:

Which of these definitions you like best?

• What aspect of supervision were you most drawn to?
• Which definition did you find less helpful? 

Each definition highlights different aspects of supervision: 

• organisational accountability 
• support and reflection
• practice direction.

You may well have concluded that whilst each definition is helpful, none of them provide the full picture about what supervision is.

The ‘outer’ layer shows the four functions of a supervisor’s role and the objectives of supervision: 

• Management – ensuring competent accountable practice and performance. 

• Development – supporting continuing professional development and promoting learning. 

• Support – providing a secure and trusting relationship. 

• Mediation – engaging practitioners with the organisation and being a bridge between practice and organisational priorities. 

Balancing the four functions of supervision 

All four functions (management, development, support and mediation) are needed to provide a balanced approach to supervision.

• They won’t all need the same time or have the same importance in each supervision session. 

• Over time you would expect to cover all four functions with a supervisee. 

• This needs careful attention because it is easy for the management function to dominate supervision.

Thinking about the four functions of supervision helps us to understand how they come together to underpin effective supervision of practice.

Supervision should support practitioners to reflect on their own practice and support their decision-making about what to do next.

The middle layer shows the four elements of reflection about practice: experience, reflection, analysis, plans & actions. The middle layer highlights how these elements should be seen as a connected cycle of reflection about practice.

The inner layer shows the key stakeholders in supervision. It goes without saying that supervisees are key stakeholders. Each encounter between supervisor and supervisee is about their relationship and communication with each other.

The central box in Figure 1 illustrates that supervision discussions also have a direct impact on:

• people who draw on care and support

• the organisation

• partners in the wider system. 

Adapted from In-Trac Training and Consultancy (2019)

Benefits for practitioners

For practitioners, effective supervision is associated with: 

• Improvements in practice, critical thinking, and decision-making (Collins-Camargo and Royse, 2010, Bostock et al., 2019).
• Support with the emotional demands of practice (O’Donoghue and Tsui, 2015, Glassburn et al., 2021). 
• Greater staff wellbeing (Kinman and Grant, 2016, Coaston, 2019).
• Lower levels of stress, burnout and role conflict (Mena and Bailey, 2007, McFadden et al., 2014, Mack, 2022). 
• Ability to prioritise and manage workload (Manthorpe et al., 2015, Juby and Scannapieco, 2007, Collins-Camargo and Royse, 2010). 
• Increased job satisfaction (Lee et al., 2011; Manthorpe et al., 2015, What Works for Children’s Social Care, 2022). 

Practitioner perspectives 

Practitioners say that the most essential elements of supervision are: 

• A positive supervision relationship.
• Task assistance . 
• Emotional support. 

 (Mor Barak et al., 2009). 

They also value when practice supervisors are: 

• Reliable and available (Bogo and McKnight, 2006, Ravalier et al., 2023). 
• Supportive (Jacquet et al., 2008).
• Knowledgeable about practice (Kadushin and Harkness, 2014). 

Newly qualified practitioners

Supervision is particularly important for practitioners in the early stages of their career who need additional support and supervision to develop and learn in a new role (O’Donoghue and Tsui, 2015; Carpenter et al., 2013).

Manthorpe et al. (2015) found that newly qualified social workers who had infrequent supervision were: 

• Less likely to feel that they had a manageable workload.
• Less likely to be engaged with the job.
• More likely to describe working conditions as poor. 

Adapted from Earle et al (2017) and Maglajlić (2020)

For organisations, effective supervision plays a key role in supporting staff retention. 

• The quality of supervision discussions and the relationship between the practice supervisor and supervisee are key factors in promoting staff retention (Yankeelov et al., 2009, Robbin et al, 2009, London Improvement and Innovation Alliance, 2023). 

• Supervision can support practitioners who lack confidence to develop greater expertise (and remain in post) (Chen and Scannapieco, 2010). 

• Low levels of rapport with the supervisor are associated with burnout, job dissatisfaction and poor retention (Mor Barak et al., 2009, What Works for Children’s Social Care, no date). 

Effective supervision is also associated with: 

• Practitioners feeling that an organisation values their contribution and cares about their wellbeing (Landsman, 2008, Gibbs, 2001, Collins-Camargo and Royse, 2010). 

• Greater understanding of theory and practice models and improved job performance (Smith et al., 2007).

Establishing a direct link between effective supervision and outcomes for people who draw on care and support is challenging (Carpenter et al., 2012 and 2013, Lambley and Marrable, 2013), and there is limited research that does so (Wilkins et al., 2016).

Despite this, research studies have provided some evidence that supervision can: 

• Support practitioners to rehearse and refine practice skills with people who draw on care and support (Bostock et al., 2019). 

• Help practitioners to ensure they focus on the outcomes that matter to people who draw on care and support (Pitt et al., 2022). 

• Promote empowerment and participation, reduce complaints, and increase positive feedback (Collins-Camargo and Millar, 2010).

Adapted from Earle et al. (2017)