The importance of reflective supervision

[Introduction]

This is a Research in Practice podcast, supporting evidence informed practice with children and families, young people, and adults.

Phil: Hello, and welcome to this Research in Practice podcast. My name is Phil John, and I'm a Technical Officer at Research in Practice. I'm delighted to be joined today by my colleague, Alison Domakin. Say hello, Alison.

Alison: Hello.

Phil: Who is a Senior Research and Development Officer here at Research in Practice. So, today we're going to be discussing the importance of reflective supervision in social work practice. I wonder then if you could talk a little bit about your background, and experience in supervision, and reflective supervision?

Alison: Prior to working in my current role at Research in Practice I spent 2.5 years as the practice engagement lead for the Practice Supervisor Development Programme. That's now ended, but in its time it was a national programme in England providing a five, or six date, then became a CPD opportunity for practice supervisors. In particular, for practice supervisors in child and family social work. By work, you know, being involved in some of the delivery of that programme, but also supporting, and working with practice supervisors who'd undertaken that programme, I learnt a lot during that time about some of the barriers, and enablers. Also, how important it was to give practice supervisors the space to come together to reflect on supervision, and think about how they could themselves really maximise what they offered in terms of reflective support, and supervision to their teams.

[What is supervision]

Phil: So, where do we start on this journey into supervision, and reflective supervision, Alison?

Alison: Well, I wonder if it makes sense to just, kind of, go back, and think about one particular model of supervision to get us going. So, yes, one of the most significant models for thinking about the purpose of supervision was developed by Tony Morrison in the early 2000s. He argued that there are four functions of supervision. One is around management, about ensuring competent accountable practice and performance. The second function is around development, about helping a worker continuously improve, and be the best they can be. The third element is around support, about providing personal and emotional support to workers. The fourth element is called mediation, which is around engaging the individual with the organisation. So, you know, what the organisation requires of the worker to work effectively. He also argued that there are four stakeholders in supervision. Those are the people that use our services, kind of, supervisee, him, or herself, the organisation, and partners, and then agencies. Then the last bit he talked about was that if we're thinking about a supervision cycle we need to engage in a cycle that's reflective.

So, we need to think about what work we're doing in practice, reflect on that, reflect on those experiences, and then with the help of a supervisor analyse, understand that, make sense of that, what that means. Use that reflection to then inform, and guide, kind of, future practice. That's been one of the most influential, kind of, models thinking about supervision. My argument would be that because that model is so familiar we can often make the mistake of saying, 'Oh, well, we know about supervision,' and it, kind of, fades into the background. I think that we forget some important elements within that. That actually unless we provide a secure, safe, containing relationship for the supervisee within a reflective supervision space, it becomes very difficult to make use of that supervision effectively, and for those different functions to work to the maximum. I suppose, by that I mean what we know is that recent research coming out in 2023 by Ravalier talked about the fact that the quality and consistency of supervision across the social care sector wasn't there. So, there are great variations.

Also, a recent report, Big Listen report, done with London local authorities in 2023, talked about the fact that many staff said that actually their experiences of supervision it might be that it was more of a tick box approach to supervision. So, in that way, I suppose, what I'm arguing here is, that the management, or organisational element of supervision can predominate. We're looking at, 'What you've done. How within timescale. Give me an account of this.' We're, kind of, checking up, and accounting on work, and the reflective discussion element gets squeezed, because of the systemic pressures within the caring sector.

[A positive culture of supervision]

Phil: So, I mean, one of the things then, if we're talking about the environment, the culture of work in practice then, how important is it that senior leaders focus on building a positive culture of supervision within the whole organisation?

Alison: Absolutely vital, and we're, kind of, moving here on to the work of Jane Wonnacott who worked with Tony Morrison, and continued that work after his death. Jane passionately argues that it's not good enough to think about just providing supervision to practitioners, the people who are directly engaged in practice. What she talks about is building a positive culture of supervision throughout the whole organisation. That's tricky to do. In order to do that you have to actively work at developing that. It doesn't happen by chance. One of the things that, kind of, came through from working on the practice supervisor development programme was that many practice supervisors who came said, you know, well, the course had really challenged them not only to think about what they provided to the people that they supervise, but their own needs with their supervision with their line manager. Time after time we hear people talk about the higher you go up the leadership ladder, or management ladder within an organisation, the less opportunity there may be for engaging in reflective supervision yourself.

[Anti-racist supervision]

Phil: That's the thing I was going to ask about, in what ways can reflective supervision help identify, and address systemic barriers, and inequities in social work practice, thinking perhaps about anti-racist supervision?

Alison: I think one of the things, particularly thinking about social work as a profession, is that it has a strong focus, and always has done since its inception on anti-oppressive, or anti-discriminatory practice, so we are thinking about those kind of issues. Just thinking about reflection within social work practice, one of the tools that we used on the practice supervisor development programme, and we've got available as an open access resource, is thinking about using the GGRRAAACCEEESSS developed by John Burnham. So, the graces are a pneumonic for outlining different aspects of our identity like gender, race, ability, age, education, sexuality, etc, etc.

Phil: The As go on for a long time, don't they? It's actually social GGRRA-A-ACCEEESSS, isn't it, I think, yes?

Alison: So, I think those are a really helpful way, and sit alongside anti-discriminatory practice for helping us think about what's different, and similar between ourselves and the people we work with, or between ourselves and our supervisee. It just helps us to understand where people are more powerful, or less powerful. In social work, we work with some of the most disadvantaged people within society who often have faced trauma, hardship, both at an individual level, and also are, kind of, blown about by the winds of government policy, whether help is provided, or not, the national initiatives and funding. Really people have experienced very, very challenging situations. If we're saying that we're a profession that's founded on social justice then we have to provide a space in supervision, I would argue, where we can think through how our differences, and experience of inequality, and oppression impact on the practitioner, and the person receiving our services, on their relationship. So, we have to understand how that affects the communication. If it's then affecting the communication it will then affect that practitioner's assessment of what's going on. It may then affect their recommendations about what should happen next.

So, supervision provides a place where, you know, using curiosity, and being brave and asking challenging questions, or working, I like to say, elegantly in supervision. The supervisor can tease out some of our responses, some of our feelings that sit alongside what we also say is our professional opinion. I suppose what I'm saying is there are two things going on. One is my professional view about what's going on when I'm working with someone. The second part that's going along might be my personal experience. What can happen in practice is the two can get mixed up. Some of my response to what I think is going on when I'm working with somebody, and what I think should happen, might be in a sense contaminated by my personal response to them. So, if we don't think about where there's power, where there's sameness, or difference, when we're working in pressurised, and busy, and demanding situations, and one of the things that characterises particularly social work practice, is that we work with uncertainty. We work with a lot of risk. Both of things give us a drive towards certainty.

Phil: A, sort of, time pressure as well then presumably as well that folds into that. I was just wondering, like, so the principles of reflective supervision then require in a space active engagement, and open dialogue then. That's, kind of, critical to allow that discourse between supervisor and supervisee, would you say that? Those things are really, sort of, central to it.

Alison: Absolutely, because going back to that point we were thinking about, about inequality, or some of our personal responses to families, or admitting when we feel stuck, or admitting when it's, like, 'Oh, I'm really struggling to get on with this person, and I don't know what's going on.' Those are very personal, and exposing things to be talking about. It's not something that would just trip off the tongue as your first comment in a supervision space. So, in order to reflect we have to provide, you know, my argument would be, we've got to absolutely think not about supervision as a task, or a quality assurance thing. We've got to think about this as a conversation between two people that happens in a relationship, and, 'What can I do as a supervisee to make this a place where both of us can build,' you know, I think in the literature it's called, 'A positive learning alliance within supervision.' That doesn't mean that you're always fluffy, and nice in supervision, but you create the space where you can be honest, and authentic, and your supervisee can be honest and authentic.

Phil: It's not just a tick box exercise then. You're actually seeing it, you know, for the value that it has, and for what can come out as a result of that active communication, and reflection. Presumably, the tools that you were talking about earlier, so our Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS, and the Wonnacott's Discrepancy Matrix, those all fold into that process, or can do. Do you want to talk about how that works?

Alison: I can. Do you mind if I just go back first though?

Phil: Yes, sure.

Alison: I was just going to say, because there was one other thing before that, because you'd also mentioned anti-racist supervision. I suppose, up until now what I've been talking about is supervision being a space where we discuss the practice, or the work that a person is involved in. If we think about, kind of, supervision. Supervision is about supporting the development of that worker also. So, part of that is thinking about giving praise when they do things well, noting their development, noting areas where they might need to, kind of, continue to work on, thinking about how they progress in their career, etc. So, linking then with anti-racist supervision, that's something that we became much more aware of from 2020 onwards in the practice supervisor development programme following the murder of George Floyd. Actually, practice supervisors were starting to say as a result of that, and the, kind of, more open discussion about racism that was around at the time, was saying, 'I encounter racism as a Black, or Global Majority, kind of, practitioner. I encounter racism in my own personal life. I encounter it sometimes with the people that I'm working with, or the communities that I'm working in. I encounter it in the organisation that employs me,' and yet it's never discussed in supervision.

People started to make the case that, actually, in terms of providing support to me, thinking about the work that I do, it would be useful to discuss it. Also, because of what we know around the fact that there's a glass ceiling, that it can be more difficult for Black, and Global Majority members of staff to progress, and take up leadership roles, you know, having a focus in supervision of thinking about how racism might be discussed, and addressed. Thinking about how you can support someone, and their development, is really, really important. Unless we focus on it particularly it's often overlooked.

Phil: It makes me think of the quote from Shabnam Ahmed who has worked quite a lot with Research in Practice. She's got her own YouTube channel in her own right, which is fantastic to watch. There's a quote here which I think lends into this where she says, 'We believe that good social work supervision nourishes social workers, and is fundamental to our wellbeing in practice,' which is what we have been discussing. 'However, if supervision is not reflective of anti-racist, and anti-discriminatory, and anti-oppressive principles, then it can do more harm than good, in my opinion,' she says. 'This has the potential to reproduce inequalities,' which is going to what you were saying really about that. That if it's not acknowledged, and if it's not called out, it goes unquestioned, unchallenged, and that's no good for anybody really.

Alison: Yes, and I think it goes back to, I mean, Shabnam's comments also reinforce the importance of how you contract, or set up how you're going to work together with the person that you're supervising. So, it's really important to use a supervision agreement not just as a form, but to engage in a discussion about, 'What's my role? What's your role?' in terms of supervisee, and supervisor. 'What different things will I do as a supervisor? I might challenge you. I might give you positive feedback.' It's, kind of, setting out, 'These are the different aspects of my role. How best to work with you, how to get the best out of you, and how will we review what's going on between you?' Then if we're thinking about anti-racism, then a really essential part is then sharing a bit of, 'This is my experience, and identity, and background as a supervisee. What's yours?' If we then think about the GGRRAAACCEEESSS, and think about experiences of racism, or disadvantage, we can start to build within that what that person's experiences might be, how we can best support them. How they can challenge us if we're not providing a space that doesn't allow exploration of, particularly if it's a Black, or Global Majority member of staff, of racism, and supporting their development.

Phil: It's anything but fluffy then. You were saying supervision isn't fluffy, but that isn't. If you set up the conditions where as a supervisor, supervisee you've got honesty, and trust, and time to do that, then it becomes with bravery between the two people, then it becomes quite an important crucible to challenge in a safe way, and reflect, because we come back to that word of reflective supervision. It becomes a very important thing. So, in setting up that supervision then, I suppose like any, sort of, initial, or beginnings, the beginning relationship, that's quite a critical time then to set up the core values of how the reflective supervision is going to take place.

Alison: Absolutely. I think it can be really hard to protect that time when we've got so many pressures to go in and go, 'Boom, boom, boom, let's look at this,' all these other demands on our time. That's really important, because as we used the term fluffy, a supervisor also has teeth. One of the things that, kind of, comes up through the literature, and also lots of the practice supervisors on the practice supervisor development programme talked about, was that you can get stuck in your own relationship with a supervisee. You might think something as a practice supervisor, or think, 'Oh, I need to give you feedback about some aspect of your performance, or the way you are.' What can end up happening is that we think, 'Oh, but if I challenge them I know they're going to get upset,' because this is perhaps an issue with how this person is in the office, and their interaction with other team members, or I've tried to give feedback before and it's gone terribly. So, it can end up that it, kind of, sits there in the middle, these issues. The supervisor doesn't feel enabled to say what they're thinking, to give their feedback, and it gets stuck. That gets put off, and put off, and put off.

So, you know, it's hard to do, I'm not underestimating that, but if you've done a supervision agreement, and outlined, and made challenges something, and outlined some of that, you've given yourself permission to do it. You can refer to that if you need to give feedback. The other thing is even if we don't, and this is a really important point, even if you have missed doing that with a supervisee at the start when you first started working with them, it's never too late at any point in the supervisory relationship to say, 'We didn't do this at the start. My bad. Let's do it now.'

Phil: Let's go from now.

Alison: 'From this point forward.'

Phil: Any point is a good point to start doing it. It can only really enhance the collaboration, and communication ultimately if it's conducted right, and considering the things that you've said. I suppose now might be as good a time as any to talk about some of the things that Research in Practice have got to support reflective supervision. You've certainly got a lot of experience in this. You've come hot off delivering quite a bit of training directly in relation to reflective supervision. So, I suppose, we could talk about that now.

Alison: Sure, absolutely.

Phil: That would seem a good time, Alison.

[Applying tools in practice]

Alison: So, we have got two open access microsites. One related to the Practice Supervisor Development Programme. That's got about 180 different resources on it. It's got films, I think some podcasts, tools, knowledge briefings, all exploring different aspects of supervision. Some of those resources are focused on, and used by practice supervisors. We've also got some resources which are for managers of practice supervisors, because they play a really key role in supporting practice supervisors to do their job well. You've mentioned Wonnacott's Discrepancy Matrix earlier. So, when I refer to tools we deliberately made a decision that we wanted to develop tools, so that they would be something that had… they weren't overly theoretical. They had a practical application. It's like an idea, or a concept that might be useful in supervision, 'Here's what it is. Here are some ideas about how you might use it in supervision. Here are some questions you might ask in supervision to get going using it.' So, we, kind of, have the idea really of it being a tool. Like your rummage in a toolbox, get something out, can try it in supervision, and it helps. When we think about tools, I think one of the things that, kind of, going back now to the earlier discussion, supervision can get boring.

It's, like, I have a preferred way of working, you have a preferred way of working. Actually, it's like, 'I know Phil's going to ask me how I am. Then I know after that he's going to ask me about my work with Mrs Blah Blah,' and on we go. So, it, kind of, throws a curve ball in, because if we want it to be reflective it's not just about the relationship, it's about sometimes doing things a bit differently. So, using a tool, or asking different questions, or saying, 'Today, we're going to use this. We're going to look at the GGRRAAACCEEESSS together. We're going to think about that in supervision, and reflect on your working relation to somebody based on that.' It just is a little bit of difference. It moves us away from what we normally expect.

Phil: Yes. I know, but I really like what you were saying there, because often, you know, terminology can be off-putting. So, for example, Wonnacott's Discrepancy Matrix sounds quite a bit of a mouthful to say really, and I'm glad I managed to get away with that. Actually, when you look at what that is, and the way that it allows you to, sort of… it's like a Sherlock Holmes mind palace I suppose. In terms of it allows you some time, or demands of yourself some time to reflect on how something has gone, and quarters it, doesn't it, into various… without going… I know this podcast isn't about Wonnacott's Discrepancy Matrix, and I know we've got links, and information to all of that, but those kind of tools just they're actually practical.

Alison: Yes, and they encourage us to think differently. Not think differently in terms of our conclusions, but to have a conversation, and think about different aspects that we may not immediately think about if we weren't using that tool. The other thing I should say also is in addition to the Practice Supervisor Development Programme resources, we've got a number of tools, films, and other resources available that came from the Train the Trainer Practice Supervisor Development Programme, particularly for working in adult context. The fact that they are split reflects the fact that they were funded in different ways. One for focus on children and families, and the other adult. I would argue that both are generic, and in fact one of the things we're looking at now at Research in Practice is developing a new reflective supervision learning hub. We're going to choose tools from those, kind of, bring those together to create a new area where all the tools are generic, presented as generic tools. Yes, continue the conversation about reflective supervision, and providing resources that support people to do it.

Phil: So, that's fantastic. So, really, I mean, for people that want to know more, and find out more then, it is to go to our website obviously, and as you say, to go from there. I mean, it's pretty easy, you don't even have to remember any of the things that have been said directly here presumably. It's just a quick tap of reflective supervision into our search bar, and that should bring up information.

Alison: The other thing I was going to say is that the learning hub that I'm talking about won't be ready until the summer of 2024. So, don't start looking for that now. It's not available.

Phil: Don't start looking for it now.

Alison: We will let people know when it is available.

[Conclusion]

Phil: Definitely something to dip into when it's ready. In conclusion, now that we're reaching the end of the podcast on reflective supervision, I was wondering if there are any, sort of, concluding thoughts that you might have, Alison, anything that we've not covered that you want to mention?

Alison: I think the thing, one of the things that really came out of the Practice Supervisor Development Programme was that Practice Supervisors talked about the importance of moving down the gears in order to go into a reflective supervision space. So, when people are working in busy, demanding, challenging work context, they might be up in fifth gear going boom, boom, boom, just, kind of, going through things. That's not a helpful gear to be going into supervision with. So, we need quick things to do, but actually, you know, we're not advising that somebody goes off for an hour walk to decompress before they go into supervision. We clearly haven't got time for that. To be mindful of one's state, and one's gear, so to speak, as you then finish that task and thing about going into supervision. Thinking then about acknowledging with the person at the start of the supervision how are they, and just trying to move together to get into a space where it's more reflective, which then creates demands, doesn't it? So, as well as being mindful of that, thinking about where you're having supervision, is it the best place? Is there a tannoy going? Are people coming in? Can you put a notice on your door? So, I think attending to some of those things is really, really important.

Phil: The environment really, the environment. So, one is thinking about yourself as you go in, and allowing yourself a pause, or a little bit of, dare I say it, reflection before going into the reflective supervision, and a quiet space that just allows you that time to have that, what is quite an intimate discussion in that sense, isn't it? It's about just allowing a space to focus.

Alison: Yes. I think the other thing I'd argue is that, you know, I suppose going back to the stuff around Morrison, and the different functions of supervision. If we focus too much on the purposes for the organisation to check on the work that you're doing then we lose the focus on the fact that supervision is for the person being supervised primarily. So, we need to be asking questions about, 'How is it for you? What's your learning style? What might get in the way of you getting the best out of this? What do I do?' Using the systemic question we might ask, 'What would I be doing if I was the least helpful to you in supervision?' That can be really helpful in drawing out a conversation about what that person wants, and needs. So, we have to think about how, and ask, 'How is this other person experiencing the supervision?' The last point I'd make, is to not beat ourselves up about the, kind of, many pressures, and demands that we have. We might not provide perfect supervision. Who does? I certainly know that research that Harry Ferguson and his team did in the early days I think just after the COVID pandemic, they went into some children and family organisations, children's social care.

Some of the organisations that they were in hadn't got great Ofsted inspections, had many challenging organisational issues that they were encountering, and weren't always a happy, or fulfilling place to work in. Yet even within those systemic challenges and demands very often people would say, 'Oh, it's really hard working for the organisation. It's got a way to go to improve, but I stay in my team because I've got a great practice supervisor who knows me, understands me, supports me, is authentic, and I stay because I've got a great practice supervisor.'

Phil: That's a good way to end now, on a positive. Well, thank you very much for your contribution today on the subject of reflective supervision. As we said during the podcast, if you want to know more then go to our website. It's very friendly. A little tap in a search bar will go a long way for you to find the tools, resources, information, that Alison has been talking about. Thank you very much, Alison.

Alison: Lovely, thanks, Phil.

[Outro]

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