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Contents

1. Aims
2. Purpose of Supervision
3. Frequency
4. Models of Supervision
5. Supervision Agreements
6. Roles and Responsibility
7. Records
8. Monitoring
   
   Appendix 1 – Operational Monitoring Sheet
   
   Appendix 2 – Supervision Agreement
   
   Appendix 3 – Recording Form
   
   Appendix 4 – Training and Learning Log
   
   Appendix 5 – New Agency Worker Pre-Qualification Checklist

1. Aims

The purpose of this document is to 

• Establish a clear policy on supervision within a line management context, for all levels of social care staff and those involved in any aspect of service delivery, such as agency workers and volunteers 
• Ensure appropriate standards of support, personal and professional development and performance management are defined 
• Ensure staff and workers across the Department receive regular supervision with appropriate guidance and direction. 

2. Purpose of Supervision

Supervision is both a managerial and developmental process. It is one of the mechanisms through which Lambeth seeks to ensure that policies and procedures are understood and followed; that action plans and accountabilities are clear and that all staff are appropriately managed, supported, developed and individual and team issues mediated. 

At managerial and administrative levels this should include:

Assessing experience, competence and development needs to undertake planned, unplanned or allocated work 

1. Clarifying tasks, roles and responsibilities, ensuring work is purposeful and that all decisions are recorded (Given the multi-agency nature of our work, particular attention should be paid to issues of joint working, investigations  and joint decisions) 
2. Reviewing progress against agreed action plans and ensuring actions are being carried out 
3. Reviewing case files and discussing any audit findings (Note within Social Care 3 electronic cases files should be reviewed by the manager at each supervision session) 
4. Ensuring administration processes are being followed and up to date e.g. distribution of minutes of meetings. 
5. Ensuring that statutory and corporate standards are met (including equality, quality, customer care and Health & Safety) 

Please note: Any performance issues should be identified at an early stage so that clear targets for improvement and support actions can be established, to minimise any potential impact on service users. 

At support, development and mediation levels this should include:

1. Reviewing workload and range to ensure continuing professional  development 
2. Applying workload management scheme to caseworkers 
3. Reviewing individual needs and progress with learning and development plans 
4. Developing and improving skills and practises 
5. Identifying and addressing any underlying difficulties, personal or team problems and concerns that may have an adverse effect on staff morale and performance. 
   
   Managers should consider the range of ways in which workers can be supported and the impact of any stress being experienced may be minimised. E.g. the Employee Assistance Programme 
6. Addressing Human Resources issues such as sickness absence, annual leave and T.O.I.L 

3. Frequency

It is a corporate requirement that managers hold regular, one to one meetings with each employee or worker or volunteer that they manage directly. The frequency of these meetings will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the work and the experience and competence of individuals.  Weekly meetings may be helpful in some cases, whilst in others monthly meetings may suffice.  All managers and case workers must have a least monthly supervision meetings.

Those new to the Council or in new posts must receive more frequent supervision during their Induction period (usually around six weeks).

The agreed minimum frequency for each grade or level of experience is:

Staff Member	Frequency
Administrative staff	Six weekly, unless the nature of work, probationary period, and level of experience require greater frequency Note: sessions may be shorter than for other workers, but these must be held as stated above
Non-Care Workers	Four to six weekly, depending on nature of work, professional requirements and level of experience
Unqualified or Social Care staff (up to Level 3)	Two to four weekly (length of sessions may vary)
Newly qualified and / or locum social work staff	Weekly during the first six weeks (these may be shorter sessions, but assessment of experience and competence and development needs must be addressed)  Frequency then to be determined at the mid-term probation review, but no less than Fortnightly up to the first year of service
Social Workers after first year of service	Three weekly depending on need and complexity of work
Senior Social Workers (two years post qualifying)	Four weekly depending on need and complexity of work
Managers (Team and Deputy Team Managers)	Four weekly depending on service area experience within the Department and level of responsibility
Senior Managers	Three to four weekly

Within integrated services, it is recognised that there are different professional disciplines, requirements, models and expectations of supervision. This does provide good opportunities for greater joint learning and sharing of expertise and perspectives. However, managers are reminded that registration requirements within social work, require a greater emphasis on the part of managers to demonstrate that social work standards, outcomes and continuing professional development requirements are being addressed consistently and fairly. The General Social Care Council standards apply to all managers of social care staff, regardless of agency.

While this policy refers mainly to formal, planned one-to-one supervision, it is recognised that this is only one model through which staff can be supported and developed. Supervisors may need to draw on other models to share expertise and foster a learning environment for continual improvement. They may also provide informal and ad hoc sessions. However, in all instances discussions, recommendations, decisions, accountabilities and time scales should be recorded.

4. Models of Supervision 

One to one supervision is most appropriate for discussing individual cases and issues. However, other models also provide greater opportunity for team support, learning and development. 

Joint Supervision is appropriate where two workers are involved in the same case to ensure that there is synergy in the work and overall goals and accountabilities are defined.

Team supervision can be used to address common issues, learning needs and promote consistency of practice and abilities to evidence professional judgement using theories, research and practice models. 

Group supervision may include groups of colleagues with common roles (possibly across teams), exploring initiatives to manage shared problems. 

Peer supervision is a useful temporary arrangement in sharing experience or expertise among colleagues, for example with local knowledge or experience in complex cases 

Coaching and mentoring by experienced staff, identified by the supervisor, may also be useful in promoting learning and development. The supervisory responsibility remains with the supervisor and there would need to be close liaison with the identified coaches/mentors to track progress.

In all models of supervision accountability rests with the manager

5. Supervision Agreements 

Supervision agreements are good practice and should be outlined at the first supervision meeting. This should include frequency, duration, location (if appropriate), content and responsibilities.  The supervision agreement should be completed within the first month of the supervisory relationship and reviewed six monthly.  A template is given in Appendix 2 - Supervision Agreement. This should be placed inside the front cover of the individual's supervision file under the Operational Monitoring Sheet.

6. Roles and Responsibilities

Supervisors do carry organisation responsibility for ensuring that supervisees are sufficiently experienced and developed to carry out allocated work competently, that standards are met and that plans are implemented effectively. However, supervisees also have a professional responsibility in being accountable for their own conduct, development and delivering a high quality service. This includes being prepared for supervision; bringing evidence of progress; identifying personal and professional development needs; seeking assistance and using a range of learning opportunities. (See G.S.C.C. Code of Conduct) 

7. Records

Supervision meeting and records are confidential within the boundaries of organisational accountability. Both in terms of professional confidentiality and the principles of the Data Protection Act access to information about clients and supervisees should be restricted to those with appropriate organisational and managerial responsibility. This means that the supervisor should take responsibility for recording supervision meetings on the relevant forms (See Appendix 3 - Recording Form), ensuring that details are accurate and legible. These should be signed by both supervisee and supervisor, as an accurate record of the discussion, decisions and agreed actions and accountabilities with time scales.

It is recognised that the level of recording may vary according to job role and complexity of issues. Both supervisor and supervisee should hold a copy. The supervisor's copy should be held in the individual's Supervision File in a secure / lockable cabinet.

Supervision records (casework)  must be completed within 72 hours of the supervision session, supervision records related to other matters should be completed within two weeks of the supervision session.  All records must be dated and signed.  See departmental recording policy

Supervision Records and Management Decisions

For social care / casework, management decisions must be evidenced on the electronic social care record and managers must ensure the following core ICS documents are endorsed with their name and comments as evidence of their agreement to the record; Contact, Referral, Initial Assessment, Core Assessment, Strategy Discussion/Meeting, Record of Section 47, Record of Allegation of Sexual Abuse against a child, Core Group meeting,  CP statutory visit, CP Conference, Child and Young persons Plan, Reception into Care, LAC Reviews, LAC statutory visit.

It is expected that regular casework supervision records are uploaded on to case files. It is reasonable to expect that casework supervision records are seen at regular intervals on the case file. A record of the supervision casework discussion with any decisions/actions must be uploaded on to the electronic social care record within 72 hours of the meeting taking place.

Supervision Records and Management Actions

Social Care casework management actions must be contained in the case records section under Case Note using the drop down menu to record the type of note, e.g. Managers Decision or Record of Supervision discussion.  Supervisors must evidence ongoing scrutiny and overview of the case and reflective consideration of the casework in the context of the history of the case from discussions that take place in supervision. 

Personal Supervision Files

Each individual supervisee (whether permanent, locum or agency) should have an individual folder.  The hard copy folder should contain dividers for the following sections:

• Front sheets containing record of planned and completed supervision sessions as Appendix 1 - Operational Monitoring Sheet
• Supervision Agreement as Appendix 2, Supervision Agreement
• Supervision Record Appendix 3 - Recording Form
• Training Record  Appendix 4 - Training and Learning Log
• Induction record where appropriate
• Pre Qualification Checklist for Agency Staff Appendix 5 - New Agency Worker Pre-Qualification Checklist
• Sickness monitoring – Return to work interviews and other documents related to absence monitoring
• Record of Annual Leave
• Appraisal and Personal Development Plan
• Disciplinary/ capability actions where appropriate 

8. Monitoring

All supervisors are required to book supervision sessions at least three months in advance and complete the Operational Monitoring sheet in Appendix 1 for each supervisee. These will be kept in the front of supervision file, on top of the supervision agreement. Please note, supervision files may be seen by the supervisor's line manager or designated auditor at any time.

Heads of Service, Assistant Directors and Divisional Director are required to monitor the implementation of this policy for each manager, on a regular basis. This should be through a random selection of both supervision files and case files, through which the following should be identified:

• frequency  of supervision
• compliance with supervision policy
• quality of supervision
• compliance with operational procedures

The findings must be discussed and recorded for each manager within their supervision record Appendix 3 - Recording Form

Appendix 1 - Operational Monitoring Sheet

Click here to view Operational Monitoring Sheet

Appendix 2 - Supervision Agreement

Social Care Division Supervision Agreement (Template)

Supervisor:

Supervisee:

Introduction

I have received and read Lambeth Children and Young People’s service social care supervision policy and procedure.

Frequency of Supervision`

Supervision will be held every ................ for the first ........... months / weeks, thereafter every................

If either one cannot keep the supervision time for any reason, it is up to them to alert the other person of the need to re-book supervision at an agreed time. This should be done as early as possible to ensure that supervision is not missed. This to be recorded on the supervision monitoring form.  Overall responsibility rests with the line manager.

Location

Supervision will be held  _____________________________________

Customer Care & Equal Opportunities Issues

Implementing the Council's Equal Opportunities & Customer Care Policies must be an integral part of every aspect of supervision. We have an equal responsibility to raise such issues in relation to service provision.

The Content of Supervision

It is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure that the discussion stays within the boundaries and fulfils the main aims of supervision. An agenda will be prepared prior to the meeting, both parties should contribute to the agenda

The agenda may include a range of managerial, administrative, developmental, supportive and mediation issues. 

Managerial and administrative activities include: 

1. Assessing experience, competence and development needs to undertake planned or allocated work 
2. Clarifying tasks, roles and responsibilities, ensuring work is purposeful and that all decisions are recorded (Given the multi-agency nature of our work, particular attention should be paid to issues of joint working, investigations  and joint decisions) 
3. Clarifying expectations of manager and supervisee 
4. Reviewing progress against agreed action plans and ensuring actions are being carried out 
5. Reviewing case files and discussing any audit findings (Note within Social Care  3 electronic cases files should be reviewed at each session) 
6. Ensuring administration processes are being followed and up to date including case records held electronically 
7. Ensuring that statutory and corporate standards are met (including equality, quality, customer care and Health & Safety) 

NB: Particular care will be taken to identify any performance issues at an early stage so that clear targets for improvement and support actions can be established, to minimise any potential impact on clients. 

Support, development and mediation activities include:

1. Reviewing workload and range to ensure continuing professional development. 
2. Applying Lambeth’s workload management scheme for caseworkers 
3. Reviewing individual needs and progress with learning and development plans 
4. Developing and improving skills and practises 
5. Identifying and addressing any underlying difficulties, problems and concerns that may have an adverse effect on staff morale and performance.  Managers should consider the range of ways in which workers can be supported and the impact of any stress being experienced may be minimised. E.g. the Employee Assistance Programme 
6. Addressing Human Resources issues such as sickness absence, annual leave and T.O.I.L 

NB: Discussion with other managers may occur when there is an impact on performance and / or service delivery.

It would not normally be appropriate to involve a third party in supervision unless it is to discuss a case two people are managing.  If there were a specific issue or issues to do with other staff / managers, it would be appropriate for a meeting outside of supervision to be negotiated and agreed by both parties.

Dealing With Disagreements

Given that people's experiences and views may differ, disagreements may arise about case- work, other decisions and also about the supervisory relationship.  It is essential that these different points of view are openly explored and acknowledged.  If they cannot be resolved, it is important that such differences in view be recorded.

Organisationally, the final decisions on what actions need to be taken immediately rest with the line manager or their manager.

Recording

Supervision meeting and records are confidential within the boundaries of organisational accountability. Both in terms of professional confidentiality and the principles of the Data Protection Act access to information about clients and the supervisors should be restricted to those with appropriate organisational and managerial responsibility. Supervisors will record details of the meeting on the supervision forms. These should be signed by both supervisee and supervisor, as an accurate record of the discussion, decisions and agreed actions with time scales.

Both supervisor and supervisee should hold a copy. The supervisor's copy will be held in the individual's supervision file together with other supervision files, in a secure / lockable cabinet.

The hard copy supervision record (Appendix 3 - Recording Form) will contain the name of the service user discussed, the detailed record will be entered into case notes in framework and labelled management actions/decisions. 

The supervisor's line managers, their Assistant Director or auditors with delegated responsibility for monitoring compliance with organisational policies will have access to supervision records as required

Signatures

Supervisor 

Supervisee 

Date: ...................................................

Appendix 3 - Recording Form

Click here to view Supervision Recording Summary Sheet

Appendix 4 - Training and Learning Log

Name: 

Team: 

Note: This information will be collected twice a year and will inform information on training activity and expenditure

How to Complete This Form

1. This form has been based on the form used to record evidence of your training and learning for the General Social Care Council. 
2. Your training log should be taken to every supervision session you have with your manager. The training/ learning should be jointly discussed and recorded. 
3. The learning log should be kept by you and a copy kept by your manager, your up dates should be mutually recorded. 
4. This log will enable you keep a personal record of your training and learning. The Learning Log will help you keep a regular up date and review of training and learning within the supervision process. 
5. You can transfer some of the training/ learning you have undertaken when you come to record training and learning with the General Social Care Council. 

General Guidance About What can be Recorded as Evidence

Training and learning can be attributed to several activities:

• Reading
• Training
• Seminars
• Team discussions on specific themes
• Additional projects you may have undertaken
• Coaching/ budding others
• Your role as a practice teacher
• External Conferences
• Staff/ Managers forums
• Training you received via Corporate Learning & Development – e.g. Leadership Training
• 5 Core Management Modules- delivered by Corporate Learning & Development
• Attending meetings
• Research that you have undertaken 

Why has the Learning Log Been Introduced?

Customer Validation

It is important that as an organisation that delivers services to customers; customers have expectations of how we impart our knowledge and skills and should feel secure that our practice is delivered with professional integrity. 

Supervision Policy

The supervision policy has been revised for the Social Care Directorate; the learning log will support the implementation of that process. 

Organisational Validation Linked to IiP

In essence, IiP is a quality standard that focuses on delivering continuous improvement in service delivery through the development of all employees within an organisation. The IiP process can be used in a number of ways, from strengthening team communications, asking employees to be innovative in a range of situations and ensuring compliance with current Council initiatives. 

Generally the IIP ethos is that if employees feel part of a bigger improvement process and are actively encouraged to contribute to the Council, then this in turn will have a beneficial effect on front line service delivery. 

The Standard Looks Into Various Aspects Across an Organisation, Including:

Communications 
Learning and Development 
Employee Empowerment 
Leadership and Management
Investment on staff by the organisation 
Your Learning & Development encompasses all of the elements mentioned above, which are core themes within the IiP process. 

What will we do with the information you provide?

The Learning Log is an open tool to track training and learning activity, the Workforce Strategy & Quality Assurance Business Unit is responsible for coordinating and managing training on behalf of Children & Young People’s Service, will: 

• Provide an overall analysis twice a year regarding training undertaken 
• Cost the training, so that we can monitor expenditure and overall spend on training
• Inform managers and heads of service of your specific requests for training/learning 

The Children’s Workforce Development Business Unit have applied the same standards for evidenced learning as the General Social Care Council, this will bring your training and learning hours in line with National Standards. 

• Professional Development (CPD) and Post-Registration Training and Learning (PRTL) hours. 
• Half day 3.5 hours 
• Full day 6 hours
  (per day of course)
• You must attend the whole of the course in order to receive a certificate as evidence of the CPD/PRTL hours 

Your Learning Log

Click here to view Learning Log

Appendix 5 - New Agency Worker Pre-Qualification Checklist

Click here to view New Agency Worker Pre-Qualification Checklist

End