Most social workers are dissatisfied with their supervision, a poll has found.
Despite supervision being a cornerstone of practice, helping practitioners navigate complex cases, progress in their careers, and, at times, manage personal struggles, almost four in ten (39%) respondents to the Community Care poll said they were "not at all" satisfied with what they received.
By contrast, 22% said they were "somewhat" satisfied, with a similar proportion (21%) declaring themselves "very" satisfied with their supervision.
Experiences of inadequate supervision
Comments under the related article suggested that many practitioners found supervision to be inadequate or not sufficiently frequent.Corrina, who qualified five years ago but has recently left the profession, said her ADHD and wellbeing were ignored in supervision.
“My ADHD has never been factored at all or the fact that I struggle with mental health. In fact it has been used against me. I have now left the profession as I feel I can no longer work in it.”
Jodie, who also has ADHD, described her management as “understanding” in principle but said sessions felt condescending.
“Supervision does feel like a check-box activity. [My manager] also tells me how I should feel,” she added.
“I feel anxious when supervision is approaching because it feels like being back at school. Also, I haven’t had any since the beginning of May."
A tick-box exercise
David described supervision as a “tick-box exercise” on caseload tasks, while another practitioner called it “bureaucratic”.“It starts off with, 'How you feeling?', and, 'Are you managing your caseload'. Neither question is expanded on and that’s the wellbeing section done,” they added.
“The rest is a brief summary of cases and the intended plan before next supervision.”
Barry, a mental health social worker since 2005, added that his sessions focused only on updating managers about his caseload.
“No progression or pastoral care stuff, purely about the caseload.”
‘It is not a counselling session’
However, some argued that expectations of supervision were too high. Alison said that supervision was not designed as a “counselling opportunity”.“I just regard supervision as my space to demonstrate," she added. "I take accountability for my work seriously."
She also highlighted the demands on supervisors.
“Stop and think about what demands and pressures are put on your supervisor too. Being listened to should never be a one-way process.”
Ros Caines-Prentice, meanwhile, emphasised the need for balance within supervision sessions.
“The practitioner needs support, guidance and advice in focusing on the key issues, developing the multi-agency plan, liaising with others and assessing their own practice," she said. "Supervision for managers also involves a focus on staffing matters, departmental strategies and implementation and plans.”
She noted that less experienced staff tended to expect a more “counselling approach” than what busy teams can deliver.
“Personal career progress is important and time should be given for appraisals where those issues are the primary focus,” she added.
“Although wellbeing is integral to the management of difficult cases, [supervision] shouldn’t be mixed up with matters such as career progression on a regular basis.”
Adapting to different learning styles
Supervisors also shared their experience of the process.Julia said she focused on supervision sessions being “holistic” and helping practitioners feel more confident about “the complexities of their practice”.
Jan, a retired social worker, recalled supervising five students on placement, three of whom had dyslexia. Her first action had been to ask what they’d like to achieve from their sessions.
“Having had three students with dyslexia it was essential to establish on an individual level how supervision could assist their progress and we agreed on a format,” she said.
“One student felt she learnt more verbally, [while] the others wanted written notes from supervision to remind them of our discussion.”
