The value of supervision

As life in general becomes more stressful pressures such as finance, childcare and the cost of living to name but a few, inevitably start to impact on employees. In this article, Sue Birchall talks about her experiences of introducing supervision sessions and their benefits

Most schools, academies and MATs now have employee assistance programmes and various wellbeing initiatives in place to support their staff body, but these can be expensive and with current funding pressures hard to maintain. It is therefore important that whatever is put into place has a positive impact on staff and improves everything from attendance, punctuality and staff wellbeing ensuring best value!

In my school we have been looking at various staff programmes and how they could be used to best effect whilst proving to be a good investment, not just of money but of time.

The first of these is the introduction of supervision sessions for our pastoral staff. This is not because we don’t see the value in having this for all staff but felt that the greatest need is with those who encounter the impacts of the pressures in life on our students most often.

Working in a school can be stressful, full on and sometimes quite isolating. Without the opportunity to share experiences and thoughts staff can become insular and feel like the world is on their shoulders, ultimately impacting on their own health and wellbeing. This inevitably leads to staff absence causing more anxiety as then more pressure is put upon colleagues, a never-ending cycle.

Supervision can mean many things but in education, it is most effective as an opportunity for ​​providing support, as a tool to review and share good practices and a means to develop training. It allows participants to reflect on their practises and develop their own skills and competence, improving their knowledge with the support of another professional. This can be carried out by someone in the organisation or an external person, sometimes a blend of both and is open ended.

For supervision to be successful it needs regular and uninterrupted time dedicated to the process. It is important to understand that supervision in this context is not counselling or coaching but an opportunity for support and to have open and honest conversations around the work, environment, feelings and fears. It is a ‘safe place to air any issues, concerns or problems as well as an opportunity to celebrate successes. It offers an opportunity to address any workplace issues in an open and honest forum which often leads to conflict resolution before it becomes a serious concern.

The benefits of supervision are documented, in our organisation it has improved moral, staff find it motivating and appreciate the support that it offers them. We all benefit from the opportunity to be listened to as much as to offload. Staff have used the opportunity to discuss and identify courses of action, clarify any actions or areas of which they were unsure and share ideas and thoughts. It helps to alleviate the stress attached to decision making, management of difficult situations and build resilience in the face of sometimes harrowing situations.

As a supervisor I have found it a positive experience, talking through successes and challenges with staff has informed some of the changes to working practises and influenced decisions that have been made. I have learnt a lot from my colleagues about the challenges that they and the school community face and hope that it has also improved my practise. Definitely something that is here to stay and add value to the whole school staff body.