Keeping the Child in Mind and at the Heart of Supervisory Reflections

Abstract

The primary objective of supervision, to focus on the child, is also the first dimension of the IMS, placing the child at the heart of the supervisory relationship. However, the child is not viewed in isolation, but in the context of their family and community. Whilst the other four dimensions of supervision focus on creating safety, developing knowledge and skill, managing and leading, and advocating, this first dimension seeks to strengthen the quality of service that the child experiences. How a child centred supervisory relationship can establish, support and maintain child centred practice is the focus of this chapter.

Appendices

Activity 1: Reflection on the Core Purpose of Supervision

The supervisory relationship is an extraordinarily complex one. This activity is designed to be implemented during the early establishment of a supervisory relationship to provide both the supervisor and supervisee with transparency around roles and responsibilities, to reflect on the potential for conflict or tension when the need to prioritize the child may, for instance, involve having a conversation with the supervisee about their professional performance. For this guided reflection, both parties are invited to consider and agree on ways in which feedback will be given about the supervisee’s performance and supervision itself, with the emphasis on feedback that is constructively critical. A signed agreement that establishes transparency, honesty and joint accountability for prioritizing the vulnerable child through the supervisory process is the intended outcome of the activity, along with a plan to navigate challenges and hurdles as they arise.

• Questions for the supervisor and supervisee to consider, reflect upon and discuss:

• 1. In reflecting on my prior experience (professional and personal), what will I contribute to supervision?

• 2. What do I hope to gain from supervision?

• 3. Having considered my contribution and needs, what is the purpose of this supervisory relationship and what are our (agreed) three primary goals for this supervisory relationship?

• 4. How will we ensure sensitive and appropriate consideration of cultural issues, gender, power and diversity in this supervisory relationship?

• 5. How and when will we review our goal attainment?

Signed & dated……………………………………………………… (Supervisee)

Signed & dated……………………………………………………… (Supervisor).

Activity 2: Child Centred Practice—Questions to Consider

This a tool for supervisees and supervisors to examine the depth of knowledge already available and required for understanding the child’s safety, health and development. An understanding that the changes in brain structure and chemical activity caused by child abuse and neglect can have a wide variety of effects on children’s behavioural, social and emotional functioning is essential to forming views about the nature of the harm the child has experienced to make plans to ameliorate this impact and formulate wider case planning goals. This activity can be introduced during supervision to maintain the focus on the child and continuously reflect on the child’s current lived experience. The proforma designed to identify the child’s lived experience, with space to add a current photograph of the child, provides a powerful means of “bringing the child into the room” in each supervisory session. This activity may also be undertaken with a view to reviewing, updating and reflecting on material, including evidence of the child’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours at critical points in time, for the benefit of assessment, decision making and intervention.

• Child Centred Principles for Practice—Reflection Sheet

• Child’s name ………………..

• Current photograph

Child centred practice—questions to consider having noted the child centred principles, (Winkworth and McArthur 2006).

Recognising critical time frames in childhood and adolescence:

• Has the child/young person met their developmental milestones?

• What is your evidence for this?

• How would you describe the impact of the maltreatment for this child/young person?

• What are the developmental needs of the child or young person?

• To what extent does the parent/carer recognise the child’s needs?

• What is the capacity of the parent/carer to meet the child needs?

Taking into account the developmental needs of children and young people in all practice contexts:

• Are the child’s needs being met in other contexts (child care, school, community, wider family contact)?

Providing children and young people with appropriate opportunities to participate in decisions that affect them:

• What type of relationship do you have with the child/young person?

• To what extent does the child/young person trust you?

• In what ways have you provided information to the child/young person?

• In what ways have you encouraged the child/young person to be involved in decision making?

Promoting a collaborative approach to influencing children’s multiple environments (family and home, school, community and society) as well as the interactions among these environments:

• Who is involved with the child/young person?

• Have you undertaken an eco-mapping process?

• Actions to be taken: Review in supervision by.