hay guys i have an interview at goldsmith uni and will greatly appreciate it if someone can explain to me THE ROLE OF SUPERVISION. ive been reading but havent yet gained addequate understanding.
thank u.
Hi Magz
I'm almost finished my final placement on my masters and have only now begun to see what supervision is used for.
As a student we have supervision with the practice teacher every week in order to reflect on the work which I have carried out in the previous week / fortnight, what I've done well, what I could improve on and what I hope to achieve with certain pieces of work. It's sort of used as a tool to make sure your carrying out your duties adequately, but also gives you a chance to vent any feelings and frustrations you may have. It comes under Key Role 5 Unit 14 so its something you need to prove your continuing to do.
As a worker it gives the manager a chance to catch up on the caseloads of staff members, and allowing the worker the opportunity to make sure they are doing things correctly as in certain sectors ie child protection it's very easy to get stressed out and worried your not making the right choice!
A bit basic, but essentially that's what it is (or what it is for me anyway!)
Good supervision will also include an element of professional and personal development - so you should be able to discuss your training needs in relation to your future professional development. Your placement supervision should take into account your role as a student and the training you are receiving, however it still applies post qualifying. Sad to say, it's this element of supervision that is often the most neglected and once you qualify you may well need to be proactive in ensuring you get this support. Apart from that, much as has already been written above, supervision should be an exchange of information about your caseload (a) so your manager knows what's going on (b) so you can seek guidance or advice on anything you are having a problem with (c) so your manager can identify where there might be gaps or difficulties and point you in the right direction. There's an old book "Supervision in the Helping Professions" (sorry can't give you any more detail than that) which I found particularly helpful. Whatever happens locally the basic principles in the book still stand. The library may have a copy. Good luck.
Thank u very much for taking time out to reply
this was very helpful.
Magz