BASW/CoSW calls for consistent supervision support

BASW – The College of Social Work (BASW/CoSW) is calling on employers to ensure social workers receive regular supervision in order to make sound judgments and maintain high professional standards. Publishing a 12-point draft policy on supervision the Association said it is urging employers to guarantee weekly supervision for newly qualified social workers and offer more experienced practitioners similar support at least once a month.

BASW/CoSW is asking members to read the guidance and share their opinions on it with the Association, as well as present it to their employers as a programme for potential implementation.

The guidance has been drawn up amid growing concern that social workers are being forced to practise without adequate supervision. There is also disappointment that the Social Work Reform Board, which is implementing the recommendations of the Social Work Taskforce, decided against compelling employers to ensure minimum levels of supervision for social workers, a decision condemned by BASW/CoSW.

BASW/CoSW says supervision improves confidence, competence and morale among social workers but is currently being delivered inconsistently across the country. A snapshot survey, carried out by the Association in late 2010, found that almost half of respondents (45%) were dissatisfied with the frequency of their supervision and more than a quarter (27%) rated it as poor. More than 70% said it did not adequately cover the emotional issues that arise from social work. Although more than half of social workers receive supervision once a month, more than 10% said they rarely, if ever, got it.

The BASWQ/CoSW guidance, on which it is urging members to share their views, restates the importance of supervision in social work, stating: ‘The lack of supervision or the over emphasis in recent years on the managerial aspects of supervision, has led to the reduction in the reflective aspects of supervision, loss of professional autonomy in decision making and a poorer service for service users.’

It says that any organisation that employs social workers should have a strategic lead social worker with responsibility for developing a strong supervision culture through a supervision policy, agreements or contracts and effective training of supervisors.

For a draft copy of the Supervision Policy visit http://www.basw.co.uk/countries/england/policy-and-position-statements/

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