Young People in Focus

Maintains agency responsibility

Policies and procedures in place provide clarity for supervision contract

Parenting work supervised within context of overall workload

Line management structures should provide support and the opportunity to take issues further

Development of parenting support can be reviewed in relation to YOT policy

Supervisor or agency agenda may be dominant

Day to day demands may influence the quality of supervision

Supervisor may not have enough relevant experience of parenting support work to provide in depth practice elements of supervision

Lack of specialist knowledge may also mean supervisor does not value parenting work

Can be a specialist who offers high level of skill, experience and knowledge of the field

Offers independence and an unbiased view/approach

May be a supervisor with a ‘clinical’ approach. Practitioner may prefer more of a ‘community’ approach

An opportunity to address individual needs in depth on a regular basis including professional and practice development

If practitioners only receive one to one supervision they miss the opportunity to learn from colleagues or a supervisor experienced in their field

Can provide wider opportunities to gain support from and share information with colleagues

Commonality of issues to be addressed and a range of practice experiences can enhance learning and professional development

Can reduce isolation in work role

May not suit the practitioners learning style

Time pressures may make it hard to address all participants’ needs

Some group members may dominate

Some issues may be hard to address in a group setting