Supervision: Social Workers involved in Safeguarding Enquiries

1. Introduction

This guidance is based on Standards for Employers of Social Workers (LGA)

Good social work can transform people’s lives and protect them from harm.

In order to achieve consistently high quality outcomes for service users and their carers, social workers must have and maintain the skills and knowledge to establish effective relationships with adults, their carers, professionals across a range of agencies and settings and members of the public.

The Standards for the Employers of Social Workers set out shared core expectations of employers which will enable social workers in all settings to work effectively.

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of the Standards is to sustain high quality outcomes for service users and their families/carers/communities in three focal areas:

• enabling employers to provide a well led professional environment;
• enabling social work professionals to maintain their professionalism;
• enabling them to practice more effectively.

2. Standards

• Standard 1 – Clear Social Work Accountability Framework: Employers should have in place a clear social work accountability framework informed by knowledge of good social work practice and the experience and expertise of service users, carers and practitioners.
• Standard 2 – Effective Workforce Planning: Employers should use effective workforce planning systems to make sure that the right number of social workers, with the right level of skills and experience, are available to meet current and future service demands.
• Standard 3 – Safe Workloads and Case Allocation: Employers should ensure social workers have safe and manageable workloads.
• Standard 4 – Managing Risks and Resources: Employers should ensure that social workers can do their jobs safely and have the practical tools and resources they need to practice effectively. Assess risks and take action to minimise and prevent them.
• Standard 5 – Effective and Appropriate Supervision: Employers should ensure that social workers have regular and appropriate social work supervision.
• Standard 6 – Continuing Professional Development: Employers should provide opportunities for effective continuing professional development, as well as access to research and-relevant knowledge.
• Standard 7 – Professional Registration: Employers should ensure social workers can maintain their professional registration.
• Standard 8 – Effective Partnerships: Employers should establish effective partnerships with higher education institutions and other organisations to support the delivery of social work education and continuing professional development.

Some of the standards relate to the wider organisation.

3. Frontline Practice Supervision

The following standards relate specifically to frontline practice supervision.

3.1 Standard 3 – Safe workloads and case allocation

Ensure social workers have safe and manageable workloads.

This Standard is about protecting employees and service users from the harm caused by excessive workloads, long waiting lists and unallocated cases.

All employers should:

• use a workload management system which sets transparent benchmarks for safe workload levels in each service area;
• ensure each social worker’s workload is regularly assessed to take account of work complexity, individual worker capacity and time needed for supervision (Standard 5) and CPD (Standard 6);
• ensure that cases are allocated transparently and by prior discussion with the individual social worker, with due consideration of newly qualified social workers on ASYE;
• ensure that a social worker’s professional judgement about workload capacity issues is respected in line with the requirements of their professional registration (Standard 7);
• take contingency action when workload demand exceeds staffing capacity report regularly to strategic leaders about workload and capacity issues within services;
• publish information about average caseloads for social workers within the organisation (Standard 1).

3.2 Standard 5 – Effective and appropriate supervision

Ensure that social workers have regular and appropriate social work supervision.

This Standard is about making high quality, regular supervision an integral part of social work practice. This should start with students on placement, and continue through ASYE and throughout the individual’s social work career. Supervision should be based on a rigorous understanding of the Professional Capabilities Framework (PCF) and the Knowledge and Skills Statement for Social Workers in Adult Services. Supervision should challenge students and qualified practitioners to reflect critically on their practice and should foster an inquisitive approach to social work.

3.2.1 Frequency of supervision

All employers should make sure that supervision takes place:

• regularly and consistently and last at least an hour and a half of uninterrupted time;
• for students on placement – as agreed with student and their higher education institution;
• for newly qualified social workers – at least weekly for the first six weeks of employment as a newly qualified social worker, at least fortnightly for the duration of the first six months, and a minimum of monthly supervision thereafter;
• for social workers who have demonstrated capability at ASYE level and above – in line with identified needs, and at least monthly;
  monitor actual frequency and quality of supervision against clear statements about what is expected.

3.2.2 Quality of supervision

All employers should:

• ensure that social work supervision is not treated as an isolated activity by incorporating it into the organisation’s social work accountability framework (Standard 1);
• promote continuous learning and knowledge sharing through which social workers are encouraged to draw out learning points by reflecting on their own practice in the light of experiences of peers;
• ensure that the Professional Capabilities Framework and Knowledge and Skills Statement, at an appropriate level, are used as the basis for evaluating capability and identifying development needs;
• ensure that supervision supports students and qualified social workers to meet the Social Work England Professional Standards;
• encourage social workers to plan, reflect on and record Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activity, including it logging it online with Social Work England;
• provide regular supervision training for social work supervisors;
• assign explicit responsibility for the oversight of appropriate supervision and for issues that arise through supervision;
• provide additional professional supervision by a registered social worker for practitioners whose line manager is not a social worker.

3.2.3 Useful information

• Supervision Social Work England
• BASW supervision policy.

3.3 Standard 6 – Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Provide opportunities for effective continuing professional development, as well as access to research and relevant knowledge.

This Standard is about social workers being able to build a robust and up to date knowledge and skill base through effective continuing professional development (CPD) and access to research, evidence and best practice guidance. Employers should facilitate career-long learning and empower social workers to work confidently and effectively with the children, adults and families they have been trained to support. Employers should also understand the statutory requirement for social workers in England to undertake CPD, as outlined in Social Work England Guidance.

3.3.1 Supporting staff development

All employers should:

• have effective induction systems and put in place tailored support programmes for Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE)s, including protected development time, a managed workload, tailored supervision and personal development plans;
• have an appraisal or performance review system which assesses how well professional practice is delivered and identifies a learning and development plan to support the achievement of objectives;
• provide time, resources and support for CPD;
• have fair and transparent systems to enable social workers to develop their professional skills and knowledge throughout their careers through an entitlement to formal and informal CPD, including Practice educator and/or specialist training as appropriate;
• encourage social workers to plan, reflect on and record CPD activity, including it logging it online with Social Work England.

3.3.2 Promoting research based practice

All employers should:

• support their social workers to make decisions and pursue actions that are informed by robust and rigorous evidence so that adults can have confidence in the service they receive;
• enable social workers to work with others engaged in research and practice development activities in universities, professional bodies and trade unions to develop the evidence base for good practice;
• ensure that practice educators are able to contribute to the learning, support, supervision and assessment of students on qualifying and CPD programmes.

3.3.3 Useful information

• ASYE Information, resources and case studies;
• BASW CPD Policy;
• Research in Practice for Adults (RIPFA);
• Skills for Care, Continuing to develop social workers;
• Professional Standards Guidance (Social Work England)