What is Supervision?

Supervision is considered to be what an individual does to 'oversee the productivity and progress of employees' (McNamara, 2018). Typical roles involved in supervision include - but are not limited to Advocate, Boss, Coach, Facilitator, Mentor, and Trainer. (ibid). For the purpose of supervision of a college student who is on placement, the roles of Coach and Mentor are particularly important as these roles play a significant part in supporting individuals to develop. For example, the coaching role will encourage the employee/student by many means, including but not limited to asking guiding questions, offering support, providing guidance, and feedback on job/task performance. The facilitator role is quite similar to the coach in that the supervisor will support the individual to achieve a desired result, in much the same way as within the coaching role.

It is worth noting that these roles are already an integral part of the supervisors role, and not a separate activity expected of them.

Further information on what is Social Care Work is available on the site home page, beneath this resource.

What do we ask supervisors to do?

The college asks the work place supervisor to:

• Submit their (work) email and telephone number to the college
  
• Meet the student/employee on a regular basis to discuss their study, their work performance, and their progression in both
  
• Complete the student practice supervision form with the student
  
• If requested, to meet with a member of college staff to discuss the work placement process

What is the Student Practice Supervision Form:

The Supervisor placement form is designed to monitor the students work placement and to ensure that their practice meets the minimum requirements of a social care worker as stipulated by CORU.  (The CORU proficiencies are available beneath this resource on the site home page).The core key competencies expected of a student on their work placement include:

• Confidentiality re service users, families, information 
  
• Safe and effective practice 
  
• Effective communication with service users, team members, colleagues, management and families 
  
• Responsibility for professional their professional development
  
• Applied principles of social justice, human rights and non-discrimination in their work
  

In addition to these competencies, additional key competencies are identified for each module. We ask you the supervisor to confirm the student has displayed these competencies in their role.

The form is best completed together with the student, during a supervision meeting, so the contents of the form can be discussed together, a similar approach to what is advised for appraisals. It is essential that the form has the supervisor and the student signature (handwritten, not typed) as well as the supervisor contact detail.

Further Information:

If you require further information on any of the supervisor requirements, please contact the course director, Dr. Noelin Fox at the college on 01-2988544 or by email at noelin.fox@opentrainingcollege.com

References:

McNamara, C. (2018) What is Supervision? How do I supervise?. Retrieved online 24 October 2018 from  https://managementhelp.org/supervision/index.htm