What is good supervision (and how do we know)?

In this session, Dr David Wilkins will talk about the nature of good supervision in child and family social work, what it looks like, what the benefits can be for social work practice and for families, and how we know. Dr Wilkins has worked on twelve different studies of supervision in recent years, all with a shared focus on the difference it can make for children and families, and based on the principle that supervisors have a shared responsibility for the quality of social work practice.

Attendees at the session will develop their understanding of:

• The gap between the rhetoric and reality of supervision practice in contemporary children’s services.
• What we know from research about the difference supervision can make for social work practice, and for children and families.
• Two evidence-based ways of improving supervisory practice.

Dr David Wilkins, senior lecturer in social work, Cardiff University and assistant director, Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre