Staff Supervision and Appraisal

The registered person must ensure that all employees:

• Undertake appropriate continuing professional development;
• Receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and
• Have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Supervision should be focused on children's experiences, needs, plans and feedback.

The emotional impact of the work on staff should be recognised and managed by leaders and managers. Staff supervision must enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for.

Professionally qualified staff employed by the Home, e.g. teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional.

Supervisions

• Supervisions will take place on a monthly basis, by the staff members Line Manager / Homes Manager, the people undertaking the supervision will be appropriately trained and experienced to undertake supervision;
• Supervisions will allow staff members the reflect on their practice for the previous month, as well as reflect on the children, young people, training, and development needs of the staff member as well as an opportunity for feedback and open discussions;
• Supervisions will also take into consideration the emotional impact of the work on staff should be recognised and managed by leaders and managers. Staff supervision must enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for.

Direct Supervisions

• When necessary, there may be a requirement for a ‘direct supervision’ to be undertaken with a staff member, this is to focus on a specific area of concern and could also be utilised as a supervision if required.

Supervision Agreements

• Supervision agreements will be in place to agree with the staff member what will be discussed, frequency of supervision and how these will be managed;
• The supervision agreement can be reviewed as required by the staff member or manager.

Supervision must be recorded effectively. A written record must be kept detailing the time, date and length of each supervision held for each member of staff including the manager. The record is signed by the supervisor and the member of staff at the end of the supervision. It is good practice for both the person giving the supervision and the staff member to have a copy of the record.

Staff and leaders must receive effective support and challenge, including through team and management meetings, to ensure that their professional development results in the right environment for good practice to thrive.

Appraisals

• There will be 6 monthly performance reviews for the staff members, these will be Appraisals for the staff team and will also include SMART targets for the team to work towards, as part of their professional development.

All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the Home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement.

Recording and Documenting

• Supervisions will be held securely on the online system as well as in an employee’s HR file. Staff members will be provided with a copy of their supervision via email once this has been completed;

• Supervision must be recorded effectively. A written record must be kept detailing the time and date of each supervision held for each member of staff including the manager. The record is signed by the supervisor and the member of staff at the end of the supervision.