Supportive Supervision in Education

Why the phrase Supportive Supervision in Education?

Supportive Supervision in Education is a phrase I coined after reading about the pilot and implementation of ‘supervision’ for teachers, referenced in ‘Supervision in Education – Healthier Schools for All’ Barnardo’s Scotland Report, 2020.

Barnardo’s provided teachers with confidential opportunities to reflect on and be supported by qualified professionals to unpack and shift the psychological impact of the emotional labour associated with their work.

What is Supportive Supervision in Education at Refresh Reset?

Supportive Supervision in Education at Refresh Reset incorporates 2 services:

·        The Psychoemotional Strength Program for School Staff (PSP)

A personalised reflective practice program which strengthens the psychological wellbeing and resilience of educators in their professional roles.

·        Clinical Supervision for Student Counsellors

A contractual, collaborative process which develops, supports and monitors student counsellors in their clinical role.

Psychoemotional Strength Program

What is the Psychoemotional Strength Program modelled on?

The Psychoemotional Strength Program (PSP) is modelled on ‘Supervision’; a world-renowned supportive practice, regularly and consistently offered to and accessed by therapists.

However, the PSP is specifically designed and consistently offered to and accessed by educators and all school staff. It is personal and professional development and relates to the AITSL standards.

Why is the PSP necessary?

While it seems like an obvious and crucial response to supporting and improving the wellbeing of staff in education, this is not a regular occurrence in in Australia, despite the acknowledgement of the cumulative impact of vicarious trauma and the demise in mental fitness of young people and their families and the direct impact of this on teachers’ mental fitness.

What exactly is the PSP?

It is a regular and consistent non-judgemental, collaborative process where education practitioners are supported to reflect on their practice, relationships, the emotional demands of their work and the impact of these and the wider education system on their psychological wellbeing.

Through dialogue, expressive therapies and the use of an integrated model of supervision, new meaning emerges and learning is co-created, forming new pathways for action which can contribute to best practice, effective relationships, enhanced wellbeing and professional and personal development.

The focus is on prevention of vicarious trauma and burnout, rather than a post crisis response.

Reference: ‘Supervision in Education – Healthier Schools for All’ Barnardo’s Scotland Report, 2020.

Who is the facilitator and what are their credentials?

The facilitator is an experienced teacher, PACFA registered clinical counsellor and clinical supervisor; a person who intimately understands schools and the emotional labour school staff carry on a daily basis. The facilitator is a person who has the skills to support and assist her clients to shift cognitive and emotional overload, with the aim of strengthening mental fitness.

Is PSP facilitated one on one or in small groups?

It can be either. The strong preference is one on one.

There are many group wellbeing programs currently in practice in schools.  

The PSP is unique in that it provides school staff with a personal opportunity to partake in sessions that focus on them! Strengthening their personal resilience and sustainability in the profession, guided by their own personal and current psychological priorities, is the promise.

How often can staff participate in the Psychoemotional Strength Sessions?

Developing a trusting relationship with the same facilitator, time and time again, is a critical component of the success of the PSP.

Staff are encouraged to tap into this one-on-one support, once a month, for approximately 45 minutes.

Remember, the focus is on prevention of vicarious trauma and psychological overload.

What did some teachers say about the experience provided by Barnardo’s ‘Supervision within Education’?

“As a Head Teacher I sought the support of a trained supervisor to work with myself and my pastoral team. I did this because I trained as a counsellor and experienced benefits, first hand of Supervision. The benefits were; helped me tease out how the Child Protection cases I was involved in were affecting my life; brought clarity; time to reflect and solve issues in a calm and designated space; my time to ‘just be’; made me more efficient in work as it gave me more head space; explored strategies for helping others; reduced stress; increased my confidence; greater self-awareness and understanding; improved home and work life; helped me to see victims in my school of child abuse as survivors and gave me skills to deal more effectively with the children and their parents.”

“Excellent opportunity to have a safe, confidential space to share concerns and successes and to be challenged and supported to understand my role in making progress and also how I can take next steps to success when things are confusing if less positive. This monthly Supervision has been a really essential part of my professional life and I now insist on all the people I manage having Supervision from others trained to do this effectively.”

“I found it beneficial having someone from another sector who has a different knowledge-base to provide alternative thoughts and ways of thinking to the reflection and advice. The occasional difficulty would be around my supervisor not being knowledgeable of the policies and procedures within education so either they couldn’t comment or I would spend a lot of the supervision time explaining the processes to them.”

Who pays for the PSP?

Refresh Reset aims to have this time incorporated into a staff’s load. It is that important!

What the PSP is not!

The PSP is not counselling.

Clinical Supervision

What is Clinical Supervision for Student Counsellors?

“Clinical supervision is a contractual, collaborative process which monitors, develops and supports supervisees in their clinical role. In clinical supervision the central focus is on both the optimum treatment outcome for the client and the professional development and self-care of the supervisee. The process of clinical supervision is seen to encompass a number of significant components, including a formal agreement between supervisor and supervise. It is an opportunity for the supervisee to present relevant material regarding their clinical practice via case discussion, recordings of client sessions, role plays, etc., allowing a space for reflective review by the supervisee and feedback by the supervisor. The supervisory relationship and process of supervision are congruent with the developmental needs of the supervisee.”

Reference: Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia

Is it essential?

The Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) advocate the importance of clinical supervision and expect supervisees to accrue a minimum of 10 hours per financial year. This is dependent on and governed by client hours.

Clinical supervision with a PACFA registered clinical supervisor, counts towards supervision hours with the Australian Association of Social Worker (AASW).

Who can provide clinical supervision?

Student Counsellors are encouraged to refer to their specific membership requirements with the relevant organisations.

It is usually a person with specific qualifications in clinical supervision and registered with the ACA or PACFA.

Who pays for clinical supervision for student counsellors?

Increasingly, leadership teams in schools acknowledge the importance of clinical supervision for their school counsellors and budget accordingly.

Not all education providers fully fund supervision. Some schools negotiate with their counsellors and provide a suitable contribution towards supervision.

Some schools do not contribute towards it.