The importance of reflective supervision for health and social care professionals is widely accepted but what are the key elements of effective supervision in practice? As health and social care organisations join up to improve the lives of people using services, practice supervisors are increasingly supervising across disciplinary boundaries. What helps and hinders inter-professional supervision within multidisciplinary teams?

This unit is designed to advance your knowledge and skills in reflective supervision. One of the primary functions of reflective supervision is to shape practice to provide the best possible support to people using services. Whether supervising people from your own disciplinary background or across professional boundaries, there are core features of effective supervision. Drawing on evidence from research and practice, as well as the lived experience of people using services, this unit aims to support practice supervisors promote a positive culture of supervision.

The unit aims to foster your understanding of your role as a supervisor, reflect on your ethics and values, support development of critical analysis and decision-making skills for supervisees and promote effective use of power and authority as a practice supervisor. It has been designed to meet the criteria of the eight post-qualifying standards for practice supervisors in adult social care which are applicable to practice supervisors from all professional backgrounds.