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. The department has a supervision policy with timescales for supervision of 4 to 6 weeks

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. The meetings will also cover case work related discussions. The frequency of the meetings will differ depending on whether children are placed in residential long term or short term.

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.