What is Professional Supervision in Education?

Supervision in Education is a professional, boundaried and regular conversation where we meet for the purpose of talking about the work you do in the service of others.  It is a safe and confidential place with the aim of ensuring that you can be the best you can be, at work, for the people you work for.

Relationship is at the heart of good supervision. Challenge cannot occur without safe relationships. Supervision can be transformational.

How Does Reflective Supervision in Education Work?

We offer long-term 121 supervision to senior leaders of organisations with a remit to support or educate others.  If we are supporting a Senior Leader we also offer group supervision but not at a senior leadership level as professional vulnerability and confidentiality is harder to manage when working with senior leaders in a group. Our work is bespoke, we work with you the supervisee to understand the needs of your organisation.

I feel passionately that supervision is essential for senior leaders in schools. We constantly hold so much in our heads and are expected to be all things to all people when they need it. It is important that we have a confidential opportunity to give quality time to the issues that keep us awake night after night. Supervision has helped me to keep things in perspective and explore creative solutions to some of the problems where I haven’t been able to see the wood for the trees. I cannot recommend professional supervision highly enough.

DB CP

Why Professional Supervision in Schools?

It impacts:

  1. You
  2. The people you work with
  3. The team around you. The organisational system
  4. Your family and friends.
  5. The wider world

OUR AIMS

To see robust, good quality, long-term supervision exist across all teams who work to support or educate others.

To support workplaces to work in an ethically mature way. Supervision assists in the development of ethical teams and places of work. People who are respected and regulated are best able to be in the service of others. Services are more likely to be “safe” where there is a culture of openness and where it is OK to professionally “not know”.

That senior leaders who are in fulfilling supervision themselves will want to embed supervision in their organisation not just as a tick box exercise. Here supervision can be damaging, exposing and does harm. We safeguard against any potential damage from paying lip service to supervision by ensuring our supervisees agree to a minimum amount of sessions per year. We have found 9/10 sessions per year works best.

Thoughts on clinical supervision…. Entering into it for the first time I struggled to understand how it would be different from leadership coaching…. It is different. For the first time last month, during a particularly stressful time, I looked for when the next session was in my diary. Being supervised effectively gives emotional support just by knowing you have a session coming up when you will have an opportunity to share. With a good supervisor, it is comforting to hear the issues you bring are common among leaders of schools and my emotional response is rational to the situation I find myself in. Kind regards Pete
Pete (Executive Principal)

Supervision is a time A moment A space; A reflective tool- A time, A place. Somewhere to sit To feel To get clear; Or give questions and thoughts To be heard- And to hear. To emotionally catch And be caught…. Where you are; Knowing your supervisor holds you safe In their heart … Giving you more time to gift And to make: And to be the best you Through every corner Lifework takes.
Tania – DHT

Our Values

We believe we should all want to be held ethically accountable, both inside ourselves and within the organisations, we work with.

We believe in compassion for ourselves, others and within the supervisory relationship.

We are committed to long-term and bespoke work and learning, with you.

Honesty, integrity and humility are at the heart of the work we do and the essence of our learning together as a team.