Tick If Applicable: A Critique of a National UK Social Work Supervision Policy

Abstract

This conceptual paper is written from the perspective of two qualified and registered social workers who are former supervisors/managers in both statutory and voluntary children’s services. Now as social work academics, the authors of this paper consider the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) supervision policy in the context of current debates about social work and supervision in child protection practice. Whilst optimistic about the intensions of BASW, we explore the social and political landscape in which the BASW policy has been developed and give consideration to the tensions faced by a profession seeking to reclaim a defining feature of professional social work. Using Kadushin’s model of supervision where the functions of supervision are outlined as three primary domains: educational, administrative and supportive, this paper will examine the interconnectedness of these elements and their relevance in the debates and policies that have focussed on the event that is supervision in social work in the UK. This paper will also introduce a critical challenge that seeks to refocus attention to the nature of the relationships involved in carrying out the task of supervision in the environment in which child protection social work is practised.